Hello, dear friends. Field Notes is a special edition today. Rather than the usual 1 health insight, 2 quotes, and 3 links, this issue features 10 health-nourishing gift ideas. Whether you are stuck for ideas for someone else, or interested in boosting your own health in 2023, I hope you’ll find something useful here.
Note: I wasn’t paid to share any of these, and there is only on affiliate link below (a $5 off coupon for succulents). These are all items I’ve purchased and used myself.
If you have a gift idea, please leave it in the comments. Thank you!
1. Happy Light
This is one of my favorite gifts to give because it can truly change your days. Powerful light, especially in the morning, helps trigger your body to let loose chemicals to wake you up and set the time you’ll feel sleepy at night. Bright light can also be a mood booster. And in the winter, most of us don’t get much sunshine.
There are many different brands and kinds of light therapy and sun lamps. I use the Happy Light because it is strong (10,000 lux), small enough to fit on my nightstand, and portable. (I have learned the hard way that after using a sun lamp daily, stopping during a vacation is a terrible idea; it means I suddenly go from energized and sleeping well to sluggish and up late.)
I recommend getting a model that has a timer and a variety of light levels. I’ve found that 20 minutes and the lowest light setting as soon as I wake up is perfect for me; when I use the high light or go too long, I feel vaguely dizzy and headachy.
Listen to your body to figure out how much time you need, and read the included instructions. And, as always, ask a doctor if you have questions about your particular body!
HappyLight Touch Plus ($49.99, but currently on sale for 15% off)
2. “Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art” by James Nestor
A terrific, fascinating read that will change how you think about your own breathing. Author James Nestor’s chronicles his quest through history, interviews with experts, and his own wild experiments to learn how to breathe better. The back of the book includes a list of breathing exercises and instructions.
Breath ($28 or less)
3. Bird-watching book (or binoculars or bird feeder)
This one might seem a little odd, but bird watching has been shown to help your health. In “The Surprising Health Benefits of Bird-Watching” (free gift link), The New York Times details how being outside, walking, and hearing bird sounds could be helpful: “Spending time outdoors with a pair of binoculars is good for your body and soul. The upcoming Audubon Christmas Bird Count is the perfect excuse to start.” A recent study in Nature also linked hearing birds to mental health benefits.
Here are a few options to get started:
National Geographic’s Field Guide to the Birds of North America
The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America (or your local region)
Pair of binoculars. Ted Floyd, editor of Birding magazine, recommends 25-30 mm for your first set.
Bird feeder. You won’t be walking through the woods, but our bird feeder brings a lot of delight and relaxing time.
4. Succulent subscription
Plants can be soothing living things to have around your daily living space. Succulent Studios mails tiny baby succuluents, two different ones each month. The price is reasonable — $10 for two tiny plants, plus $6.50 or so shipping. (That’s the shipping cost to New York ; it might be more or less to you.) The variety of succulents is a delightful surprise, too, a huge variety outside of the typical type you might see in the grocery.
I have a dozen little succulents from Succuluent Studios growing around the house, some of which are quite big now. You can also propagate them by plucking off a leaf and letting it root and become a separate plant.
Gift succuluent subscriptions (starting at 3 months for $30, plus shipping)
The above link is not an affiliate link.
If you’d like $5 off, use this affiliate link. Affiliate links mean you get a discount and I may receive a discount or free item, too.
5. Time together
Connection is SO good for our health.
Why not give someone the gift of a special afternoon, or a day, or weekend together?
Giving a card with a specific activity idea, and some possible times, along with a note about how much you like them and how much you’d love to spend time together, can be so meaningful.
This could be completely free or inexpensive, all the way up to the-sky’s-the-limit.
A few ideas:
Research a hike or easy walk to a waterfall that is a little farther. Include a description and a list of possible days you could go together. On the day of, pack a nice lunch for both of you or find a place to pick up food on the way.
Find a museum that aligns with their interests, and include that in the card. It could be a museum around art, history, dinosaurs, astronomy, the Civil War, another country, a famous person or president, sports, cars, motorcycles — nearly anything!
Pick a city or town they’ve never been to that could be a day or weekend trip. Do a little internet research and list 4 or 5 things you could do there together.
6. Massage therapy, acupuncture, or other gift certificate
If you have a loved one who has aches and pains, but is hesitant to get a massage or acupuncture or other health treatment, a gift certificate could open the door for them to try it.
This can be tricky — you’ll have to gauge yourself as to whether it will be welcome or not.
⚠️ Two pricy gifts ahead, and then we’ll go back to the $15-$50 range.
7. Berkey Water Filter
If you have a friend or family member in a place where the water can be sketchy, or just taste unpleasant, this might be a super gift.
Berkey water filters reportedly remove 200 contaminants, including e. coli and other bacteria, viruses, and lead.
Our tap water smells like chemicals, but once it goes through the Berkey Filter, it smells like nothing and tastes great. Basically, you pour water into the top vessel, and it filters through to the bottom, where there is a spout for your glass.
Berkey Filters come in multiple sizes. We have the travel size, which is the smallest size and holds 1.5 gallons. It works fine us — two adults and a child. If you have a larger family, you will want a bigger one.
Berkey Filters ($327 and up)
8. High-Performance Blender
A great blender can make silky soup, smoothies out of tough veggies like kale, and even nut butters straight from nuts.
I was skeptical that an expensive blender could be any better than a $15 blender. But when I was sick many years ago with bowel blockages, a nutritionist at NYU Langone recommended a Vitamix. $400 is a lot for a kitchen device, but being hospitalized is much more expensive.
The Vitamix blended food so much more thoroughly and smoothly. No more ice bits. No more itty chunks. The first time I made butternut squash soup — basically, simmering squash cubes in broth and then blending it — I was astonished. THIS was how restaurants got their soups to be completely uniform, smooth, and delicous.
Holiday sales are pushing the some of the Vitamix models to under $300, and there are lots of competitors. I haven’t tried other options, but I bet there are many other good “high-performance” blenders. If you have a favorite, please share in the comments. Thank you!
Vitamix blender ($350 and up)
9. “The Upside of Stress:
Why Stress Is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It”
This book by Kelly McGonigal, PhD, totally changed my thinking about about stress. Our modern culture tends to emphasize how bad stress is without any context of how your body is reacting, and why, and when that feeling can be helpful. The book is an easy, interesting read, filled with studies and references that drive home new revelations.
The Upside of Stress ($18)
10. Music
Music can be such a mood booster, a balm, a solace, a treat.
Do you remember making mix tapes or CDs for friends? You could put together a personalized Spotify playlist for them or gift a record, CD, or album on iTunes. There’s something lovely and intimate about music and the ways it can calm, energize, or comfort you. Just one idea: an album by Diana Krall, a dreamy jazz singer.
That’s all, my friends! I hope you found a useful idea in this list, perhaps for that puzzler of a family member or perhaps for you.
Our own health can be hard to spend money on, but it is an investment in our days, our happiness, and our future.
Which gift would you love to receive?
To our journeys,
Brianne