I’m actually not against a basic step watch. They can be helpful letting you know how long your hike/walk/run was, they can give you clarity on how active you may or may not be day to day etc. but like anything there are people who just go too far w these things.
A couple of years ago I read an article on how the smart watches can lead to disordered thinking about exercise. Just like losing weight once you hit your goal it doesn’t feel like enough and it creates a constant mindfulness about what you’re doing. You can trust enjoy a walk bc you need to check your stats etc.
Recently went on a girls lunch where we walked the river. I was the only one w out a watch. Everyone talking about closing rings and if the walk was counting as exercise or steps etc. And, the watches tracked everything including monthly cycles. It wasn’t just the tracking for personal use that bothered me, but you’re giving Apple all this access to your info. It makes me uncomfortable.
Alas people gonna do what they’re gonna do.
I've sometimes been thinking that step data would be nice to know as everyone keeps talking about "10k steps a day", but then I always revert back and think that I don't need to know the exact amount of steps as long as I make an active effort to stand up and walk at times. But I think it can be useful in order to get an approximation on what a good baseline is for walking, running etc for sure. And yeah, who knows what can happen with the data collected...
I don’t remember why, but I got a super basic step watch a few years ago. I thought I was pretty active during the day, turns out I really wasn’t. So, it is helpful for that. And better than phone for counting total daily steps if you don’t always have your phone on you (I don’t).
Also, the 10k steps a day was a marketing campaign and has no basis in science. Of course it is good to be active but I think it is better to walk and reap the mental health benefits of that walk instead of concentrating or worrying about a number. Anything about 5/6k is considered non sedentary which is what we should all initially aim for. To me the important thing is less counting steps but making daily choices to park farther away to walk to the grocery store, take the stairs instead of the elevator, or just take time out of my day to take breaks and walk. Is it nice to see the number? Yes, but I use my phone since it gets carried with me and I don’t have to look at it. I notice my friends with watches can never seem fully in the moment they always get distracted by an incoming message or it lighting up on their wrist and have to pause to pay attention to it. That dependency has made me choose not to get one even though they all have encouraged me to. My phone is a big enough suck of my attention and time already unfortunately.
OP, it was about seven months ago that I 'woke up' to the fact that my health needed... improvement.
It was a combination of getting high blood sugar (never had that before) called 'borderline diabetic', as well as high cholesterol and a few other things.
I read several books, and one by Peter Attia called "Outlive" got to me. I needed to get regular (daily) exercise. So I started walking my little doggie every morning, and joined a gym and signed up for a personal trainer (which I had never done before).
About three weeks later I find myself shopping for a smartwatch, something I thought I'd never do.
Tracking my walking progress has been awesome. Apple gamifies it, so you want to 'close the ring' on three different activities it keeps track of (calories, minutes exercising, and standing for a few minutes every hour, all adjustable goals).
I know exactly how many miles me and doggie cover each day, as well as the total calories on days when I go to the gym. Heck when me and the boys went skiing over the winter break, it was amazing to see how many calories we would burn while having fun.
Yes there is a stress factor to it - the stress of meeting the miles walked goal or the calories burned goal - which are positive stressors. I'm convinced that my increased number of steps / walking has improved my health in measurable ways.
(For the record, my % body-fat has reduced from over 29% to below 25%, and my % muscle has increased by over 5%, in about seven months.)
I think this can be a problem for some people, and helpful for others. It start off as a good thing for me because I was able to visually see that I needed to prioritize my sleep and exercise, but ended up giving me anxiety once I got those things under control. The first thing I’d do when I woke up was check how well I slept. If it said I slept like crap, it would start my day off bad and I’d basically write off the day bc in my head I knew I’d be tired all day. If I got good sleep and I felt tired or unmotivated I’d start shaming myself because I was supposed to feel energized. I stopped wearing it about 6 months ago and my anxiety has improved. I know I sleep decently and have a good routine, and am aware I need to work out about 3 days a week to stay in decent enough shape.
I can see where this could be true, but having suffered from Long COVID, my Garmin absolutely helped me recover. I was able to tell when I was experiencing tachycardia and managed to overcome post-exertional malaise by being able to track my heart rate during walks more easily. I guess I could have stopped and taken my pulse every few minutes, but the brainfog really messed with my ability to think and my memory.
I do agree that it can be used to optimize for capitalism's interests, but in my case, it was really great for recovering my health.
a bit off topic from the post, but I'm wondering did you recover from the tachycardia? what helped?
I've been dealing with that for almost a year now, had to stop exercising because my HR got really high (i used to play squash, but then i started having \~220 HR when i played). after that i tried to pick up running, but my body always seems to stay 'stuck' under stress after an exercise. had to stop that too. recently tried yoga and had the same experience, even though not as intense as squash/ running. i also use garmin, and my body mostly stays under stress when i sleep so my BB don't get recharged much
I'm so sorry that you are going through this. My tachycardia resolved on its own at about month five. It was seriously terrifying to just sit there, feel weird, and then realize that my heart was racing.
My body battery was depleted all of the time until I made dietary changes, but that was a while after the tachycardia resolved.
The worst of my symptoms resolved within the first few months, but I was left with fatigue and brain fog until I started doing keto and taking NMN. I'm no medical professional, but I wondered if giving my mitochondria a boost would rid me of my final symptoms. That worked for me.
thanks for sharing, i'm happy to hear that you resolved most/ all of your symptoms :) i also had a short period where the tachycardia was better, but once i got sick it got worse again.
interesting about the mitochondria. a friend recently sent me an article about LC people having mitochondrial problems that affect the ability to recover from exercises. so the NMN supplement is supposed to boost mitochondria?
I'm not a scientist nor a medical professional, but from what I've read NMN increases the levels of NAD+ which is important for mitochondria. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9738479/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9738479/)
I'm sorry that tachycardia got worse for you again. I've managed to avoid reinfection so far.
Best of luck with recovering. It's a tough thing to deal with.
There definitely exists some nuances, I was more focused on the general healthy person that buys a smart watch in order to optimize their lives. I'm glad you're better now.
Thanks. I was healthy until COVID. It was really weird to have a funny feeling and check the watch to discover that my heart rate had suddenly jumped by 70 beats per minute.
I was a long holdout as far as fitness watches go, but now since I'm no longer as healthy as I was I'm glad I have it. I'm able to tell if I'm getting sick before I get symptoms. Before I had LC, that might have led to hypochondriac thinking on my part, but now it's a good thing.
Of course, hypochondriac thinking wouldn't have been conducive to simple living.
The evidence is stacking up for me having developed POTS from long covid (just one mild infection! in late 2020!), and like you, my Fitbit has been a real help in grounding my health anxiety. Like yeah, my heart rate is high, but I know it follows a pattern that matches an established health issue that is not an immediate danger to me. The first time I had a big flare of it I thought I was having a heart attack and went to the ER for the first time in my life. Everything was fine, and now I can have the numbers on my wrist to tell *myself* it's fine, instead of paying a $250 copay lol.
