Fitness trackers are hardly new—we all know someone who parks a little farther away or does laps around the office during lunch to “get their steps in.” Now that these trackers are included in multifunction smartwatch “wearables,” they’re no longer just being used by fitness enthusiasts or people trying to slim down. In fact, 51 percent of Americans use a wearable fitness tracker at least once a day. No wonder wearable sales are expected to grow 20 percent every year over the next five years.
Fitness trackers measure:
Steps based on start and end of motion, intensity, and personal gait using a sensor called three-axis accelerometer.
Stairs climbed with an altimeter sensor.
Pulse with an optical sensor that shines light on your wrist.
Sleep quality by measuring wrist movements during rest periods.
5 Health Benefits of Fitness Trackers:
1. They motivate you to get moving.
It’s easy to start a new health program, but not quite as easy to maintain it. Fifty percent of people who begin a fitness routine abandon it within six months. A fitness tracker and app give you real-time, easily accessible data that both motivates you and keeps you accountable. Many trackers also feature a “reminder” setting that will alert you when you haven’t moved for a period of time or haven’t reached your goal.
2. They help you set—and keep—goals.
Many people are motivated by tangible goals. It’s one thing to say you want to lose weight, eat less, or walk more, but measuring your success can turn into guesswork or require more effort on your part than you want. Need to hit the recommended 10,000 steps a day? Trying to cut 500 calories from your daily diet? Want to lose five pounds? Tracking your progress makes it easier to reach your goals.
3. They enforce healthy sleep habits.
Are you stressed out, depressed, or in poor health? Bad sleep habits may be to blame. A fitness tracker can alert you at your ideal bed time and wake you up at the optimal point in your sleep cycle for more REM sleep. It can also track how long you actually slept, time spent restless, and how many times you wake throughout the night. Use this data to make positive changes to your sleep habits or consult a physician if you keep experiencing poor sleep.
4. They moderate your calories.
No one likes counting calories, but fitness trackers make it easy. Most tracker apps enable you to set a daily caloric goal, have a vast database of nutritional information on popular foods so you don’t have to hold onto every box and wrapper, and will count down how many calories you have left in your “bank” for the day.
5. They encourage heart health
Regular exercise is integral to a healthy heart. It’s easy to fall behind, especially when you work in an office or other stationary job, or are retired. Not only will a fitness tracker make it easier to ensure you get your daily steps in, it will measure your heart rate. You can use this data to determine if your heart rate is more elevated than it should be and if you should see a professional.
Do your fitness tracker results worry you or shed light on an orthopedic issue you weren’t aware of? Contact the Orlin & Cohen Orthopedic Group today to discuss your concerns and health with a board-certified subspecialist.
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