How Do Healthcare Wearables Aid Health Tracking?
Are you one of the many individuals making up their minds to live a healthier life? It’s time to sleep eight hours a night, move more, and sit less. Is there a way to better assure yourself success when such a lofty endeavor is the object of your pursuit? Enter “wearable health system technology”. To assist in the pursuit of wellness goals, these devices are coming to the aid of any number of people on the track to a healthier mind and body.
Thanks to technology and the ceaseless efforts of doctors, inventors, engineers, and scientists, there are numerous healthcare wearables in existence today. They provide data which enables the wearer to improve their health and overall life.
More Technology – Do We Need It?
A variety of health markers can be tracked by the wearing of smart electronic devices known as healthcare wearables. They are capable of monitoring the following:
- Body temperature
- Stress leve
- Heart rate variability
- Resting heart rate
- Sleep patterns
- Activity level (i.e., number of steps taken, time spent sedentary, etc.)
What kind of wearables are we discussing here? Rings and watches are relatively common. But there are even shirts that fall under this category. In the coming years, who knows what imaginative innovations are possible? This year alone, the devices that were purchased numbered over 245 million. Sales of fitness trackers like fit bits, Garmin products, and Apple watches are on the rise.
Research and Wearable Health Devices
One of the things about research is that it never stops. Even when they have seemingly reached a goal, researchers keep going. Naturally, studies are being done on fitness trackers and other wearable health devices.
For some, the wearing of fitness trackers has led to improved health by increasing their physical activity and increasing their step count. Here are some results:
- Overweight individuals – At the end of the study period (12 weeks), these individuals had lower BMI and body weight as well as accumulating 10,000 steps per day. Additionally, feelings of confusion, fatigue, anger, depression, and anxiety were significantly reduced.
- Overweight and obese participants – For 36 weeks these individuals wore trackers. They lost weight and increased their step count. Additionally, improvements in their HDL cholesterol (the good kind), hip circumference, waist circumference, body fat percentage, and BMI (body mass index) showed marked improvement.
- Older patients – Individuals wearing trackers over a 12 to 14 week decreased their LDL cholesterol (the bad kind), lost weight, and increased their activity.
A New Health Device – The Health Assistant Watch
One such wearable health device is the Health Assist Watch powered by Samsung. It offers peace of mind as well as performing as a watch. It can keep track of your physical activity, track your heart rate, schedule medical exams, remind you to take your medications, and more. In an emergency, it can even summon help.
As with everything in the world today, every wearable device will have its cons and pros. The ups and downs of each device can depend largely on the person and their needs. When used wisely, there is no doubt that these devices can be helpful. But the data generated by them must be used in a positive manner (such as behavioral changes) in order for them to be truly effective.
