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Wearables can be useful tools when health tracking. However, when it comes to sleep disorders, there are things they can and can’t tell you.
There are numerous devices on the market for health tracking. You can use devices to monitor almost every aspect of health and every health risk. This includes your fitness level, your blood pressure and heart rate, and your blood oxygen saturation. Using these devices can be a convenient way to track your health over time. However, they do have some limitations as well, particularly when it comes to sleep disorders. If you’ve been using your device to track your sleep, here’s what they can and can’t do.
There are a wide variety of wearable devices that promise to help track your health measurements. These can measure everything from blood pressure to heart rate, activity level, and blood oxygenation levels. These devices come in a variety of forms as well, including Fitbits and smartwatches. There are also apps you can put on your phone that will help monitor your health measurements. These aren’t technically wearable, but they’re still very popular amongst people who are concerned about their health.
The reason why you’re using wearable devices to track your health metrics is important. If you buy a device that tracks your heart rate just out of curiosity, then there’s no problem. Even if you’re using it as part of a larger self-monitoring program, then these devices can be beneficial. However, the trouble comes when you use these devices as a source of medical grade information.
Wearable devices aren’t as accurate as dedicated medical devices. So, using them as a primary source of medical information isn’t beneficial. The data they gather is often inaccurate or taken incorrectly. This can confuse your health condition or even obscure declining health risk factors. If you’re concerned about your health, this flawed data can only make the situation worse.
Sleep disorders can range from snoring to insomnia and sleep apnea. And they’re a growing problem in the world. It’s estimated that between 50 and 70 million people in the US have a sleep disorder. And this is a huge problem because poor sleep is a serious health risk. It’s been linked to a range of health conditions including:
Unfortunately, sleep disorders are extremely hard to diagnose as well. This also increases the risk of diagnostic mistakes. The most accurate way to diagnose a sleeping disorder is with an EEG machine in a special laboratory. This testing process can be long, laborious, and expensive.
Some wearable devices are now promising to sidestep this process. They claim that their devices can give you a full picture of your sleeping patterns in the privacy of your own home. These devices are designed to draw conclusions about your sleep based on your movements, pulse variations, and oxygen saturation while you sleep. They then use this information to track your sleep duration, identify interruptions, and even detect your phases of sleep.
If you have a sleep disorder, then you probably know about it. These types of conditions tend to cause obvious symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, or ongoing problems getting to or staying asleep. So, a wearable device that tells you what you already know isn’t really that helpful.
The accuracy of these wearable devices is also extremely suspect. How much you move and your heartrate when you sleep isn’t an accurate measurement of its quality. In fact, you shouldn’t rely on these devices for gathering any clinical information about your sleep at all. Wearable devices are a false solution. They promise everything but don’t deliver real solutions that work for the millions of people who are struggling. They give the appearance of action without addressing the problems. So, if you think you have a serious problem with your sleep, talk to your doctor about it. This is the best way to get the right diagnosis and decrease this health risk.
The Takeaway
If you have a non-serious sleep disorder, then a wearable device may be helpful. You can use it to get a clearer idea of what’s happening at night and monitor your sleep for any changes. However, if you have a serious sleep disorder, then these devices may be more harmful than helpful. They can increase your stress levels, which will further impede sleep and worsen the original health risk. Wearables can give you a false sense of security, like you’re doing something to help when you aren’t. They may also give you inaccurate data that prevents you from seeking the treatment you need.
Basically, don’t get misled by the inaccurate information your watch is giving you. If you see signs of a problem, take it to the professionals.
