Erase Stress for $300?

Here’s the latest little gizmo for overstimulated Type As who can’t relax without being externally rewarded.

The StressEraser monitors your heart-rate when you stick your finger into it. If you’re breathing properly, it gives you a point in the form of a beep. If not, it doesn’t. Only an American would need to stick their finger into a 300 dollar machine to tell them if they’re relaxing properly.

“It's hard to tune out regular thoughts and focus on simple things like breathing,” notes Dallas Morning News reporter Andrew D. Smith. “It's also boring.”

Well, he’s got a point there. Breathing is boring. Unless you’re being waterboarded, of course.

The makers of the StressEraser say you’re supposed to “earn” 100 beeps a day. That sounds like a god damn job to me. Isn’t this sort of obsessive goal-setting the reason why folks get so stressed out in the first place?