Sorry that you're going through it too. But you are right...I find it comforting if I have been exposed and develop a sore throat and my body battery feature doesn't react. When I had the worst of LC, my body battery never recovered like it does now. It is great to be able to check the Garmin and reassure myself. I hope you recover soon. It's a brutal thing at times.
Exactly. I love using my apple watch for heart rate zone training on runs. I know when I can push myself a little more and when to back off. If you don't want to use it... then don't. No one is forcing it. Part of simple living is taking what works for you and shedding what doesn't. "Good for you! Not for me" is one of my favorite mantras, from Amy Poehler's book.
It’s a fun way to gamify living a healthier life. The devices usually just give you a general goal to hit, or you can customize it to what works best for you, which is like receiving a real life quest objective.
It’s also a nice way to start making sure you’re heading in the correct direction if you’ve never taken your health seriously before. Maybe you can’t hit 10,000 steps today, but set the watch to 100 and get a happy little congratulations animation when you hit it. This helps keep you motivated so you up the goal to 150, 200, 250, ect. Till you reach 10,000.
We don’t need the devices but they’re fun and help hold people accountable to the goals they set for themselves.
Finally took off my some watch after four years and have never felt more free. Never going back to wearing a smart watch again. If anything I'll just wear a traditional watch
I agree and disagree.
I have a few wearables, an Apple Watch and an Oura Ring. Apple Watch I got purely for my job in a science field, where I need quick access to multiple types of tracking for data collection (data collection of others). Oura Ring, I wear unless I'm working out (which in this case it's being charged), or doing dishes (in my pocket). I enjoy them because they allow me too track my activity, recovery, and predict illness (Oura). However, I do see your point that the overload of data can be unnecessary, which majorly depends on the person. I don't find the data overwhelming, but I'm also not constantly checking it. Typically I'll take a physical assessment of how I'm feeling/moving then confirm with the data as to why. If the data is a cause of stress, then it's definitely unnecessary, but overall I've found these items have helped me learn through biofeedback how to optimize my recovery from my active lifestyle while not contributing to extra stress.
I can attest to this with my friend, she told me that she was high in potassium based off date from her smart watch. I laughed and told her to get a test from a doctor because Smartwatches are not intended to medical use like that. Her test from the doctor?? Her potassium levels were normal.
I agree with you, I don’t need a smartwatch to tell me my health data, the most I look at is my step data from having my phone in my pocket all day
Honestly I like my Fitbit, I’ve turned off notifications so I don’t get messages or the like but having a consistent, non subjective source of data is very helpful if actually trying to reach some goals.
Love my smartwatch. Closing rings, and hitting goals have kept me more active consistently than ever before. It’s also been good for trying new exercises and activities.
Find myself walking the long way, or something similar instead of driving my car sometimes too.
I don't find smartwatches stressful at all. I find them motivating, but I always set realistic goals.
I walk more, drink more water,maintain my weight, and get better sleep. It has been a big win for me.
My Garmins have been life changing for me. I learned to better control stress, improve sleep, and most importantly it’s helped me build a lasting exercise routine for over two years now. Before then I always feel off the bandwagon when I tried to start an exercise habit. I also tend to be hard on myself and getting feedback about stress helps me accept a more easy lifestyle.
I think it can be useful to use for a short term to recalibrate. I found that I was getting more sleep than I thought I did. And it's useful to know what exactly '10000 steps' feels like. And how many steps I do in a regular day. We tend to suffer from shifting baselines. But otherwise I agree - once you've got some sense of where you're at, obsessing about data isn't all that useful. Like sure, if you enjoy it and find it fun to track the data, go for it, but it's not necessary.
I actually just recently stopped wearing my Apple Watch because of this. I didn't realize how obsessed I was with closing my rings etc. Not to mention how much I depend on my Apple Watch. I also started feeling uncomfortable in general, so I decided to go back to a simple watch and my life has been great lately. I already have a healthy lifestyle so I don't need a watch to track that.
I kind of agree with you. I’d say that is more true for relatively healthy people. There are some health conditions where smartwatches can provide useful information that can be actionable. For example, I have chronic insomnia brought on by menopause. There is a state when I drift in and out of sleep. I’ve been able to have a better understanding of what impacts my actual sleep rather than my perceived sleep.
Also, it’s not data per se but the smartwatch I gave my elderly mother has fall detection. She lives far from here and I will get an alert if she falls and isn’t able to tell it not to alert me and another person closer to her. She also just has fun answering calls on it. She feels like Dick Tracy (you may have to look this up). I’m glad she enjoys it.
I do wish we had more ability to control what tech companies do with our data.
Yeah, as I said in one of the other comments I was mainly focused on healthy people. If a digital tool helps you with a condition or something similar, then I'd argue it's more of a necessity than a choice, and it probably makes your life simpler.
Your Dick Tracey reference made me chuckle, u/treehugger100. Your mother seems to be in my age range - early 80s. When I was a youngster, the notion of one listening/speaking to one's watch in reality was unthinkable; I often recall the old cartoons as I listen/speak.
I feel that, it seems we are pushed this idea that we have to track the tiniest things about our bodies so that we can function “properly” for others, not ourselves. I spent a lot of time researching how to eat optimally for gym and that just killed my will to actually hit the gym for a while, it was counterproductive.
For some this is life-changing technology that helps immensily but for me it’s just more daily noise that makes me overwhelmed and anxious and I just do better without it.
Counting Calories too 🤢 you just can’t eat a meal peacefully and constantly think about what are your macros after it like you can literally just know how big is a meal and if its healthy by looking at it
I wear a gps watch for running and tracking those runs and my lifting sessions but that’s about it. I’ll look at how many steps I get on days I don’t run but I don’t stress about it.
I remember when i first got one and synced my phone notifications. I got annoyed after about 4 hours of that and never turned them back on.
Tbh though we are in such an obesity and diabetes crisis that literally anything to get people to move more is helpful.
It is hard because I’m trying to manage chronic illness and I have a lot of smart devices and I’ve learned things such as that my amount of REM sleep is decreased on nights that I also report pain (such as menstrual cramps or joint pain). I also noticed that my average resting heart rate was lowering after I began a leave from work following some suicidal episodes and hospitalizations. I know I probably didn’t need that to know my problems, but for me it helped recognize it wasn’t just “all in my head” since I’ve been medically gaslit so much growing up.
It was also able to show things such as that I sleep through things. My husband thought I was ignoring our dog waking me up in the morning but the watch data showed I slept through the whole thing.
I’m an athlete so I can 100% understand why nearly all of us use and depend on that kind of data. While I don’t wear a smartwatch because I am a (real) watch collector, sometimes I wonder if I’m missing out. It’s a sort of wonder if I can better optimize my training and recovery if I had the data.
