If you are motivated to improve your health, are managing a new health condition or simply want to streamline your health habits, wearable technology can help. These devices use sensors to track movement and bodily functions. The data they collect can tell you and your provider more about your health and wellness.
Health and fitness trackers can take many forms, including:
- Clip-on devices
- Clothing
- Glasses and contacts
- Headsets
- Smart jewelry
- Watches
Approximately 20% of people living in the United States own a smart wearable device. If you aren’t one of them — or aren’t using the technology you already own — we’ve outlined some ways that wearable technology can help you improve your health and fitness.
How does wearable technology improve your health?
Health trackers and apps can help detect medical issues, provide a personalized snapshot of your health and allow physicians to remotely manage your chronic health conditions.
Wearable technology can help you improve your health and fitness by:
1. Getting you moving
Pedometers — fitness trackers that count your steps — are not new. But now they are available on your phone, watch and other devices, making monitoring how much you move easier than ever.
Studies show that using wearable devices tends to increase personal activity by an average of 1,300 steps per day. It increases weekly moderate-to-vigorous activity by almost an hour.
If you’re trying to reduce health risks, researchers have identified some daily targets to hit, such as:
- 2,600 steps to significantly reduce your risk for death from all causes
- 2,800 steps to decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease
- 8,800 steps, which provides the greatest risk reduction
2. Helping with healthy eating
Keeping a record of what you eat can help you identify healthy — and not-so-healthy — eating habits. But the American Heart Association reports that people who log their food also lose twice as much weight as people who don’t.
Wearable technology allows you to log meals, snacks and hydration. It can track how many calories you’re consuming and the macronutrient make-up of those calories. Many food-tracking apps also provide personalized recommendations for meal plans and recipes.
Researchers are hoping to take eating trackers one step further. They are studying how artificial intelligence and wearable sensors (on your wrist or jaw) might be used to measure eating behavior, including the speed, timing and duration of your eating. How you eat can be closely related to obesity and other chronic health issues.
3. Monitoring heart health
Fitness monitors can measure your heart rate at rest and during exercise. But some can also track blood pressure and heart rate variability (the time between heartbeats), which can predict your risk for chronic disease.
Heart rate monitors in smart clothing can also measure heart rate in real time in one of two ways:
- Electrocardiogram sensors record your heart’s electrical activity.
- Optical sensors detect blood flow through the skin.
Heart-specific wearable medical devices, such as cardiac event monitors, blood pressure monitors and biosensors, provide your physician with a better picture of your heart health.
4. Optimizing your workout
Monitoring your performance during a workout can help you improve it. Look for technology that focuses on measurables such as:
- Heart rate zone while exercising so you know whether to increase or decrease intensity
- Muscle activity, which can be monitored by sensors embedded in smart clothing
- VO2 which indicates how much oxygen your heart and lungs take in and use during exercise to help predict performance for endurance athletes
5. Preventing and detecting falls
Falls are common and cause nearly 650,000 deaths every year worldwide. Detecting a fall improves the chance of timely medical treatment and allows your provider to assess your fall risk to prevent future falls.
Wearable devices rely on accelerometers and gyroscopes, which monitor different types of movement, to determine whether you have fallen. Insole-based systems are another way to detect falls — sensors on the soles of your feet monitor the pressure distribution.
It’s important to note that not all experts agree about the accuracy of wearable technology for fall detection — more research is needed. But placing several sensors on the trunk, feet or legs tends to provide the most accurate results.
6. Promoting proper workout recovery
Overtraining can lead to mental and physical distress. Knowing when your body is recovered and ready for another workout can help you avoid it.
Wearable technology can help with recovery by monitoring:
- Electrolyte concentration to help with muscle recovery and cramp prevention
- Respiratory rate and oxygen saturation to understand how much oxygen is being delivered to your muscles, which can affect recovery
- Sweat composition to recommend hydration if needed
7. Supporting healthy sleep habits
Some wearable technology can track how long you sleep and provide data on overall sleep quality — including how often you wake during the night. But it’s important to note that the data collected about the accuracy of wearable sleep monitors is inconclusive.
While wearable technology is helpful in monitoring how long you sleep, you should consult a physician if you are concerned about frequent wakings — a possible indicator of obstructive sleep apnea.
What to consider before using wearable technology for health and fitness
Wearable technology can be an effective way to motivate you to better manage your health. But before relying too heavily on wearable devices, consider:
- Accuracy of the information, since it may depend on user adherence and the age of the technology used
- Expense, because the most advanced technology will cost more
- Mental health, as wearable technology may be detrimental if you have an eating disorder or an exercise addiction
- Privacy concerns about how your health data is being shared
Remember, managing your health should be a team effort. Work with your primary care physician to ensure you are approaching wearable technology in a healthy way and using it correctly.
