one in three Americans<\/a> uses some type of tracker, and today\u2019s top-of-the-line devices can measure sleep oxygen levels, stress levels, body temperature, menstrual cycles, heart rate variability and even glucose levels. These aren\u2019t the step and calorie counters of yore; they\u2019re sophisticated medical technology. And they\u2019re increasingly being used as a window into our internal health.\n <\/p>\n\n Sharon Bergquist, an internist at Emory Healthcare and an associate professor at Emory University School of Medicine, has seen a rise in patients using these trackers. A few have even come in because of alerts they\u2019ve received, much like Gooding. Their concerns are wide-ranging \u2014 some have come in after receiving alerts of possible arrhythmias, others have concerns about sleep or possible apnea.\n <\/p>\n
\n In the absence of pain or other alarming symptoms, patients usually seek medical help when something is off visually, she said \u2014 think of swelling that won\u2019t go down or unexpected bruising. With trackers, that chain of events is changing.\n <\/p>\n
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\n \u201cThese trackers can hint that there could be something wrong, sometimes before there are visible changes that a person would detect,\u201d Bergquist said. \u201cThat just can speed up the attention.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n But Bergquist has seen some false alarms. Patients sometimes think their heart rate is off when it\u2019s fine; their tracker\u2019s depicted sleep inconsistencies aren\u2019t apnea; or variations in their pulse data are not clinically significant.\n <\/p>\n
\n There is still a benefit to having access to the objective data a tracker can provide. Our perceptions of our own habits tend to be skewed, Bergquist said. We tend to assume we\u2019re healthy people. Having daily feedback about what\u2019s going on internally can help nudge us toward healthy habits, in ways our own beliefs or opinions can\u2019t.\n <\/p>\n
\n And yet these wearable trackers, with all their data and quantification, feed a desire for a more scientific look into one\u2019s personal health. There may be a sense that something is \u201csneaking up on us in our bodies,\u201d said Anna Kirkland, a professor who studies health and discrimination at the University of Michigan \u2014 like a disease we don\u2019t know about, or a defect we can\u2019t feel.\n <\/p>\n
\n While these devices are imperfect, they give users the impression that the technology can provide some notion of control. But even with the best trackers money can buy, there\u2019s a limit to what we can accomplish alone, Kirkland said.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cYou can do all the right things, die anyway,\u201d Kirkland said.\n <\/p>\n
\n Part of the driving force behind these trackers is the nature of the diseases we\u2019re facing today. In the past, common causes of death were infectious diseases, maladies like bronchitis or tuberculosis. Now, the diseases that are killing the most people are conditions like heart disease, often linked to poor diet and lack of exercise. That shift is part of what makes wearable fitness monitors so appealing\u2014\u2013 there\u2019s a feeling that these are lifestyle maladies, which could be within our control.\n <\/p>\n
\n But there\u2019s a limit to how many new insights a device can provide. If you\u2019re buying a device because you want to walk more and need a step tracker, you likely already know you live a sedentary lifestyle, Kirkland said. While a watch, or a ring, might track that for you, it can\u2019t make more leisure time in your day, nor can it give you access to a park or another safe place to walk. Ditto for access to fresh, healthy food, clean air and so on.\n <\/p>\n
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\n Therein lies the problem. While these products can be helpful, they contribute to the individualist idea that we alone \u2014 if only we carefully monitor the daily findings of a $300 gadget \u2014 can bring about our best, healthiest selves. And that idea, Kirkland said, is just not correct.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cHealth depends on a whole host of governmental and communal and economic factors that individuals alone can\u2019t control,\u201d she said.\n <\/p>\n
\n And what about all the metrics we can\u2019t concretely measure? Even while the data may seem within our control, overrelying on those numbers can bring issues. While tracking devices can help with getting habits \u201cin the right ballpark,\u201d Bergquist said, some things can\u2019t be tracked. Intuitive qualities like mental and spiritual health can\u2019t be quantified by a watch or ring, yet they affect our day-to-day existence. There can also be contradictions: On some days Bergquist has woken up feeling refreshed, but her tracker will tell her she didn\u2019t get enough deep sleep.\n <\/p>\n
\n Despite all the science and the data and the numbers, nothing beats one\u2019s own intuition.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI believe myself and my body more than I\u2019m going to believe the device,\u201d Bergquist said.\n <\/p>\n
\n Gooding, the nurse, first bought her ring to help track her menstrual cycle. She\u2019d just gotten off oral contraceptives, and the ring was a way for her to understand her cycle and her body\u2019s ups and downs. It happened to give her a wider window than she\u2019d thought. Now, even while she is in chemotherapy, the ring\u2019s data still validates her own instincts.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t replace the need for an actual person,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a nice tool to have.\u201d\n <\/p>\n