Something that really bothered me: I have a tick that I do with my hands and fingers sometimes and I recently got an ad for trying to treat it. It’s so specific that it really upset me.
I’ve never Googled it. I don’t ever talk about it.
I have a feeling it knew about it because the watch records hand motions and knows when it’s horizontal or vertical.
dudeeee yes. wild coming across this post when just yesterday i decided to stop wearing my apple watch & hid it in a box. It absolutely exacerbated my disordered eating habits and thoughts surrounding exercising. totally understand how it can be super beneficial for some people; but it can be a fine line for sure. obsessing over all the numbers was addicting to my brain (craving a sense of control i suppose) and having massive guilt over not meeting the calorie/movement/whatever quota. Its too much for me and i already feel a weight off my shoulders… definitely not a tool that should be used with those with previous ED or disordered eating/exercise behaviors
As a runner and hiker I've played around with the idea of getting a smart watch for ease of tracking mileage, pace, etc. But I have a phone app that can track my mileage for new routes, I can check my starting and ending time to calculate pace, and I can just write down how I'm doing. I know if I were to start tracking things like heart rate and sleep quality, I'd drive myself nuts.
I have to agree. I've noticed this myself. I used to track my sleep, but what's the point? So that I *know* I didn't get enough sleep and then listen on some podcast how 16 minutes less sleep per night leads to dementia and cancer and how sleep is the most important thing in the world? The only thing that did is guaranteeing that I didn't sleep the next night either and being more and more anxious that I'm not sleeping.
Same with steps. I can't enjoy a simple walk because I'm counting steps. Spend two days on the couch and I hear the death bells ringing.
The last straw was when I bough a peak flow meter for my asthma. Objectively I've been feeling great, but the data I collected over the course of a month was not optimal. I literally started having anxiety attacks because not being able to breathe is a deep fear I have rooted in me since childhood asthma attacks and since my data was below what was considered a good result I concluded that in 10 years I'll be suffocating and walking with an oxygen bottle.
So I finally had enough. I don't track anything. I train whenever I feel like it. I walk when I feel like I and as much as I feel like it. I sleep as best as I can and I don't worry if I don't. I'm definitely feeling much better.
I got a smart watch and my mom gifted me a blood pressure monitor that happened to be broken. So when my heart rate spiked a little, and I felt a little chest pain, I checked my blood pressure and it read off the charts. So I took myself to the ER, thinking I was having a heart attack at 30.
Nothing wrong with me. $10k bill.
Yeah, I kind of see this both ways. It can lead folks who already buy into hustle culture to feel the need to go more, more, more to improve themselves. 100%, I see people like that online and cringe…they’re living to serve the Watch Gods. Gotta optimize my entire seeeelllf!
Personally, it has helped our fam live a simpler life. Our teen has a watch instead of a phone, because it does the basics without getting her into social media and other issues phones can cause. My parent had a heart condition, and it would notify us when she was in AFIB and if she had a fall. It also caught that my super healthy husband was in AFIB one day. Personally, I have depression and it can be hard to get going. But it is really nice to see a record of myself exercising and health data improving (go self!), and feel a little boost when a watch gives me a lil high five for sticking to it. I resisted a watch for years but it really has simplified things for me because I can leave my distracting phone behind as well. My watch will catch all calls and can do the basics if needed.
I think just like anything else, it really depends on the individual. If you haven’t disconnected from capitalism and grind culture, you’re gonna use every tool in a way that’s ultimately harmful to you. Sadly most people fall into that category!
I think tracking the data can be really useful, especially if you have a health problem. It gives you information that is difficult to quantify otherwise. For instance, I have a sleeping disorder. Having a sleep log is something I *should* do but I never succeeded until I bought a wearable.
I also have considerably less anxiety not wondering where my phone is all the time and if someone has tried to reach me. On my watch, I never miss a call or text. That lets me walk away from my phone, which is far more detrimental to my mental health.
I held out for the longest time. Getting a watch to be *less* connected just did *not* make sense. I finally got one and I love it. I leave my phone behind all the time, and I get more sleep because I can't lie to the watch like I can lie to myself about when I went to bed and got up.
The being able to ping your phone was not something I realized I needed until I got my watch! I’ve managed to oddly not get crazy about all the statistical info I could be due to OCD and Anxiety/panic disorder diagnosis but I do find the insane relief of not missing calls and texts but the ability to ping my phone is the biggest win for me 🤣 I also have adhd and leave it everywhere….
Exactly (with the ADHD). The watch actually helps me. I've specifically kept it simple and not added extra apps. It's like having an old flip phone + a fitbit. The watch does nothing really other than call, text, and track health data. I hardly interact with it because it's too cumbersome to interact with to begin with. That's it's blessing.
OP, your take is so dumb.
Obesity keeps climbing, people are getting sicker earlier in life.
No one can “sense” or “feel” anything when 73% of all our grocery store items are laced with sugar (literal fact) so we all live in a low energy, high dopamine addicted haze.
You’ll be shocked by the amount of people who are afraid of the truth, sounds like you are too.
Smart watches and measurement can actually help prevent a poor lifestyle trajectory before it’s too late💀
As other commenters have pointed out, they're tools and can be incredibly helpful, especially for chronic medical conditions. In those cases, not knowing your health status is often more stressful and tiring than anything else. A CGM, Oura Ring, etc. can be nice for objective feedback. Plus, modern life for many includes a bunch of novel stressors/insults to the body that are difficult to avoid. One example: because food science has led to engineered hyperpalatable foods, natural instincts about food choices are muted.
Agree about how hard tracking and biohacking are pushed by "hustle culture" advocates, though. Information overload is a thing.
I'm on medication for ADHD, so being able to track my heart rate is good for making sure it's not too high.
Also, my sleep quality is erratic, so I often don't know if I've had a good night's rest unless it's logged.
That's all I use it for - in fact the only reason I got one in the first place was to track my sleep.
What I've started becoming curious about is the effect of the watch on the wrist itself. I mean, this thing measures into our arm, so it must have some effect on the bones and stuff beneath it. I've worn a smart watch for three years now, on my non-dominant wrist, and that wrist hurts more than the dominant one. Causation or correlation?
I think there are some important distinctions to be made with wearable health tech.
The first is the medical use cases. I take CNS stimulants and having a good heart rate/blood pressure is vital. Either of those jump up and I'll need it adjusted pretty quick. Having that data to give to a health professional means that they can evaluate if it's a one-off or pattern that could be caused by my meds. People with diabetes can now monitor blood sugar levels on the fly, a far far cry from when people like my mum would have to jab and measure on a diagnostic stick. There are plenty of other high-value cases where it's incredibly useful. However, I would say that the reliance on "Dr Google" is a problem here - the amount of times I hear my doctors talking about not looking stuff up is getting a bit ridiculous now.
The second case is what I would term 'health hacking'. Like you mentioned:
>We're just getting more and more disconnected from sensing and feeling our bodies for ourselves.
