I left a fun dinner party before dessert
- because I got a notification telling
me that I should be in bed.’
OBSESSED?
All of which makes us ask: is health
tracking becoming an obsession?
Studies show we’re relying more on
data-driven tech to transform how we
look and feel. In the UK, 47% of people
own a wearable health tracker, or are
planning to buy one in the next 12
months*, and it’s estimated the health
and fitness app industry will be worth
£460 million by 2020.** Whether it’s to
nerd-out on 10k times, cut out sugar,
or monitor booze intakes, an app will
do the behind-the-scenes brainwork,
leaving you to smash the goals. It’s no
wonder they’re addictively appealing.
DO IT WITH DATA
Notification reminders and the instant
reward of seeing achievements motivate
us to succeed. ‘These apps improve
the serotonin levels in the brain as they
show us progress,’ says Dr Arghya
Sarkhel, consultant psychiatrist at
Living Mind. OurPath dietician Bari
Stricoff adds, ‘Logging, or inputting
data, renders your actions more
tangible, making you more accountable
to them. These apps can facilitate
sustainable lifestyle shifts.’ Consistent
tracking pinpoints any trends or triggers
that affect your decisions. ‘There’s no
denying the regularity of my 11pm snack
cupboard raids when they’re logged in
all their glory,’ admits dieter Jenny, 44.
You may already track food, exercise
and sleep, but with the slew of new apps
that record everything from sun exposure
to mood fluctuations, we can take a truly
holistic approach to health. ‘Imagine how
powerful it would be to log how often
you feel fatigued, bloated, stressed,
depressed, anxious, happy or hopeful,’
says endocrinologist Dr Minisha Sood of
hormone tracking app Moody Month.
‘By keeping track of your moods as well
as your physiological data, you’ll be able
to make connections that might have
previously gone unnoticed. This can
help you make better health decisions.’COMPARISON TRAP
There can, though, be a downside.
‘Monitoring your food intake can be
positive, but tracking specific calories
and macronutrients when dieting can
quickly become obsessive. If you’re
focusing too much on the numbers
rather than how you feel, potentially
step back from the app,’ advises Bari.
Dr Arghya Sarkhel agrees. ‘If someone
has a specific obsession, then apps may
increase this. Ideally, the data should be
used alongside advice from as a doctor,
fitness instructor or nurse on how to
interpret the stats,’ he says.
Sharing success within an app-driven
community is encouraging, but healthy
competitiveness can turn into feelings
of inadequacy, warns comparison life
coach Lucy Sheridan. ‘Data can distort
what’s considered “normal”, because
we don’t get a view on the context. If we
do not handle these apps carefully, we
can get into a cycle of not-enough-ness
where our individual progress feels
insignificant in comparison to others’.We get caught up in measuring what
we are not doing, rather than what we
are achieving,’ she says.THE RIGHT TRACK
So what’s the sensible way to track our
health? ‘Checking in regularly to see how
these apps make you feel is key,’ says
Bari. ‘If the data is having a negative
impact on your mood, re-evaluate how
you use this technology.’ Lucy suggests
defining your own goals before you log
on. ‘This will stop you from going off track
no matter what you see others reporting,’
she says. ‘And we need to focus on our
offline progress – the apps should work
for us, not the other way round!’
It may be that we need the occasional
data detox. On a recent holiday, Susie,
52, left her wearable at home. ‘Apart
from some slow strolls along the beach
and walking lengths of the all-you-can-
eat buffet cart, my step count was
abysmal. I was mostly asleep on a
lounger, so why make myself feel guilty
by tracking that?’ she says.DATA HEALTH
...of users log into
their health app at least
twice a week75%
Sleepstation
(Free, sleepstation.org.uk)
NHS-approved to help
you nod offMoody Month
(Free, App Store)
Maps hormonal cycles for
managing moodsMyFitnessPal
(Free, App Store and
Google Play)
Diet and fitness tracker
with a database of over
300,000,000 foodsMy Skin Track
(£54.95, apple.com for
sensor, App Store and
Google Play)
Measures UVA and
UVB rays, pollution,
humidity and pollen with
a unique sensorTOP TRACKERS