What's behind the rise in wearable health tracking devices

1 month ago

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks pinch Adam Clark Estes of Vox astir his caller communicative retired titled: "I Covered my assemblage successful wellness trackers for 6 months. It ruined my life."

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Maybe you person an Oura Ring aliases a Whoop band, a Lingo monitor, a Fitbit, a Garmin watch aliases an Apple Watch. Maybe you person 1 aliases galore of these wearable devices that tin perpetually way your captious statistics. Well, Adam Clark Estes of Vox has a caller communicative retired titled "I Covered My Body In Health Trackers For Six Months. It Ruined My Life." Adam is present pinch america now to show america each astir his ruined life. Hello.

ADAM CLARK ESTES: Hi.

CHANG: So why did you do this, Adam?

ESTES: That's a awesome question, and I proceed to inquire myself that mobility now that nan research is over. But agelong communicative short, I americium getting older. I'm emotion older. And I wondered what benignant of exertion could thief maine consciousness better. And erstwhile I started looking, I benignant of didn't stop, and I started trying everything. And I did it each astatine once, and past I wrote astir it 'cause that's my job.

CHANG: OK, truthful astatine nan highest moment, really galore devices were attached to your body, would you say?

ESTES: I astir apt maxed retired astatine six aliases 7 devices. Let's opportunity it was a Whoop set connected 1 wrist, an Apple Watch connected nan other, possibly 2 to 3 rings connected and 1 aliases 2 continuous glucose monitors plugged correct into my arm.

CHANG: Adam likes to accessorize. OK. So you recovered affirmative and antagonistic outcomes from this full experiment. Let's conscionable commencement pinch nan positive. When did these devices really thief you consciousness amended aliases healthier?

ESTES: They worked champion for maine erstwhile I was asleep. It was nan slumber search that I really recovered made maine adopt amended habits, get to slumber earlier, slumber more, aftermath up nan adjacent day. And moreover getting a people that told maine really good aliases poorly I slept someway made maine consciousness better.

CHANG: Oh, OK. On nan different hand, you did opportunity that arsenic you were tracking, you know, your hours of sleep, nan number of steps you were taking, your glucose levels, each of that accusation started making you anxious. Tell america how.

ESTES: Health trackers are designed to cod accusation astir you and springiness you much penetration into really your assemblage is doing. But if you don't person a mobility you're trying to reply aliases you don't person a measurement to benignant of construe that information into actionable items successful your life, I recovered it to beryllium really overwhelming. I didn't cognize what to do erstwhile I was told that my bosom complaint variability was dropping, which I was told was bad.

The astir anxiety-inducing information came from nan continuous glucose monitor. This is 1 of nan newest wellness trackers connected nan marketplace for over-the-counter use. People pinch glucosuria person been utilizing them for years. And it's conscionable not clear to maine what to do pinch that data. And I surely didn't cognize what to do erstwhile I was told that my humor glucose was spiking aft I ate, which is, by nan way, a wholly normal point for your humor sweetener to do.

CHANG: So I conscionable want to benignant of measurement backmost and inquire this larger question. Like, why do you deliberation nan marketplace for each these wellness trackers is getting truthful basking correct now? Like, what do you deliberation is going connected pinch each of us?

ESTES: In nan United States, it's good established that we person benignant of a wellness attraction problem. We person a problem pinch entree to wellness insurance. We person a problem pinch entree to wellness care. So it's nary astonishment that group mightiness want to get immoderate much accusation elsewhere, and these devices are becoming progressively powerful, particularly pinch nan thief of AI, and they're becoming a batch cheaper.

CHANG: Right. So do you spot a early wherever everyone has a smartwatch, not precisely because of wellness concerns, but conscionable because nan tech becomes much convenient to get, much affordable, you know, for illustration pinch smartphones, and we conscionable person to get utilized to having each of our activity levels tracked each nan time, that that becomes conscionable nan caller reality?

ESTES: I really, really dream that wearing a wellness locator continues to beryllium optional. I dream that group tin return them disconnected and consciousness better, but I do deliberation that location is immoderate committedness present successful these devices helping to, astatine nan very least, benignant of service arsenic a cheque motor ray for people. If you're wearing a wellness locator and thing goes incorrect - nan Oura Ring will do this. It has thing called nan Symptoms Radar. It told maine I was getting sick. And judge enough, astir a time later, I sewage sick.

There are a batch of affirmative things that tin travel retired of wearing a wellness tracker, and I do deliberation it will go much popular. The tech will get cheaper. It will proceed to get better. But what I learned from my research is sometimes nan point that made maine consciousness nan champion was taking it disconnected and conscionable listening to my body.

CHANG: Adam Clark Estes, elder exertion analogous astatine Vox. Thank you truthful much.

ESTES: Thank you.

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