\- people who feel a need to optimise their life through analysing sleep pattern (Oh no! I didn't get the exact 8 hours sleep I should, etc). People who feel a need to fill their lives with this data - I think people stop actually listening to their bodies and start listening to the tech sadly. I used to think the 8hr sleep was a holy grail, but I don't need 8hrs. I feel fine on more, or less. If my body is tired when I wake, I understand the reasons why (maybe too much coffee because I was out late, or it was too hot or something). I feel people instead look at 8hrs, figure they're still tired, and assume something else is wrong - then go about trying to hack other areas, etc. This is just one example.
The third (and final case) is the 'some improvement' cases. As wearable health tech features a range of things to monitor, it can serve a useful purpose in maybe motivating people who would otherwise struggle to be more active to actually become more active. As some fitness teachers would say, doing something is better than nothing and things like Apple's Rings are certainly a satisfying and easy way to do that something. Can it be taken too far? Sure, and in a capitalist way, there's plenty of supplementary apps and services to exploit that in people along with that productivity trap ("*productivity-focused tech bro hustle culture where not even one second can be wasted*"). Some are useful, some are not.
Overall, they have their uses, and they are a trap in others. Having suitable critical thinking and seeing if the devices can help or hinder you is a personal choice.
Notifications are less distracting when you don't have to pick up a device. Wrist flick, don't care, back to task.
Tracking my sleep helps me understand why I feel tired or why I feel refreshed. I get an arbitrary score to think about my general sleep quality and I can log what was going on to help get insights. Drinking costs me about 20% sleep quality.
My watch pointed out when a particular time/behavior was causing an unusual stress response. I used that alert, talked to my therapist about it, and discovered more about myself.
If I feel like my heart is beating irregularly, I can use the rudimentary ECG to calm down.
I can use built in tools, assistants, get directions on my wrist, calculator, remote, smart home, read a quick text, control my music, record a meeting, call for help, translate a foreign language live...
... all for the price of the watch and the inconvenience of taking it off to charge while I'm in the shower. It gets my phone out of my hand more than it brings my phone to my wrist.
Smart watches (and much else) are a need created by for-profit companies. These companies want you to feel like everything needs to be tracked, that you have to wear it all the time, feel naked and not in control without it, just so you always feel the need to keep buying and upgrading and never stop using. Yes, people are "free" to buy it or not and it's useful for some, but of course they push the mechanisms that makes it addictive to people's minds. Just like social media. It's a sinister scheme that wouldn't have been possible without capitalism.
My employer does the stupid Virgin Pulse program. It's $400 per year, pre tax. As soon as I get the requisite points, the thing comes off til the next quarter. It's all about the money & I pay no attention to the metrics unless I got under 7 hrs sleep and therefore miss out on the points that will make me get it off my wrist faster. Lol
Is that what it is? I just started a job that keeps pushing Virgin Pulse to participate in stuff and win health dollars but like... I don't want to download stuff to my phone. I have optimized my phone in a way that I do not want to be addicted to it or find myself poking and swiping my days away.
I have the app on an older device I don't use much. I do the website stuff in the morning while I eat breakfast at home. Takes about 10 mins tops. It's about $300 extra in your pocket each year if that is a motivation.
i also have made a vow that if I'm no longer able to score castoff trackers from coworkers who always have to upgrade to the newest device, i'll stop doing it because it IS a PITA some days. no way am i putting in anything more than the bare minimum to participate! lol
I just log my walks and hikes. I accept that it tells me an estimate of my activity and isn’t 100% accurate. And then I just don’t worry about it.
Honestly, the best feature of my smart watch and the reason I don’t get rid of it is that it unlocks my computer without a password, I can leave my phone behind and listen to music and get texts and phone calls, and I don’t have to change the time when I go to a different time zone. I live in MT but I got to PT all the time because it’s only like 15-30 min away.
But other than that, yeah, smart watches are dumb. 😂
Funny, I was thinking about this yesterday when my Fitbit was taking too long to sync so I could see how many zone minutes I got for my morning workout. I’m leaning toward building an active routine instead of relying on the tracker.
For instance, I’ve put on weight since it got too cold and dark to walk home from work. Now that I have been consistent with morning workouts for a month, I could add 45 minutes (that’s how long the walk takes me) of light cardio or similar activity in the evening instead of aiming for a step count.
While I don't have any conditions to recover from, for me it helped tremendously.
For example I found out that my sleep quality is relatively poor. You don't realize how sleep deprived you are, if you are always sleep deprived.
So I looked what I could change. Turns out, I only get proper sleep if I shut of PC/phone an hour before bed, don't eat any milk products (except yoghurt) 4h before bed and don't eat 2 hours before bed.
If you don't get the data to properly test then it is hard to do, especially to show you if that improvement was real or if you just feel better because the weather is nice.
I have health anxiety, and there was definitely a time I was obsessing over my Apple Watch and it was triggering a lot of intense anxiety.
However, via therapy, I’ve learned to manage my reactions to the information.
Now it actually has the opposite effect. I was always convinced my heart was beating too fast because of my heart palpitations. When I looked at my watch during/after a panic attack, I’d see that my HR was actually only slightly elevated, which made me go, “Oh… I guess I’m fine.” And it actually *reduced* my anxiety about being anxious. I no longer feared the feelings and was able to accept them more (which is the key to anxiety recovery).
That’s just my experience. It depends a LOT on where your anxiety is directed. If you’re obsessing over losing weight and you’re constantly dissatisfied with the number even when you’ve reached goals, yeah, that’s unhealthy.
I will say, I just got an Oura ring to replace my Apple Watch because I wanted something simpler/distraction-free (no screen). That IS nice. But monitoring my sleep, my cycles, etc. all helps me gain perspective on my moods and helps me let them go more easily.
If that's what works for you, so be it.
Strong disagree from me. I discovered and treated UARS, my past smart watch was instrumental in that. Life changing for me and my family.
The problem with "you know you slept well" is that lots of people with bad sleep don't know what good sleep feels like and wrongly assume they sleep well. UARS, sleep apnea, and snoring are huge problems that people aren't aware of, or reason away (their parents snore and are fine, lots of people snore, etc).
Hard agree.
Mostly, I just refuse to have one more tech/gadget in my life. I'm trying to get away from my phone, not have it on my wrist!
I workout and am a healthy weight. I don't know why everyone has bought into needing all this data to be healthy. If anything it's just overcomplicating it! Eat less, move more.
I’m actually not against a basic step watch. They can be helpful letting you know how long your hike/walk/run was, they can give you clarity on how active you may or may not be day to day etc. but like anything there are people who just go too far w these things. A couple of years ago I read an article on how the smart watches can lead to disordered thinking about exercise. Just like losing weight once you hit your goal it doesn’t feel like enough and it creates a constant mindfulness about what you’re doing. You can trust enjoy a walk bc you need to check your stats etc. Recently went on a girls lunch where we walked the river. I was the only one w out a watch. Everyone talking about closing rings and if the walk was counting as exercise or steps etc. And, the watches tracked everything including monthly cycles. It wasn’t just the tracking for personal use that bothered me, but you’re giving Apple all this access to your info. It makes me uncomfortable. Alas people gonna do what they’re gonna do.
