Beyond the Readiness Score: The Future of Wellness

Imagine it, you wake up and feel amazing, but then..Boom, your readiness score says you shouldn’t be feeling good, and your mood immediately drops. This is a problem that is all too common in the current age of mobile wellness, and it’s something we all should look at beyond its surface value.

What are the Benefits of these Devices?

These devices can benefit us greatly by monitoring things like our heart rate, sleep, daily steps, calories, and workouts to help manage our stress levels and improve our overall habits. This practice can generally reduce our psychological distress through better self-care and greater awareness of overall health. They also just overall encourage us to be more aware of our bodies and activity levels. In addition, in some cases, these devices can even be life-saving, detecting irregularities like high blood pressure or abnormalities in your heart’s rhythm. Additionally, one further benefit is that these trackers can better compel better behavior, like noticing the relationship between lower sleep score and alcohol consumption.

The Downside..

Now we’ve talked about the positives, but conversely, if not utilized properly, they can cause a lot of issues. Monitoring the information our devices record and seeing how our bodies’ data is analyzed can cause things like anxiety, obsessions, and even guilt. This is especially prevalent in individuals who are already dealing with poor mental health or other disorders. Individuals diagnosed with somatic and hypochondriacal forms of anxiety could be at especially high risk and may even use these metrics in an effort to soothe themselves.

Research shows that constant monitoring, particularly of our heart rate and rhythm, can cause increased anxiety and trigger unnecessary, frequent consultations with healthcare providers. For those with medical anxiety, this can be especially harmful, and in some cases, even worsen the symptoms. (Lane 2024)

When Informed Turns to Obsessed.

Often, we don’t realize when we cross the bridge from utilizing these devices to becoming reliant on them. Once we do, it can be hard to break the habit. Here are some signs you might need to take a step back and reevaluate your relationship with your wearable.

• First/Last Look: Bookending your day with data.
• Mood Swings: Letting a low score ruin a good mood or a “perfect” score mask burnout.
• Pulse Gazing: Creating a feedback loop where monitoring your heart rate actually raises it,
• Panic Checking: Using Data as a crutch for any minor physical or emotional discomfort.
• Device Dictation: Ignoring physical exhaustion to “close a ring” or hit a step goal.

If you catch yourself doing some of these, it may be time to take a break.

What to do if this happens.

The good news is, there’s lots of techniques to get you back on track!

• The “Turn Off” Test: Disable notifications for everything except the essentials. Don’t let your device “nudge” you to move if you’re focused on a task.
• Blind Tracking: Wear the device but commit to only checking the date once a week. This helps you focus on how your body actually feels rather than real-time fluctuations.
• Charge it in the Morning: Don’t wear it to bed for a few nights. Giving yourself a break from the “Sleep Score” can help you reconnect with your circadian rhythm.
• Listen to your “Bio Feedback”: Before you check your score, ask yourself: How do I feel right now?

Therapy can also be life-changing and help your body and brain reconnect safely so that these urges become less necessary over time.

Summary

To reclaim your well-being, shift from monitoring to mentoring. A healthy relationship with technology means using it as a secondary consultant rather than a primary director. By implementing “Data Detoxes,” practicing mindful check-ins, and prioritizing physical sensations over digital scores, you can return the tracker to its rightful place: as a tool for your life, not a master of it.

Looking for Support?

If you’re seeking support for anxiety, contact us at 412-856-WELL or complete the form below to get started.

Written by, Corryn Ling, Marketing Director

Sources

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/am-i-dying/202409/how-wearable-technology-can-worsen-health-anxiety#:~:text=In%20a%202024%20study%20on,on%20what%20we%20are%20doing.