Smartwatches have definitely become one of those “must-have” items of late and are very popular gifts. If you either just got a smartwatch as a gift, bought one, or are thinking of getting one for yourself, very common questions you may have are: “But now what?” “What can it do and what can’t it do?” and “With all the choices which one should I choose?”
First, a smartwatch is a wearable extension of your smartphone that can alert you to phone calls, receive texts and emails, play music and provide information that is of interest to you. Using blue tooth and wireless systems, the smartwatch communicates with your smartphone. Because you physically wear a smartwatch, it’s an excellent way to measure your body’s activity and then convey that information to your smartphone. Your smartphone has the apps (applications) that translate this information in ways that can help you.
Health-related apps are plentiful, and they take that physical “data” and translate it into useful measures for you to review. In different smartwatches there are sensors such as thermometers, accelerometers, pedometers, and heart rate monitors/pulse monitors, to name a few. These features measure:
- Steps taken or an estimate based on movement
- Heart rate, mostly via pulse rate, taken at the wrist with all types of activity
- Distance measurement (and some also measure speed and cadence)
- Sleep tracking or down time
- Calorie burning (but you need to input some of your personal metrics and track what you’re eating)
With all of that information, some people seem to assume that simply using a smartwatch with a few health apps will automatically lead to better health. Wish it were so, but it’s not that easy! Instead, it’s important to remember that a smartwatch is simply a tool, one that gives you information and feedback, but it is up to you to do something with it. You will therefore be most successful when you set a personal health goal and use the smartwatch to track those changes to your behavior and lifestyle.
For example, if your smartwatch tells you that you are taking about 7,000 steps per day, ask yourself: how can I get to 8,000? Then, adding an additional walk to your day and tracking steps on your smartwatch, you can identify how the changes in your routine helped you achieve that 8,000-step per day goal. (And after that, maybe it’s on to 9,000 steps!)
A recent analysis of many studies actually supported this: it correlated the wearing of a personal device (and many different ones were used) with clinical outcomes. It revealed that wearing a smartwatch or device alone wasn’t correlated with any significant difference for weight loss, BMI, waist size and blood pressure unless active goal setting and behavior modification were also employed.
With all that in mind, think about what health and wellness changes you want to make and focus on finding the right app to support your goals. The good news is that there are new apps coming out all the time, but obviously the downside can be in identifying which will work best for you. Here are a few great – and free! – apps recommended on cNET to get you started:
- Fitbit: a great all-around app to track steps, distance, calories burned and active minutes as well as sleep/wake cycles
- My Fitness Pal: diet and exercise app that tracks calories and can then help guide optimal caloric intake to achieve the user’s goal
- Fitocracy: it “gamifies” the fitness experience to motivate users by awarding points when goals are met
- Strava Running and Cycling: a good all-around fitness app for the more sports-minded, it provides an activity tracking log and a community feature to maintain motivation
- Nike+ Training Club: over 100 workouts of varying difficulties for different levels from beginner to advance, with filters for time constraints and equipment requirements, led by Nike trainers.
A few final thoughts and tips before you dive in:
- It’s always a good idea to consult your doctor before starting an exercise program, especially if you haven’t been very active in the recent past, have a pre-existing medical condition or are considering a brand-new fitness regimen.
- Start with realistic goals that change your behavior in increments. A good rule of thumb is to set goals in increments of 10-15% (i.e., 10% more steps each day or 10% more time working out each week). If the goal requires a huge change – “I’m going to double my steps” – it may be difficult to achieve, which may be demotivating or potentially lead to overuse injuries. Once you hit that goal, though, set a new goal for the next 10%!
- Always be aware of your body and trust how you feel. If you think you’re pushing too hard or if your perceived exertion level is too high, stop and reassess. You do not want to push yourself to injury or to risking your health.
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