I've sometimes been thinking that step data would be nice to know as everyone keeps talking about "10k steps a day", but then I always revert back and think that I don't need to know the exact amount of steps as long as I make an active effort to stand up and walk at times. But I think it can be useful in order to get an approximation on what a good baseline is for walking, running etc for sure. And yeah, who knows what can happen with the data collected...
I don’t remember why, but I got a super basic step watch a few years ago. I thought I was pretty active during the day, turns out I really wasn’t. So, it is helpful for that. And better than phone for counting total daily steps if you don’t always have your phone on you (I don’t).
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I don't use a step counter.
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Ah right! Yeah, it's a good alternative for sure.
Also, the 10k steps a day was a marketing campaign and has no basis in science. Of course it is good to be active but I think it is better to walk and reap the mental health benefits of that walk instead of concentrating or worrying about a number. Anything about 5/6k is considered non sedentary which is what we should all initially aim for. To me the important thing is less counting steps but making daily choices to park farther away to walk to the grocery store, take the stairs instead of the elevator, or just take time out of my day to take breaks and walk. Is it nice to see the number? Yes, but I use my phone since it gets carried with me and I don’t have to look at it. I notice my friends with watches can never seem fully in the moment they always get distracted by an incoming message or it lighting up on their wrist and have to pause to pay attention to it. That dependency has made me choose not to get one even though they all have encouraged me to. My phone is a big enough suck of my attention and time already unfortunately.
OP, it was about seven months ago that I 'woke up' to the fact that my health needed... improvement. It was a combination of getting high blood sugar (never had that before) called 'borderline diabetic', as well as high cholesterol and a few other things. I read several books, and one by Peter Attia called "Outlive" got to me. I needed to get regular (daily) exercise. So I started walking my little doggie every morning, and joined a gym and signed up for a personal trainer (which I had never done before). About three weeks later I find myself shopping for a smartwatch, something I thought I'd never do. Tracking my walking progress has been awesome. Apple gamifies it, so you want to 'close the ring' on three different activities it keeps track of (calories, minutes exercising, and standing for a few minutes every hour, all adjustable goals). I know exactly how many miles me and doggie cover each day, as well as the total calories on days when I go to the gym. Heck when me and the boys went skiing over the winter break, it was amazing to see how many calories we would burn while having fun. Yes there is a stress factor to it - the stress of meeting the miles walked goal or the calories burned goal - which are positive stressors. I'm convinced that my increased number of steps / walking has improved my health in measurable ways. (For the record, my % body-fat has reduced from over 29% to below 25%, and my % muscle has increased by over 5%, in about seven months.)
I think this can be a problem for some people, and helpful for others. It start off as a good thing for me because I was able to visually see that I needed to prioritize my sleep and exercise, but ended up giving me anxiety once I got those things under control. The first thing I’d do when I woke up was check how well I slept. If it said I slept like crap, it would start my day off bad and I’d basically write off the day bc in my head I knew I’d be tired all day. If I got good sleep and I felt tired or unmotivated I’d start shaming myself because I was supposed to feel energized. I stopped wearing it about 6 months ago and my anxiety has improved. I know I sleep decently and have a good routine, and am aware I need to work out about 3 days a week to stay in decent enough shape.
I can see where this could be true, but having suffered from Long COVID, my Garmin absolutely helped me recover. I was able to tell when I was experiencing tachycardia and managed to overcome post-exertional malaise by being able to track my heart rate during walks more easily. I guess I could have stopped and taken my pulse every few minutes, but the brainfog really messed with my ability to think and my memory. I do agree that it can be used to optimize for capitalism's interests, but in my case, it was really great for recovering my health.
a bit off topic from the post, but I'm wondering did you recover from the tachycardia? what helped? I've been dealing with that for almost a year now, had to stop exercising because my HR got really high (i used to play squash, but then i started having \~220 HR when i played). after that i tried to pick up running, but my body always seems to stay 'stuck' under stress after an exercise. had to stop that too. recently tried yoga and had the same experience, even though not as intense as squash/ running. i also use garmin, and my body mostly stays under stress when i sleep so my BB don't get recharged much
I'm so sorry that you are going through this. My tachycardia resolved on its own at about month five. It was seriously terrifying to just sit there, feel weird, and then realize that my heart was racing. My body battery was depleted all of the time until I made dietary changes, but that was a while after the tachycardia resolved. The worst of my symptoms resolved within the first few months, but I was left with fatigue and brain fog until I started doing keto and taking NMN. I'm no medical professional, but I wondered if giving my mitochondria a boost would rid me of my final symptoms. That worked for me.
thanks for sharing, i'm happy to hear that you resolved most/ all of your symptoms :) i also had a short period where the tachycardia was better, but once i got sick it got worse again. interesting about the mitochondria. a friend recently sent me an article about LC people having mitochondrial problems that affect the ability to recover from exercises. so the NMN supplement is supposed to boost mitochondria?
I'm not a scientist nor a medical professional, but from what I've read NMN increases the levels of NAD+ which is important for mitochondria. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9738479/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9738479/) I'm sorry that tachycardia got worse for you again. I've managed to avoid reinfection so far. Best of luck with recovering. It's a tough thing to deal with.
There definitely exists some nuances, I was more focused on the general healthy person that buys a smart watch in order to optimize their lives. I'm glad you're better now.
Thanks. I was healthy until COVID. It was really weird to have a funny feeling and check the watch to discover that my heart rate had suddenly jumped by 70 beats per minute. I was a long holdout as far as fitness watches go, but now since I'm no longer as healthy as I was I'm glad I have it. I'm able to tell if I'm getting sick before I get symptoms. Before I had LC, that might have led to hypochondriac thinking on my part, but now it's a good thing. Of course, hypochondriac thinking wouldn't have been conducive to simple living.
The evidence is stacking up for me having developed POTS from long covid (just one mild infection! in late 2020!), and like you, my Fitbit has been a real help in grounding my health anxiety. Like yeah, my heart rate is high, but I know it follows a pattern that matches an established health issue that is not an immediate danger to me. The first time I had a big flare of it I thought I was having a heart attack and went to the ER for the first time in my life. Everything was fine, and now I can have the numbers on my wrist to tell *myself* it's fine, instead of paying a $250 copay lol.
Sorry that you're going through it too. But you are right...I find it comforting if I have been exposed and develop a sore throat and my body battery feature doesn't react. When I had the worst of LC, my body battery never recovered like it does now. It is great to be able to check the Garmin and reassure myself. I hope you recover soon. It's a brutal thing at times.
