Is It Possible I'm Dependent on My Wearable Device?

There's a building tension. Visible is the frosty air exhaled by my rivals as they do the "about to run" wiggle on the start line.

A quick twitch of the hips.

I'm participating in my local weekly parkrun event and I'm serious. The countdown begins...

Wait a second. I need to start my watch. The same goes for the person next to me.

The person behind us expresses impatience. I refuse to go until… yes! Signal acquired, I'm off.

In the mele, it's challenging to find a arm without a wearable on it. And this extends beyond us runners who wear them.

We're witnessing a booming, multi-billion dollar sector. Brands like Garmin lead the market, featuring an extensive selection of different versions to cater to a variety of budgets. Depending on how high tech the device you choose, costs can vary between an affordable sum to a small fortune.

"It makes me crazy, I can't relax."

"It comforts me… It's like a companion encouraging me."

"Please don't notify me about a restless night."

A handful of the reactions I've received from fellow tracker enthusiasts when I question what they think of theirs.

The Data Dilemma

My current opinion on my own device? At this moment, irritating. It's indicating I'm not hitting my target, making me wonder whether the overhead branches I'm passing under are interfering with my location tracking.

Countless individuals of us attach these little gadgets onto our arms and keep them on 24/7, ostensibly comfortable with the fact they're perpetually tracking us.

Long past are the days when we relied on them exclusively to give us an idea of our pedometer reading. Today, they can analyse our sleep patterns, heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), our VO2 max.

It's a challenge to find a bodily function they aren't designed to measure.

But are they able to do what they advertise? And are the numbers we scrutinise a faithful picture of the truth? Do they boost our daily wellness, or do the multitude of measurements and constant notifications just contribute to our everyday anxiety?

A Complicated Bond

"I do get a quite obsessed with mine," one user confesses.

While she appreciates how her device tracks her workouts, she finds some of its other functions "overwhelming" at times - a feeling initially realised during a pregnancy.

Prior to discovering she could change its configuration, her smartwatch repeatedly informed her she was failing to be productive enough. Now, the watch keeps telling her she's had a poor sleep score.

"I've got a young baby, I don't need to be notified my sleep was poor," she says. "That fact is perfectly well."

Why doesn't she just take it off?

"It's possible, I suppose, but I've got this push-pull dynamic with it," she explains. "I love it for its workout tracking, I sometimes question whether all the other things it can now do is maybe overkill for me."

Inside the Device

Each model of smartwatch has its own unique way of measuring your bodily functions and analysing your data, but the majority use sensors on the reverse of the watch.

They typically emit minute LED lights onto your skin which can detect blood flow, identifying your heartbeat. Sophisticated devices detect changes in the bioimpedance that flows through the skin to assess your recovery state.

Expert Perspectives

A data scientist says that in general for smartwatches, it's a "delicate equilibrium" - while the ever-evolving tech could potentially prevent illness, "identifying issues before we show symptoms", it could also turn us the tracked into the "concerned but fine".

He points out that some of the latest wearables can conduct tests like medical-grade monitoring, which continuously monitor how normal the heart is. They can alert if someone is experiencing an irregular rhythm, where there is irregular impulses in the heart causing an uneven pulse.

This does not automatically signal someone is about to have a heart attack, but it can give an early warning they might be more susceptible of a stroke in the years to come.

But how to make sense of these figures is not straightforward. The expert worries that as more functions are incorporated, people may struggle to fully comprehend their data.

"I have some doubts that the ability to monitor so many things is such a beneficial thing," he says.

A clinical psychologist studying patient behaviour echoes this sentiment. A study into the effect of wearable tech on a cohort of individuals with health issues suggested a significant portion of those who were given devices to monitor their cardiac function experienced heightened worry and were "more inclined to use doctor's time".

She observed a vicious circle with her patients - they spotted a worrying figure on their watch. They became worried. Their BPM increased. They got more worried. They looked a second time, and their reading went up again.

"When people are presented with stats about ourselves that we don't really understand then, understandably, we are going to want to know more," the psychologist says. "We monitor, we obsess - it becomes a vicious cycle."