Yuval Fefer uses the Apple Health app on phone and the Fitness app on his Apple Watch every day, tracking both his sleep and daily activity as he tries to keep his wellness and study habits in check as a freshman at Nova Southeastern University in Davie.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a goal set of 600 calories burned, 60 minutes of activity, and 10 hours of standing. It keeps me active and aware of what I need to hit throughout the day,\u201d said Fefer, 18, a business management major.<\/p>\n
In South Florida, wellness culture is top of mind year-round, with health apps becoming an essential and addictive part of daily life. From tracking heart rate to monitoring sleep after long study nights, wearable technology is used everywhere \u2014 and sometimes even obsessively.<\/p>\n
Health app usage has skyrocketed in South Florida, mirroring national trends, according to Dr. Jennifer R. Garcia at NSU\u2019s Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the years, health apps have evolved from simple step counters to comprehensive platforms integrating fitness, sleep, mental health, and even electronic health records,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n
College students in South Florida have adopted these technology practices to provide structure and motivation.<\/p>\n
This sense of accountability is exactly what draws people to consistent app use, especially when balancing busy schedules. Tools can help build self-awareness around sleep and activity, experts say.<\/p>\n
Dr. Jaime Tartar, a neuroscientist at NSU who specializes in sleep and stress, stated that \u201cthe wearable technologies that exist now are much better than they used to be. They are pretty good at telling you total sleep duration, how long it took you to fall asleep, and sleep fragmentation.\u201d<\/p>\n
But experts are sounding the alarm on a growing side effect of this digital health boom: Orthosomnia, a form of sleep anxiety brought on by obsessively tracking sleep data.\u00a0Sleep researchers coined the term orthosomnia to describe a paradox: People using apps to improve their sleep, but the pressure to achieve \u201cperfect\u201d scores making their sleep worse.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people track their sleep and get anxiety about those metrics,\u201d Tartar said. \u201cIf it\u2019s making you worried that you\u2019re not getting enough sleep, then it\u2019s probably not a good idea to be using those wearables.\u201d<\/p>\n
Frantzy Charles, 22, a Health Service Management master\u2019s student at FAU, said, \u201cI wear my watch to bed every day to see how many hours I sleep each night. I also keep track of the length and the quality of my sleep using my watch.\u201d<\/p>\n
But he admits to being a bit addicted to his fitness app.<\/p>\n
\u201cI use my Apple Watch to track my steps every day. I am always on the fitness app, competing with my friends and making sure I reach my daily goal of 10,000 steps,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
While the demand is growing, so are the drawbacks. Dr. Jonathan Banks, a psychologist at NSU, warns that over-monitoring can turn helpful data into daily stress.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes it\u2019s helpful to take breaks from that kind of obsessive data-driven focus,\u201d Banks said. \u201cWhen you wake up, don\u2019t immediately check the app; check in with yourself on how you feel.\u201d<\/p>\n