Wearable technology, often known as wearables, refers to small electronic devices. They can be worn on the body as watches and bracelets and can even be integrated into clothing.
This technology may be used for various purposes, including listening to songs and keeping track of your health. They also help you by staying connected while on the go.
Though many wearables are on the market, smartwatches and wristbands are the most popular. The reason behind its popularity is that it is affordable and has seamless integration with smartphones. They also offer excellent value for money while providing many fashionable options.
If you’re considering getting into wearable technology, the first thing you should know about is the benefits. Continue reading to learn about some of the advantages of wearable technology in healthcare as well as the potential concerns.
What can a wearable help monitor?
The first thing you should know about the latest wristbands is that they can track important information for you. For instance, they can follow anything from how many steps you took that day to how many calories you burned since meals. These wearables can also detect your sleeping pattern, performance level in each activity, along with heart rate.
As a result, it is straightforward to keep track of your health with a smartwatch. Moreover, it updates immediately once it’s been set. So, there’s no need to do anything further.
One of the key reasons to wear a wristband is that it can offer your doctor deep insights. It is done by providing a clearer view of your general health and any significant changes through the sensors.
Smartwatches are also compatible with a massive number of apps. The apps allow you to add extra data, including your daily nutritional and water intake. It can even track your moods to give your doctor a more robust insight into any medical concerns you may have.
The sensor technology used in wearables to enhance healthcare
Modern-day wearables come with various state-of-the-art sensor technology. Even the most affordable smartwatches and budget fitness trackers include basic sensors. These help users better regulate their healthy habits and store essential data for the healthcare industry.
Here is a list of the most common sensors found in wearables to elevate healthcare.
Accelerometer
They are sensors that help you keep track of your body’s movements by counting how many steps you’ve done throughout the day. They also tend to track your sleeping patterns and provide advice on enhancing your sleep hygiene.
Biometric pressure sensor
This sensor is there because it can tell you how high you are. It is valuable information for people who do mountain climbing, cycling in mountainous locations, or running on an elevated route.
Heart rate monitor
The sensor counts the number of times your heart beats, as the name suggests. This sensor monitors your pulse and checks it regularly, alerting you if there is an aberrant heartbeat.
The high-end watches will notify your emergency contact if the sensor detects anything alarming with your heart rate.
Oximetry sensor
This smartwatch sensor can detect the amount of oxygen in your blood. It’s a valuable sensor for indicating the exact pulse rate to the wearer of a smartwatch.
Skin conductance sensor
This sensor will compute your galvanic skin responses. This is a change in your sweat reflecting the aggressiveness of your emotional state. It also aids in calculating how many calories you burned during the day.
Skin temperature sensor
This sensor in your smartwatch tells you when your body temperature is rising and what activities are causing it. It basically teaches you how too much exercise can cause an increase in your general body temperature and if you should stop.
Wearables and healthcare
Smartwatches are increasingly becoming indispensable devices in the healthcare industry. They are fashionable, look fantastic, and elevate your style game to the next level.
However, it’s time to know more about what wearable technology can actually do in healthcare. Stay with us to understand the benefits of wearables.
Encourage active lifestyle
Do smartwatches encourage individuals to be more active? In a nutshell, sure.
According to a recent survey, 57% of smartwatch owners began exercising more after obtaining a wearable gadget. With so many applications available, anyone can immediately get started on a workout routine that is tailored to their needs.
Do you require some motivation? These devices also send out subtle reminders when you’ve been sedentary, encouraging you to live a more active lifestyle.
So, how do smartwatch exercise applications work? Many wearable apps fit into one of the following categories when it comes to activity tracking:
Activity tracking:
Many smart devices have built-in activity trackers that keep track of your movements. Smartwatches can track everything from daily steps to heart rate and calories burnt, among other things.
Activity tracking apps are also helpful since they motivate us to fulfill our daily fitness goals. It also increases our physical activity by providing trends that help us create new plans as we advance.
Short workouts:
These applications offer short interval workouts and lessons that are simple to follow. They also provide progress tracking that you can read on your wrist. Using them motivates many of us to enhance our overall physical activity, even if we only have 10 minutes a day.
Workouts when needed:
These exercise apps let you choose the style of workout that best fits your schedule and ability level. Whether you’re performing yoga, spinning, or a variety of other activities, you can seamlessly sync your wristband with your smartphone.
You can also obtain real-time data readings of your total accomplishments and calories burned.
Keep track of, analyze, and manage medical issues
Smartwatches can help you if you’re a chronic sufferer who needs to take medication on a regular basis. They can also help if you need to give your doctor information about your health.
This wearable device is equipped with impressive features. For instance, data tracking and in-depth monitoring of your health and wellness data. It allows users to track their progress more effectively.
Users can also considerably improve their lifestyle or chronic health issues by monitoring their temperature and heart rate on a regular basis. This information also enables them to present accurate information to doctors and obtain an appropriate diagnosis. It allows them to treat the patient according to their needs.
Track map symptoms and menstrual cycle
Menstruation is no longer a taboo topic that should be avoided in public conversation. Women can keep track of their monthly cycle without having to write a red circle on the calendar.
Smartwatches also track vital indicators via symptom mapping. These gadgets have proven to be highly beneficial in monitoring specific Covid-19 virus-related characteristics.
Track your diet
We all know that eating a balanced diet is beneficial to our physical and mental health. We may have the best intentions regarding keeping to our diets. But, it’s all too easy to lose track of time or become distracted.
Calorie counting, creating a healthier diet, meal planning, and maintaining a schedule all necessitate much thought and effort. Smartwatches, thankfully, offer programs that track and register your calorie consumption for each meal, making calorie tracking simple.
Some apps provide a multitude of dietary data, including food products as well as the number of calories in a typical portion. We all know that eating a balanced diet is beneficial to our physical and mental health.
Set medication reminders
Patients who have chronic diseases often need frequent medication. Anyone currently taking medication must strictly follow their doctor’s prescription instructions.
Even if patients try their hardest to stick to their drug regimen, it’s easy to forget a dosage or forget to refill something. Smartwatch apps make setting reminders that automate and track doses even easier. They also check if you’re correctly managing your medicines.
Lower healthcare costs
It is often believed that prevention is preferable to treatment. Preventive care and early disease identification can help keep an illness from worsening. It can give you a faster recovery and fewer healthcare expenses.
The smartwatch sensors identify irregularities like atrial fibrillation right away. It also transmits alerts to the user and their designated contacts.
Final verdict
While smartwatches can help users track their health, they’re not a substitute for receiving treatment or regular checks from a skilled physician. Make use of this wearable technology to stay fit and healthy. But don’t forget to call your doctor if you notice any unusual symptoms.
Stay tuned for more updates.
