A Note on Wearable Tech
We live in an environment bombarded by information.
Our 24/7 news cycle includes everything from world events to your own personal push notifications. Due to the skyrocketing popularity of wearable technology, this information also includes your own data library of fitness information. While the main intent of fitness trackers is to help motivate movement, increase activity levels, and aid in progressive training, some users may find themselves overly anxious or reliant on this information.
While fitness data seduction is a possibility, there are realistic ways to use your desired wearable fitness tracker to help optimize your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. These five reminders for your fitness tracker may help keep your goals and purpose for wearing them in mind:
KNOW THE DATA YOU NEED, IGNORE THE REST
BE AWARE OF YOUR CONFIRMATION BIAS
LISTEN TO YOUR BODY
KNOW WHEN TO TAKE A BREAK
BE PROUD OF YOURSELF
1. KNOW THE DATA YOU NEED, IGNORE THE REST
Just like ‘remembering your why’ for any fitness journey, it’s important to remember why you are using your fitness tracker. Do you want to hold yourself accountable for sleep? Do you want to make sure you get a certain number of steps daily? Are you focused on sticking to your training plan? Whatever the main reason is for your wearable device, remember this and try not to get distracted by the superlative information that’s included or may distract you from your purpose.
2. BE AWARE OF YOUR CONFIRMATION BIAS
What we’re told to be true, is true, without question. This is most important to remember if you are focused on your recovery data. Devices such as the Whoop, Garmin, Oura ring, Fitbit, Apple Watch, and others focus on recovery data and analyze your sleep patterns. Based on various testing agents throughout the night, these trackers will give you recovery data that helps gauge your physical and mental clarity for the coming day.
This is a great insight, but remember that it is not FINAL.
While the data provided may be physiologically correct there is still a margin of error, and these devices can’t ‘feel’ what it’s like to be human. This is why it’s important to remember that sometimes you may feel great, but your app could say you’re 10% recovered. Remember that you don’t need to listen to your wearable to dictate how you plan your day or your training. It is still supplemental information that can be applied as you choose. Don’t simply write a day off if your body (and mind) actually feels great. The inverse is also true. If your fitness tracker says you’re completely recovered but something feels ‘off’ it’s important to listen to your body- the qualitative data, and not just the wearable’s quantitative data.
3. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY
This element is similar to #2 but still needs its own explanation. In a world of trackable and unified information, it can be tempting to listen to the data over everything. But just as intuitive eating is an important element of food and nutrition tracking, intuitive training and action is just as important. We use wearable technology to help add to our fitness journey- not to define it. Remember that your body and your mind are also powerful tools once you understand how to use them.
4. KNOW WHEN TO TAKE A BREAK
It’s ok to remove your wearable sometimes. If you find yourself overly reliant on your data, or are simply unmotivated and feel that your fitness tracker is contributing to it- take a break! Just like our appliances need time to recharge, we do too.
5. BE PROUD OF YOURSELF
Honoring your personal journey is an important step in building consistency for your fitness journey and to help achieve your goals. An additional benefit of most fitness trackers includes extrinsic recognition that may help motivate you.
A 2015 study of women’s use of fitness trackers by Duke University found that 88% of women believed it was important to quantify their daily activities, and 84% checked their progress dashboard more than twice a day to receive gratifying "hooray" and "champ" messages upon reaching their targets.
There is no shame in utilizing the gratification notifications to your advantage!
The bottom line for wearable technology is: all great things are great until they aren’t. And for the majority of reasons these devices are extremely helpful tools for training, recovery, and positive lifestyle changes.
Humans are innately curious, and tracking information can be extremely seductive for training and for everyday activities (like walking). Understanding the role that your wearable plays in your overall health and wellness journey will help you maximize your training and your life.
Wearable technology accounts for nearly 60 billion USD in sales worldwide (source). Sales of this type of technology have doubled since 2017 and show no signs of slowing down. Raise your hand to the training tech revolution, and embrace all that it has to offer.
This article has been updated and was originally written for Matter Nutrition