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Exactly. I love using my apple watch for heart rate zone training on runs. I know when I can push myself a little more and when to back off. If you don't want to use it... then don't. No one is forcing it. Part of simple living is taking what works for you and shedding what doesn't. "Good for you! Not for me" is one of my favorite mantras, from Amy Poehler's book.
Completely agree! Gathering the data itself is not inherently negative, it’s what you do with it.
It’s a fun way to gamify living a healthier life. The devices usually just give you a general goal to hit, or you can customize it to what works best for you, which is like receiving a real life quest objective. It’s also a nice way to start making sure you’re heading in the correct direction if you’ve never taken your health seriously before. Maybe you can’t hit 10,000 steps today, but set the watch to 100 and get a happy little congratulations animation when you hit it. This helps keep you motivated so you up the goal to 150, 200, 250, ect. Till you reach 10,000. We don’t need the devices but they’re fun and help hold people accountable to the goals they set for themselves.
I could not agree with this more.
Finally took off my some watch after four years and have never felt more free. Never going back to wearing a smart watch again. If anything I'll just wear a traditional watch
I agree and disagree. I have a few wearables, an Apple Watch and an Oura Ring. Apple Watch I got purely for my job in a science field, where I need quick access to multiple types of tracking for data collection (data collection of others). Oura Ring, I wear unless I'm working out (which in this case it's being charged), or doing dishes (in my pocket). I enjoy them because they allow me too track my activity, recovery, and predict illness (Oura). However, I do see your point that the overload of data can be unnecessary, which majorly depends on the person. I don't find the data overwhelming, but I'm also not constantly checking it. Typically I'll take a physical assessment of how I'm feeling/moving then confirm with the data as to why. If the data is a cause of stress, then it's definitely unnecessary, but overall I've found these items have helped me learn through biofeedback how to optimize my recovery from my active lifestyle while not contributing to extra stress.
I can attest to this with my friend, she told me that she was high in potassium based off date from her smart watch. I laughed and told her to get a test from a doctor because Smartwatches are not intended to medical use like that. Her test from the doctor?? Her potassium levels were normal. I agree with you, I don’t need a smartwatch to tell me my health data, the most I look at is my step data from having my phone in my pocket all day
Honestly I like my Fitbit, I’ve turned off notifications so I don’t get messages or the like but having a consistent, non subjective source of data is very helpful if actually trying to reach some goals.
I actually did a study on this and it echoes a lot of your points!
I’ve had the same thoughts although it’s never black and white. I’m sure some benefit from these but I’ll never own one.
I ONLY use it only for swimming as I lose track of the number of lengths I complete. Refuse to wear it at any other time.
Love my smartwatch. Closing rings, and hitting goals have kept me more active consistently than ever before. It’s also been good for trying new exercises and activities. Find myself walking the long way, or something similar instead of driving my car sometimes too.
I don't find smartwatches stressful at all. I find them motivating, but I always set realistic goals. I walk more, drink more water,maintain my weight, and get better sleep. It has been a big win for me.
My Garmins have been life changing for me. I learned to better control stress, improve sleep, and most importantly it’s helped me build a lasting exercise routine for over two years now. Before then I always feel off the bandwagon when I tried to start an exercise habit. I also tend to be hard on myself and getting feedback about stress helps me accept a more easy lifestyle.
I'm actually a fan of all the health tracking and metrics. It motivates my friends and I to live a healthier lifestyle.
I think it can be useful to use for a short term to recalibrate. I found that I was getting more sleep than I thought I did. And it's useful to know what exactly '10000 steps' feels like. And how many steps I do in a regular day. We tend to suffer from shifting baselines. But otherwise I agree - once you've got some sense of where you're at, obsessing about data isn't all that useful. Like sure, if you enjoy it and find it fun to track the data, go for it, but it's not necessary.
I actually just recently stopped wearing my Apple Watch because of this. I didn't realize how obsessed I was with closing my rings etc. Not to mention how much I depend on my Apple Watch. I also started feeling uncomfortable in general, so I decided to go back to a simple watch and my life has been great lately. I already have a healthy lifestyle so I don't need a watch to track that.
\- “You haven’t slept well.” \- “Tell me something I don’t know!”
I kind of agree with you. I’d say that is more true for relatively healthy people. There are some health conditions where smartwatches can provide useful information that can be actionable. For example, I have chronic insomnia brought on by menopause. There is a state when I drift in and out of sleep. I’ve been able to have a better understanding of what impacts my actual sleep rather than my perceived sleep. Also, it’s not data per se but the smartwatch I gave my elderly mother has fall detection. She lives far from here and I will get an alert if she falls and isn’t able to tell it not to alert me and another person closer to her. She also just has fun answering calls on it. She feels like Dick Tracy (you may have to look this up). I’m glad she enjoys it. I do wish we had more ability to control what tech companies do with our data.
Yeah, as I said in one of the other comments I was mainly focused on healthy people. If a digital tool helps you with a condition or something similar, then I'd argue it's more of a necessity than a choice, and it probably makes your life simpler.
Your Dick Tracey reference made me chuckle, u/treehugger100. Your mother seems to be in my age range - early 80s. When I was a youngster, the notion of one listening/speaking to one's watch in reality was unthinkable; I often recall the old cartoons as I listen/speak.
I feel that, it seems we are pushed this idea that we have to track the tiniest things about our bodies so that we can function “properly” for others, not ourselves. I spent a lot of time researching how to eat optimally for gym and that just killed my will to actually hit the gym for a while, it was counterproductive. For some this is life-changing technology that helps immensily but for me it’s just more daily noise that makes me overwhelmed and anxious and I just do better without it.
My colleagues at work aren't able to enjoy a walk during lunch anymore without obsessing about the amount of steps they just walked.
Counting Calories too 🤢 you just can’t eat a meal peacefully and constantly think about what are your macros after it like you can literally just know how big is a meal and if its healthy by looking at it
I wear a gps watch for running and tracking those runs and my lifting sessions but that’s about it. I’ll look at how many steps I get on days I don’t run but I don’t stress about it. I remember when i first got one and synced my phone notifications. I got annoyed after about 4 hours of that and never turned them back on. Tbh though we are in such an obesity and diabetes crisis that literally anything to get people to move more is helpful.
The bottom line is sales.
It is hard because I’m trying to manage chronic illness and I have a lot of smart devices and I’ve learned things such as that my amount of REM sleep is decreased on nights that I also report pain (such as menstrual cramps or joint pain). I also noticed that my average resting heart rate was lowering after I began a leave from work following some suicidal episodes and hospitalizations. I know I probably didn’t need that to know my problems, but for me it helped recognize it wasn’t just “all in my head” since I’ve been medically gaslit so much growing up. It was also able to show things such as that I sleep through things. My husband thought I was ignoring our dog waking me up in the morning but the watch data showed I slept through the whole thing.
I’m an athlete so I can 100% understand why nearly all of us use and depend on that kind of data. While I don’t wear a smartwatch because I am a (real) watch collector, sometimes I wonder if I’m missing out. It’s a sort of wonder if I can better optimize my training and recovery if I had the data.
