Technology has boomed over the past few decades. You can now get a piece of tech to help with just about anything and everything… And most of it is becoming easily accessible to the general public as well.
One of the most popular technologies of recent years is wearables. These devices come in a huge variety of different forms, and they’re easy, convenient, and very handy for a multitude of things.
The impact of wearable technology on personal health monitoring is undeniable. We’re in a position now where we’re more aware of our own health than ever before! If you use your wearable correctly, you may just find that your health gets a bit of a boost. Let’s see why they’re so useful.
What Are Wearable Devices?
Wearable devices, as their name suggests, are devices that you wear on your person. They’re generally designed to provide real-time feedback on health and fitness, making them very popular in both the fitness communities and the medical industry. Wearables come in many different forms, designs, sizes, price ranges, and capabilities.
Types of Wearable Devices
Wrist-based wearables are the most popular. Smartwatches and fitness trackers are common, generally comfortable, and easy to find. But not everyone feels comfortable wearing this kind of device, so wearables have evolved to accommodate everyone.
Generally, wearable devices can be categorized by two different things: their mechanism of being worn and their function. Here are some of the most common types of wearables.
By Mechanism
- Smart Watches
- Smart Jewelry
- Implants
- Smart Apparel
- Body-Mounted Sensors
- Smart Glasses & Sunglasses
By Function
- Fitness Trackers
- Sleep Trackers
- Heart Rate Monitors
- Medical Devices
- Blood Pressure Monitors
- Blood Glucose Monitors
- Electrocardiogram (EKG) Monitors
How Do Wearable Devices Work?
Different wearables have different ways of working, depending on their function. Fitness trackers often come with built-in motion sensors to measure distance, steps, and active time.
Both fitness trackers and medical devices usually have a heart rate monitor, which uses light to pick up your heart rate. As the light penetrates the skin, it detects microscopic changes in the blood volume as the heart beats, allowing it to accurately calculate your beats per minute.
Sleep time and quality are calculated by heart rate, breathing rate, and minuscule movements during your sleep, courtesy of the device’s motion sensors.
Different wearables have different functions and technologies, but the vast majority of them employ these technologies to track your health and fitness.
Benefits of Wearable Devices for Personal Health Monitoring
If you aren’t using a wearable yet, you may want to consider it. They have some excellent benefits, although you do need to actively engage with your wearable if you want to make the most of all the data it provides.
- Tracking fitness levels and activity
- Monitoring heart rate and sleep patterns
- Keeping track of blood pressure and glucose levels
- Detecting and monitoring chronic conditions
- Spotting early warning signs of health problems
The Impact of Wearable Technology on Personal Health Monitoring
With wearables, the control is in your hands. Take ownership of your personal health and start learning how your body works. It’s invaluable information!
Behavioral Modification
Wearables are one of the most powerful tools for promoting healthy transformation. With a daily snapshot of your health and fitness right at your fingertips, it’s not possible to ignore unhealthy habits and the effect they have on your body.
Plus, wearables gamify exercise to an extent, with many of them providing incentives for reaching a certain number of steps or active minutes, making achieving goals much easier and more fun.
Smart devices can also be used to set reminders to exercise, hydrate, take medication, do breathing exercises, or anything else that might help you change your habits.
Chronic Disease Management
The continuous monitoring function on wearables allows those with chronic conditions to keep a close eye on their vitals, as well as track their stress, sleep quality, and other important metrics.
This can lead to more effective management of chronic diseases, especially when paired with medication reminders and alerts for abnormal vital signs.
Remote Patient Monitoring
Medical wearables can be used to keep doctors and patients connected even when the patient is at home. This is an excellent safety function for patients who need monitoring but are unable or unwilling to stay in the hospital under a medical doctor’s care for an extended period of time.
This is particularly helpful for elderly patients and those with advanced medical conditions. Reducing the need for regular hospital visits can also ease some stress, contributing more positively to the patient’s health.
Early Detection and Prevention
One of the most handy features of wearable devices in personal health monitoring is the ability to detect potential health problems early. An elevated or abnormally low heart rate or breathing rate could be cause for concern, and your device should be able to alert you of these when they occur.
If you’re experiencing unusual symptoms when you’re resting that have no apparent cause, and your wearable device is backing it up with unusual data, there’s a chance that it may be related to your health.
In these cases, you’ll be able to get medical care sooner than you might otherwise have done so. Early intervention in disease and disorder can positively impact outcomes.
Health and Wellness Education
One of the best things about wearables is that they educate the wearers. While you can just go day-by-day and trust the data, most people find that they learn more than they thought possible about their own bodies and processes.
Just a little bit of education can go a long way toward improving health. Knowing what you’re doing wrong with your health and seeing the physical effects in your data can spur you on to make the change and take control of your health and your life.
Conclusion
The impact of wearable technology on personal health monitoring has been huge. With wearables, we’re more in control of our own health and fitness than ever before, and we’ve got a direct insight into our own body processes.
That doesn’t mean you won’t ever need to go to a doctor. But it does mean that you’re in a better position to spot early warning signs of medical problems, make meaningful changes to your lifestyle, and take control of your own health.
About the Author
Paul Wheeler runs a web design agency that helps small businesses optimize their websites for business success. He aims to educate business owners on all things website-related on his own website, Reviews for Website Hosting.