The Impacts of Wearable Technology on Your Health
Computers have become intimately tied to modern life. But has our relationship grown too close?
Computers have become intimately tied to modern life. But has our relationship grown too close?
It’s something to consider in the age of wearables.
Some wearables, such as smartwatches, give you a few things to do—like the opportunity to flip through your favorite songs or check the latest weather forecast. In most cases, however, you’re not meant to consciously engage with the technology for it to do its job. You just wear the device, and go about your day, as the wearable works in the background.
The tech industry sees wearables as a big area for growth. Apple currently dominates the wearables market, however, Google is also turning attention to developing these products.
Why Wear Wearables?
One major reason people wear these devices is to benefit their health. Wearables can record the number of steps you take, calories you burn, or any other health data you might want to collect an analyze. Fitness trackers, for example, chart your exercise progress, encouraging you to improve your numbers over time.
Beyond gauging and enhancing physical performance, wearables may be used to evaluate our psychological health as well.
Anxiety Inducing?
For all the health benefits wearables claim to offer, there is also evidence that suggests these devices are not so healthy. For example, some individuals find all this personal data overwhelming. Some studies show that health tracking can contribute to addiction and anxiety.
The study looked at patients with intermittent atrial fibrillation who were especially susceptible to excessive cardiac monitoring with a wearable device. They found that anxiety was prevalent among this population, leading to a higher symptom burden, worsened quality of life, and an increase in health care consumption.
“Thus, technologies that heighten awareness and attention to normal and potentially abnormal fluctuations in heart rates may lead to substantial increases in anxiety in predisposed persons and prompt unnecessary medical care,” the study stated.
Wireless Harms and Privacy
There’s a big push to expand the wearables market, but many consumers are hesitant to strap on a wireless device that records and transmits data from their minds and bodies. Non-health-related concerns include the privacy and cyber security issues regarding your personal information.
Radiation exposure is another concern with wearables. These devices typically connect wirelessly through Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or other wireless communication technologies, and since they are in close proximity to your body, you are exposed to more of the frequencies wearables emit.
FCC guidelines for wireless radiation were adopted in 1996, long before smartphones and wearables were introduced. However, several studies since then have suggested that RF radiation exposure—considered harmless by FCC standards—can cause harm.
“Exposure to electromagnetic energy generally decreases with distance from the source. Therefore, our guidance is to eliminate or increase distance from wireless sources whenever possible. Since wearables must be worn close to the body, we recommend eliminating the use of wearables altogether, if possible,” Ms. Husain said.
Of course, RF fields are difficult, if not impossible, to avoid these days. Homes, schools, and workplaces are already bathed in Wi-Fi 24/7, and most people carry a smartphone wherever they go. So does adding a wearable into your daily mix of wireless radiation exposure really make much of a difference?
Ms. Husain says it does.
“Exposure from wireless sources is complex and cumulative,” she said. “This means that the more wireless sources a person is exposed to, and the closer they are to the body, the greater the health risk.”
CHD’s guidance on reducing RF exposure calls to eliminate or disable wireless devices whenever possible, and to maximize the distance between you and the device.
“This general guidance also applies to wearables like Apple watches, fitbits, etc. and our guidance would be to eliminate these kinds of devices altogether,” Husain said.