Is Your Health Tech Device Wearing YOU?
When Health Tech Hurts More Than It Helps 🥗 🚴♂️ 😴
ICYMI 👉
I recently counseled a patient to break up with her wearable step tracker. “It’s like a bad boyfriend,” she explained. “It wants more and more from me, and I’m starting to feel worse about myself.”
Instead of religiously counting her steps, we decided she would benefit from exercising more intuitively—enjoying a walk when she felt like it, and not beating herself up on days she didn’t have time. More importantly, she would tune in to how she felt, mentally and physically, after a good sweat instead of relying on a device for validation.
If you’re like many of my patients, you’re probably wearing some form of health technology right now. Whether it’s a smartwatch, an app monitoring your sleep, or a subscription service analyzing your eating habits, health tech has promised to help us live longer, healthier lives by providing unprecedented insights into our bodies.
But what happens when those insights start to overwhelm rather than empower? Increasingly, I see patients whose relationship with their health tech has gone awry. Instead of clarity, they’re left feeling anxious, confused, and disconnected from their intuition. Let’s discuss how and why health tech can sometimes hurt more than it helps—and how to use it intentionally to support, rather than sabotage, your well-being.
The Allure of Data-Driven Health
Health tech taps into our desire for control and certainty in an uncertain world. With just a glance at your wrist, you can see how many calories you’ve burned, how well you slept, or whether your heart rate is "normal." For many people, this data feels like a lifeline—a way to quantify and improve their health.
But here’s the thing: more data isn’t always better. In fact, it can be a double-edged sword. While some metrics can provide valuable insights, others are less meaningful or even misleading when taken out of context. And when the data doesn’t align with how you’re feeling or what you expected, it can lead to unnecessary stress.
When Health Tech Becomes a Source of Anxiety
Information Overload: The human body is incredibly complex, and no single device or app can capture its full story. Yet, many health tech tools present data without sufficient context, leaving users to interpret what it all means and leading to excessive focus on numbers, fueling anxiety and even obsession. One patient of mine became so fixated on her sleep score on her Oura ring that she started sleeping poorly—because she was stressed about optimizing her sleep!
Misinterpretation of Metrics: Not all metrics are created equal. For instance, a high heart rate variability (HRV) might be a sign of good recovery for one person but could be completely normal for another. Without guidance, people can misinterpret these numbers, leading to unnecessary worry or, conversely, a false sense of security.
Loss of Intuition: By outsourcing awareness to technology, some people lose touch with their own bodies. A runner who’s always monitoring their pace might ignore signs of fatigue because their smartwatch says they’re on track. Similarly, someone who feels rested but wakes up to a "poor" sleep score might question their instincts, doubting their own bodily cues.
Perfectionism and Guilt: Health tech can also exacerbate perfectionist tendencies. Missing a step goal, falling short on exercise minutes, or seeing a less-than-ideal score can trigger feelings of failure, even when these metrics are arbitrary or unimportant in the grand scheme of health.
How to Use Health Tech Intentionally
The good news is that health tech doesn’t have to be a source of stress. By approaching these tools with intention and balance, you can reap their benefits without falling into their traps. Here are some strategies to consider:
Define Your “Why”: Before adopting any health tech, ask yourself: What am I hoping to achieve? What problem am I trying to solve? Are you looking to build a new habit, gain insight into a specific health concern, or simply satisfy curiosity? In other words, just because you can gather data doesn’t mean you should. Having a clear purpose will help you determine whether a particular tool aligns with your health goals.
Focus on Trends, Not Single Data Points: Reacting to one day of poor sleep or one episode of a slightly low heart rate can do more harm than good. Instead, look for patterns over time. Trends are far more informative and useful. For example, a patient of mine in his mid-fifties received several alerts from his Apple watch about a low heart rate—which caused me to refer him to a cardiologist and get the pacemaker he needed. Without the home heart monitoring, this might have been delayed or missed.
Be Selective About What You Track: Not everything needs to be measured. There is such a thing as too much information. Consider which metrics genuinely enhance your understanding of your health and which ones add unnecessary noise. For example, if you’re already exercising regularly and feel good, do you really need to track every calorie burned?
Tune Into Your Body: Use health tech as a complement to—not a replacement for—your own intuition. If your device says you’ve had a bad night’s sleep but you feel energized, trust your body over the data. Similarly, if you feel off even when your numbers look fine, don’t dismiss those feelings.
Set Boundaries: It’s easy to let health tech dominate your day. Consider setting limits, like checking your metrics at a specific time rather than obsessively throughout the day. Some people even find it helpful to take "tech breaks" to reset their relationship with these tools.
Consult a Professional: If you’re using health tech to monitor a medical condition, involve your doctor in the process. They can help you interpret the data and decide what’s worth paying attention to. These tools are meant to support—not replace—personalized medical advice.
A Healthier Relationship with Health Tech
Health tech can help motivate us and keep us on track with our goals. It can keep track of trends that matter to our everyday health. But it’s important to remember that no device can capture the full complexity of your health—and you are the ultimate expert on your own body.
The next time you glance at your smartwatch or open a health app, take a moment to reflect. Is this information helping you feel more empowered and informed? Or is it adding to your stress? By asking these questions and using health tech with intention, you can stay in the driver’s seat of your health—and keep moving toward a life that feels truly well.
So tell me, what device do you use, if any? How has it helped—or not helped—you? I’d love to hear your stories! 🙋🏻♀️
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are entirely my own. They do not reflect those of my employer, nor are they a substitute for advice from your personal physician.
Wearable Tech is brilliant.
There is a lot of nuance to it. The key is to treat the data as another lens to increase your understanding of your body and mind with.
I've used a Garmin for almost 20 years (lots of Ironman and ultra trail runs) and recently started using a Whoop as well.
The key is to realise that there is a mind body axis and both reinforce and subvert each other.
So - on a cold wet morning - is my body still recovering or is my mind malingering?
On a sustained hill climb hearing the audio cue about my heart rate and comparing that to what my breath, my legs and my mind are telling me lets me decide to push or hold back.
When waking up at 5am and feeling meh but having had enough sleep availability, looking at my strain chart to see whether it was flat or started ramping up from 2am, to help set my intention for the day.
After running every day for a couple of weeks looking at my TSS (Training Stress Score) to get a sense of whether I am overtraining or not (Because with ADHD you can never over train, until you collapse).
They are a tool. Equally it's often wonderful to run naked - without a watch...
Thinking about it the readings are meaningless, the trends are everything. Worth thinking about
I've been wearing a Fitbit zip since they came out. It counts steps only. Before that, I wore a "pedometer." That's enough for me; it tells me whether I've moved enough that day, and sometimes, if I'm listening to an audio book while I walk, its numbers suggest I should take a walk around a block or two before turning in. That's the only information I'm interested in.