If you’re looking to improve your health this year, you may be considering different options to help keep track of your fitness goals.
You’re not alone: about one in five Australians owns wearable fitness trackers
But with different options for tracking things like step count, heart rate, and even water intake, it can be overwhelming, especially those notifications telling you to move after a big day.
So how can you make these devices work for you?
The potential benefits of a smart watch
Reports show our physical activity decreases as we age But that’s where a smartwatch can help, says Professor Carol Maher, who researches the positive health impacts of wearable technology.
“The number one benefit of wearing them is being aware of how much physical activity you’re getting each day,” she says.
in a studythe smartwatches helped participants (ages 18 to 65) increase their daily step count by 1,850 steps per day.
“It’s particularly helpful for people who are working from home right now and who might miss out on ‘incidental’ physical activity, like walking to the cafeteria,” says Ms Maher.
another studio encountered with frequent use over a long period of time (5 to 7 months), smart watches have become a good tool to help make exercise a lasting habit.
What can a smart watch measure?
Most smartwatches can do the basics for you, like monitor your heart rate, sleep patterns, and steps. They also have more advanced features like GPS tracking for outdoor running to monitor blood oxygen level.
It sounds useful, but the reality is that you probably don’t need all of these features, so exercise physiologist Jonathan Peake says save some money by thinking about why you want a smartwatch and how you’re going to use it.
“There are three basic functions that would help most people reach their health or fitness goals and they are: step counting to measure physical activity, calorie count estimation and heart rate measurement,” he says.
If you exercise rigorously, such as running or weight training, several times a week, monitoring your heart rate might be more beneficial to you.
“Monitoring your resting heart rate when you wake up can be a helpful tool. If it’s higher than normal over a period of a few days, this could indicate that the body is stressed and needs to relax or sleep more,” says Dr. Peake. Explain.
If you think a heart rate monitor will be usefultrack your stats over time and if your resting heart rate drops, that’s a good sign you’re improving your cardiovascular endurance.
But in general, Dr. Peake says to “start with something basic and use it for a year or two and see how much you get before you make a big investment.”
Using your data as a guide
Before we dive into the smartwatch data, it’s important to note that these numbers can sometimes be inaccurate, so it’s best to use them as a guide, says Dr. Peake.
“People need to be aware that wearing a smartwatch on the wrist doesn’t always provide the best indication of whole-body movement,” he says.
Ms. Maher adds that “accuracy also varies from model to model and from the metrics used.”
“They tend to be good for step counting, but less accurate when it comes to measuring calories burned.”
An example of this is yoga: You may be sweating because it’s a strenuous activity, but your smartwatch may not detect it because you’re in a stable position and not moving vigorously, says Ms. Maher.
Sleep monitoring is another feature that has some gaps.
“We know that sleep duration, such as bedtime and wake time, is reasonably accurate, but for other stages of sleep such as REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and non-REM sleep is not good,” says Ms. Maher.
Setting health and fitness goals
How do you use your data without obsessing or feeling guilty?
Ms. Maher says she could try setting realistic goals and using her smartwatch to keep herself accountable.
“In our research, we found that it is a positive tool when used on a daily basis because you are aware of how much physical activity you are doing and hopefully it motivates you to reach your daily goal,” he says.
At the same time, Ms. Maher says to make sure your watch works for you, not the other way around.
“The clocks come with customizable targets that are ‘assumed’ targets, so if you find that’s too much, adjust them.”
“Everyone responds differently to comments. For one person it can be motivating and for another it can be demotivating, so it’s about finding what works for you and turning off notifications if it’s too much,” she says.
Constant notifications can be annoying at times and reports found that this was the reason some people stopped using their watch.
If that’s you, says Dr. Peake, continue to wear your watch but use your data differently.
“Track it over time and don’t get too bogged down with day-to-day data,” says Dr. Peake.
“It’s the trends over time, like on a weekly or monthly basis, that will provide the most value for people.”
Another piece of advice Dr. Peake suggests: Don’t compare yourself to other people.
“The benefit doesn’t come from comparing your numbers to some objective goal, family or friends. The real benefit comes from comparing your own data over time,” he says.
It’s always important to remember, no matter what your watch says, if you’re feeling tired, take that as a signal from your body that it’s time to rest.
“Sleep and knowing when to rest is a very important aspect of our health.”
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