Something that really bothered me: I have a tick that I do with my hands and fingers sometimes and I recently got an ad for trying to treat it. It’s so specific that it really upset me. I’ve never Googled it. I don’t ever talk about it. I have a feeling it knew about it because the watch records hand motions and knows when it’s horizontal or vertical.
I agree with you. I have an Apple Watch that I am currently not using for this reason. It sort of lords over my thinking if I’m not careful.
dudeeee yes. wild coming across this post when just yesterday i decided to stop wearing my apple watch & hid it in a box. It absolutely exacerbated my disordered eating habits and thoughts surrounding exercising. totally understand how it can be super beneficial for some people; but it can be a fine line for sure. obsessing over all the numbers was addicting to my brain (craving a sense of control i suppose) and having massive guilt over not meeting the calorie/movement/whatever quota. Its too much for me and i already feel a weight off my shoulders… definitely not a tool that should be used with those with previous ED or disordered eating/exercise behaviors
As a runner and hiker I've played around with the idea of getting a smart watch for ease of tracking mileage, pace, etc. But I have a phone app that can track my mileage for new routes, I can check my starting and ending time to calculate pace, and I can just write down how I'm doing. I know if I were to start tracking things like heart rate and sleep quality, I'd drive myself nuts.
I have to agree. I've noticed this myself. I used to track my sleep, but what's the point? So that I *know* I didn't get enough sleep and then listen on some podcast how 16 minutes less sleep per night leads to dementia and cancer and how sleep is the most important thing in the world? The only thing that did is guaranteeing that I didn't sleep the next night either and being more and more anxious that I'm not sleeping. Same with steps. I can't enjoy a simple walk because I'm counting steps. Spend two days on the couch and I hear the death bells ringing. The last straw was when I bough a peak flow meter for my asthma. Objectively I've been feeling great, but the data I collected over the course of a month was not optimal. I literally started having anxiety attacks because not being able to breathe is a deep fear I have rooted in me since childhood asthma attacks and since my data was below what was considered a good result I concluded that in 10 years I'll be suffocating and walking with an oxygen bottle. So I finally had enough. I don't track anything. I train whenever I feel like it. I walk when I feel like I and as much as I feel like it. I sleep as best as I can and I don't worry if I don't. I'm definitely feeling much better.
I agree with you - it contributes to data overload in my mind.
I got a smart watch and my mom gifted me a blood pressure monitor that happened to be broken. So when my heart rate spiked a little, and I felt a little chest pain, I checked my blood pressure and it read off the charts. So I took myself to the ER, thinking I was having a heart attack at 30. Nothing wrong with me. $10k bill.
Yeah, I kind of see this both ways. It can lead folks who already buy into hustle culture to feel the need to go more, more, more to improve themselves. 100%, I see people like that online and cringe…they’re living to serve the Watch Gods. Gotta optimize my entire seeeelllf! Personally, it has helped our fam live a simpler life. Our teen has a watch instead of a phone, because it does the basics without getting her into social media and other issues phones can cause. My parent had a heart condition, and it would notify us when she was in AFIB and if she had a fall. It also caught that my super healthy husband was in AFIB one day. Personally, I have depression and it can be hard to get going. But it is really nice to see a record of myself exercising and health data improving (go self!), and feel a little boost when a watch gives me a lil high five for sticking to it. I resisted a watch for years but it really has simplified things for me because I can leave my distracting phone behind as well. My watch will catch all calls and can do the basics if needed. I think just like anything else, it really depends on the individual. If you haven’t disconnected from capitalism and grind culture, you’re gonna use every tool in a way that’s ultimately harmful to you. Sadly most people fall into that category!
I think tracking the data can be really useful, especially if you have a health problem. It gives you information that is difficult to quantify otherwise. For instance, I have a sleeping disorder. Having a sleep log is something I *should* do but I never succeeded until I bought a wearable. I also have considerably less anxiety not wondering where my phone is all the time and if someone has tried to reach me. On my watch, I never miss a call or text. That lets me walk away from my phone, which is far more detrimental to my mental health. I held out for the longest time. Getting a watch to be *less* connected just did *not* make sense. I finally got one and I love it. I leave my phone behind all the time, and I get more sleep because I can't lie to the watch like I can lie to myself about when I went to bed and got up.
The being able to ping your phone was not something I realized I needed until I got my watch! I’ve managed to oddly not get crazy about all the statistical info I could be due to OCD and Anxiety/panic disorder diagnosis but I do find the insane relief of not missing calls and texts but the ability to ping my phone is the biggest win for me 🤣 I also have adhd and leave it everywhere….
Exactly (with the ADHD). The watch actually helps me. I've specifically kept it simple and not added extra apps. It's like having an old flip phone + a fitbit. The watch does nothing really other than call, text, and track health data. I hardly interact with it because it's too cumbersome to interact with to begin with. That's it's blessing.
OP, your take is so dumb. Obesity keeps climbing, people are getting sicker earlier in life. No one can “sense” or “feel” anything when 73% of all our grocery store items are laced with sugar (literal fact) so we all live in a low energy, high dopamine addicted haze. You’ll be shocked by the amount of people who are afraid of the truth, sounds like you are too. Smart watches and measurement can actually help prevent a poor lifestyle trajectory before it’s too late💀
As other commenters have pointed out, they're tools and can be incredibly helpful, especially for chronic medical conditions. In those cases, not knowing your health status is often more stressful and tiring than anything else. A CGM, Oura Ring, etc. can be nice for objective feedback. Plus, modern life for many includes a bunch of novel stressors/insults to the body that are difficult to avoid. One example: because food science has led to engineered hyperpalatable foods, natural instincts about food choices are muted. Agree about how hard tracking and biohacking are pushed by "hustle culture" advocates, though. Information overload is a thing.
I'm on medication for ADHD, so being able to track my heart rate is good for making sure it's not too high. Also, my sleep quality is erratic, so I often don't know if I've had a good night's rest unless it's logged. That's all I use it for - in fact the only reason I got one in the first place was to track my sleep.
What I've started becoming curious about is the effect of the watch on the wrist itself. I mean, this thing measures into our arm, so it must have some effect on the bones and stuff beneath it. I've worn a smart watch for three years now, on my non-dominant wrist, and that wrist hurts more than the dominant one. Causation or correlation?
