My Opinion of Smartwatches and Health

Do you own a smartwatch? Any smart watch, say AppleWatch, Garmin, etc. How often are you using it for your exercise? Do you track every piece of exercise that you do? Do you track all your steps? 

In today’s world, there is so much technology involved in all that we do. So even smartwatches are an everyday staple to some, maybe most people. My main question is, how often are people actually using them for their fitness? And is it really needed? I was contemplating this the other day. Some people say that if you don’t record it, on your watch or your phone, it doesn’t really happen. Now is that something that people just “say”, or is it true? Is it all in the state of your own mind and thoughts on how you think about it? I thought to myself, what if I don’t track my workout? Would it mean anything to me? I mean I’m the only one that knows anyways right? Unless I’m doing a class with other people. But why are people making such a big deal about making it known when they exercise? Is it to say how much they do it? Is it to keep track for any health habits? Is it because everyone else is tracking it? It really got me thinking, do I need to track my exercise, if it’s just for me? In my head I kept saying, well I don’t really. We never needed it before smartwatches existed, right? I could stop keeping track of my exercise. And then I had another thought. What if I’m doing it to keep myself accountable. Not that I need to know how many calories I burned or how many steps I took, but to remind myself that I can do it and that I did do it. Numbers. Numbers are everywhere. And why do we feel the need to keep track of all these numbers?! Part of me says “screw the keeping track of exercise”! I can do it without all the notifications and reminders, and “your exercise ring has been closed”. And yet I still haven’t taken the smartwatch off when I exercise. And I guess that’s my experiment, right? Do I really need the smartwatch to prompt me that I need to stand up? Our bodies can tell us what we need, if we listen. So in this world of ever evolving technology, including smartwatches, are they necessary? Or is it just a luxury item that everyone wants and feels that they need. 

So, I have been doing an experiment. The past 5 weeks, I have not been recording my exercise. I didn’t want one more thing to think about or have my mind wander about. There’s already so much going through my brain that I can’t keep track of so why tack on another thing. So rather than start exercising and going “shoot, I need to start my watch!”I decided to not even look at it. I decided to not press “start” on the fitness app on my watch. I didn’t want to track what I was doing. Because you know why, I don’t need to look at the rings on my watch closely to know that I’m doing something healthy for myself. I don’t need another notification from my watch saying I’ve met my standing goal. Why does technology change anything about the way I exercise, for me? Because in the end, it is for me. It’s not for others to see. Now, I don’t mind if people see/follow me because of what I’m doing for exercise. But when I share certain things it’s because I feel empowered for one reason or another. Or I just want to share something with you all. I’m digressing here. Ultimately, the power of technology and tracking exercise is something that I’m starting to let go of. For me, my smartwatch is for telling me time and letting me know who is trying to contact me. I don’t really care to keep track of my exercises. My exercise is more for my mental health than it is to lose weight anyways. But that’s my journey. It may not be yours. 

But it could be someone’s and that is totally ok. But it’s not for me. I’m enjoying not tracking my fitness. I’m enjoying what the exercise is doing for my mind and how I physically feel. 

So tell me, do you have a smartwatch? Do you use it to track your exercise or other health things? Do you find it helps you or hinders you? Regardless, I’d like to hear from you! Comment and let me know!