How Your Smartwatch Can Transform Your Health and Lifestyle Tracking

Shopping last weekend, I watched a man struggle with his smartwatch at the checkout. Instead of glancing at the time, he was hunting for a discount code. The tiny screen made it hard for him to find his account. Frustrated, he muttered as he fiddled with the device. It was tough to watch.

I find the idea of paying with a watch fascinating. Many people now use these gadgets to track health metrics, like calories burned or heart rates. But who thought it was a good idea to put all this information on our wrists? Count me out!

I appreciate staying healthy and managing my money, but I don’t want my finances or health history strapped to me. Smartwatches now track things like blood pressure and sleep quality. But is a wrist-based heart rate monitor really accurate? Just hearing that my heart rate isn’t “normal” would itself get my heart racing. I’d rather not look at my watch and see that my heartbeat has dropped dangerously low.

Measuring blood pressure with a traditional monitor can be tricky, and I doubt a watch would be more reliable.

And the thought of sleeping with a smartwatch? No thanks. I wouldn’t want to know every time I shifted in bed or got up for a drink. When I wake up feeling refreshed, I don’t need a device to tell me I slept poorly. What happens if I wake up energized, only for my watch to say otherwise? That would just mess with my whole day.

Interestingly, a recent study from Mintel found that more than half of smartwatch users felt more stressed about their health. Constantly monitoring your health isn’t necessarily beneficial. It can lead to increased anxiety, and may even turn people into hypochondriacs.

Smartwatches also track daily steps, but I don’t see the point. If I go for a walk, it’s because I enjoy it, not to check off a box.

One of the funniest features? They can alert you when you’re stressed. However, for many, the watch itself might be the source of that stress. A friend of mine ditched hers after realizing she couldn’t enjoy a glass of wine without it flagging her as “stressed.”

And calorie tracking? I’d prefer a device that tells me how many calories I consume with each tasty bite—like from a Gregg’s steak bake. That would definitely motivate me to hit the salad bar instead!

Smartwatch technology has woven itself into our lives, but our relationship with these gadgets can be complicated. They create a blend of usefulness and stress, showing us one side of health while potentially magnifying anxieties.



Source link

health records,blood pressure,blood pressure monitor,health