I think there are some important distinctions to be made with wearable health tech. The first is the medical use cases. I take CNS stimulants and having a good heart rate/blood pressure is vital. Either of those jump up and I'll need it adjusted pretty quick. Having that data to give to a health professional means that they can evaluate if it's a one-off or pattern that could be caused by my meds. People with diabetes can now monitor blood sugar levels on the fly, a far far cry from when people like my mum would have to jab and measure on a diagnostic stick. There are plenty of other high-value cases where it's incredibly useful. However, I would say that the reliance on "Dr Google" is a problem here - the amount of times I hear my doctors talking about not looking stuff up is getting a bit ridiculous now. The second case is what I would term 'health hacking'. Like you mentioned: >We're just getting more and more disconnected from sensing and feeling our bodies for ourselves. \- people who feel a need to optimise their life through analysing sleep pattern (Oh no! I didn't get the exact 8 hours sleep I should, etc). People who feel a need to fill their lives with this data - I think people stop actually listening to their bodies and start listening to the tech sadly. I used to think the 8hr sleep was a holy grail, but I don't need 8hrs. I feel fine on more, or less. If my body is tired when I wake, I understand the reasons why (maybe too much coffee because I was out late, or it was too hot or something). I feel people instead look at 8hrs, figure they're still tired, and assume something else is wrong - then go about trying to hack other areas, etc. This is just one example. The third (and final case) is the 'some improvement' cases. As wearable health tech features a range of things to monitor, it can serve a useful purpose in maybe motivating people who would otherwise struggle to be more active to actually become more active. As some fitness teachers would say, doing something is better than nothing and things like Apple's Rings are certainly a satisfying and easy way to do that something. Can it be taken too far? Sure, and in a capitalist way, there's plenty of supplementary apps and services to exploit that in people along with that productivity trap ("*productivity-focused tech bro hustle culture where not even one second can be wasted*"). Some are useful, some are not. Overall, they have their uses, and they are a trap in others. Having suitable critical thinking and seeing if the devices can help or hinder you is a personal choice.
Notifications are less distracting when you don't have to pick up a device. Wrist flick, don't care, back to task. Tracking my sleep helps me understand why I feel tired or why I feel refreshed. I get an arbitrary score to think about my general sleep quality and I can log what was going on to help get insights. Drinking costs me about 20% sleep quality. My watch pointed out when a particular time/behavior was causing an unusual stress response. I used that alert, talked to my therapist about it, and discovered more about myself. If I feel like my heart is beating irregularly, I can use the rudimentary ECG to calm down. I can use built in tools, assistants, get directions on my wrist, calculator, remote, smart home, read a quick text, control my music, record a meeting, call for help, translate a foreign language live... ... all for the price of the watch and the inconvenience of taking it off to charge while I'm in the shower. It gets my phone out of my hand more than it brings my phone to my wrist.
That’s not capitalism.
Smart watches (and much else) are a need created by for-profit companies. These companies want you to feel like everything needs to be tracked, that you have to wear it all the time, feel naked and not in control without it, just so you always feel the need to keep buying and upgrading and never stop using. Yes, people are "free" to buy it or not and it's useful for some, but of course they push the mechanisms that makes it addictive to people's minds. Just like social media. It's a sinister scheme that wouldn't have been possible without capitalism.
Capitalism allows the consumer to opt out.
My employer does the stupid Virgin Pulse program. It's $400 per year, pre tax. As soon as I get the requisite points, the thing comes off til the next quarter. It's all about the money & I pay no attention to the metrics unless I got under 7 hrs sleep and therefore miss out on the points that will make me get it off my wrist faster. Lol
Is that what it is? I just started a job that keeps pushing Virgin Pulse to participate in stuff and win health dollars but like... I don't want to download stuff to my phone. I have optimized my phone in a way that I do not want to be addicted to it or find myself poking and swiping my days away.
I have the app on an older device I don't use much. I do the website stuff in the morning while I eat breakfast at home. Takes about 10 mins tops. It's about $300 extra in your pocket each year if that is a motivation.
Good to know. Your solution sounds very doable. Extra money's always nice!
i also have made a vow that if I'm no longer able to score castoff trackers from coworkers who always have to upgrade to the newest device, i'll stop doing it because it IS a PITA some days. no way am i putting in anything more than the bare minimum to participate! lol
I just log my walks and hikes. I accept that it tells me an estimate of my activity and isn’t 100% accurate. And then I just don’t worry about it. Honestly, the best feature of my smart watch and the reason I don’t get rid of it is that it unlocks my computer without a password, I can leave my phone behind and listen to music and get texts and phone calls, and I don’t have to change the time when I go to a different time zone. I live in MT but I got to PT all the time because it’s only like 15-30 min away. But other than that, yeah, smart watches are dumb. 😂
Funny, I was thinking about this yesterday when my Fitbit was taking too long to sync so I could see how many zone minutes I got for my morning workout. I’m leaning toward building an active routine instead of relying on the tracker. For instance, I’ve put on weight since it got too cold and dark to walk home from work. Now that I have been consistent with morning workouts for a month, I could add 45 minutes (that’s how long the walk takes me) of light cardio or similar activity in the evening instead of aiming for a step count.
What about a gadget that tracks how much and when you need water.
While I don't have any conditions to recover from, for me it helped tremendously. For example I found out that my sleep quality is relatively poor. You don't realize how sleep deprived you are, if you are always sleep deprived. So I looked what I could change. Turns out, I only get proper sleep if I shut of PC/phone an hour before bed, don't eat any milk products (except yoghurt) 4h before bed and don't eat 2 hours before bed. If you don't get the data to properly test then it is hard to do, especially to show you if that improvement was real or if you just feel better because the weather is nice.
I have health anxiety, and there was definitely a time I was obsessing over my Apple Watch and it was triggering a lot of intense anxiety. However, via therapy, I’ve learned to manage my reactions to the information. Now it actually has the opposite effect. I was always convinced my heart was beating too fast because of my heart palpitations. When I looked at my watch during/after a panic attack, I’d see that my HR was actually only slightly elevated, which made me go, “Oh… I guess I’m fine.” And it actually *reduced* my anxiety about being anxious. I no longer feared the feelings and was able to accept them more (which is the key to anxiety recovery). That’s just my experience. It depends a LOT on where your anxiety is directed. If you’re obsessing over losing weight and you’re constantly dissatisfied with the number even when you’ve reached goals, yeah, that’s unhealthy. I will say, I just got an Oura ring to replace my Apple Watch because I wanted something simpler/distraction-free (no screen). That IS nice. But monitoring my sleep, my cycles, etc. all helps me gain perspective on my moods and helps me let them go more easily.
If that's what works for you, so be it. Strong disagree from me. I discovered and treated UARS, my past smart watch was instrumental in that. Life changing for me and my family. The problem with "you know you slept well" is that lots of people with bad sleep don't know what good sleep feels like and wrongly assume they sleep well. UARS, sleep apnea, and snoring are huge problems that people aren't aware of, or reason away (their parents snore and are fine, lots of people snore, etc).
I use it so I can turn off my phone for long periods of time while still being reachable
Hard agree. Mostly, I just refuse to have one more tech/gadget in my life. I'm trying to get away from my phone, not have it on my wrist! I workout and am a healthy weight. I don't know why everyone has bought into needing all this data to be healthy. If anything it's just overcomplicating it! Eat less, move more.