Could I Be Dependent on My Smartwatch?

There's a nervous excitement. I can see the cold breath exhaled by my competitors as they perform the "about to run" jiggle on the start line.

A rapid movement of the hips.

I'm at my local 5km community parkrun and I'm serious. The countdown begins...

Hold on. I need to start my tracker. So does the person alongside me.

The person behind us sighs. I won't start until… yes! Connection established, away I go.

During the scramble, it's challenging to see a wrist without a wearable on it. And it's not just us participants who rely on them.

We're witnessing a thriving, multi-billion pound industry. Names like Samsung Galaxy dominate, each with an wide selection of various versions to fit a variety of needs. Based on how high tech the model you go for, price tags can range from an affordable sum to thousands of pounds.

"It makes me crazy, I can't switch off."

"It provides solace… It's like a friend encouraging me."

"I wish it wouldn't say I've had a bad night's sleep."

A small sample of the comments I've received from fellow tracker enthusiasts when I inquire what they feel about theirs.

A Sea of Statistics

My current opinion on my own device? At this moment, irritating. It's indicating my speed is wrong, causing me to question whether the overhead branches I'm passing under are blocking my satellite signal.

Countless individuals of us fasten these small devices onto our arms and keep them on constantly, seemingly comfortable with the fact they're continuously monitoring us.

Gone are the days when we used them solely to give us an idea of our pedometer reading. Today, they can analyse our nightly rest, stress levels, heart rate variability (HRV), our recovery score.

It's difficult to find a physical metric they fail to monitor.

But can they do what they say they do? And are the statistics we obsess over a accurate representation of reality? Do they enhance our overall health, or do the avalanche of readings and cheerleading alerts just contribute to our everyday anxiety?

A Complicated Bond

"I find myself getting a a little fixated with mine," an individual confesses.

While she values how her device tracks her runs, she finds some of its other functions "daunting" at times - a feeling that became apparent during a pregnancy.

Prior to discovering she could adjust the settings, her smartwatch constantly alerted her she was failing to be productive enough. Later on, the watch insists her she's had a poor sleep score.

"I've got a infant, there's no point to be notified I've not slept," she says. "That fact is only too well."

Is it not possible to just stop wearing it?

"I suppose I could, perhaps, but I'm in this push-pull dynamic with it," she says. "I value it for its fitness insights, I just wonder whether the myriad other functions it can now do is possibly overkill for me."

The Technology Behind the Tracking

Each model of smartwatch has its own novel way of tracking your vitals and analysing your data, but the vast bulk use optical sensors on the reverse of the watch.

They typically project tiny, coloured LED lights onto your wrist which can monitor pulsation, identifying your pulse rate. Sophisticated devices analyse changes in the bioimpedance that passes over the skin to gauge your nervous system activity.

A Fine Balance

One expert says that overall for smartwatches, it's a "difficult line" - while the rapidly advancing tech could actually save lives, "identifying issues before we notice anything", it could also turn us device users into the "anxious healthy".

He points out that newer wearables can carry out tests like medical-grade monitoring, which continuously monitor how healthy the heart is. They can flag if someone is experiencing atrial fibrillation (AF), where there is erratic signals in the heart causing an uneven pulse.

This does not automatically signal someone is imminently going to suffer a heart attack, but it can give an early warning they might be more at risk of a blood clot in the future.

But how to interpret these figures is complex. The expert worries that as more functions are added, people may struggle to fully comprehend their data.

"I have some doubts that having the capacity to monitor so many things is such a positive development," he says.

A health researcher specialising in patient behaviour concurs. A study into the influence of wearable tech on a cohort of cardiovascular patients suggested a minority of those who were given devices to monitor their condition experienced heightened worry and were "more inclined to use healthcare resources".

She identified a vicious circle with her patients - they noticed a worrying figure on their watch. They grew concerned. Their BPM rose. They got increasingly anxious. They re-examined the data, and their heart rate rose further.

"Upon viewing stats about ourselves that we lack context for then, naturally, we are going to become concerned," the psychologist says. "We check, we re-check - it becomes a feedback loop."