A BBC story today describes how many people are using data from smart watches particularly around sleep quality which may be inaccurate.
It seems that the sleep score is highly subjective and that placing importance on it above for comparison could be harmful. Patients are going to their GPs and complaining of sleep problems when there is little evidence of it.
For any of us using smart watches to track health data we do need to treat it as an indicator and notice patterns and trends but not use it as a diagnostic tool. For example, on my Garmin smart watch it rarely records the correct time that I go to sleep as if I’m reading in bed it often takes the time from then as my pulse and respiration slows. I manually edit this each morning.
I’m currently building an app for HYPERFOCUSED! that will collect data from users and enable you to spot trends and log thoughts and feelings – especially geared towards neurodivergence. It will not diagnose or assess but will allow you to spot changes and be more mindful of habits which is why I do it. I love stats and feel more likely to stick with something if I am recording it but top often I start something then stop when bored.
I’m sure you can identify with this!
So the message is to take notice of the data you see but don’t read too much into it. Be curious about it and what is changing for you and if other symptoms arise that worry you this data could be useful when telling your GP. But these trackers are not on their own capable or reliable enough to 100% spot an illness or disorder on their own.
If you want to join a group of people testing out the new app before it goes anywhere feel free to sign up to the community and you’ll get the option to join in.
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