32 | Should I Trust My Smartwatch?

How to: Fitness

In this episode of the How To Fitness Podcast, we delve into smartwatch reliability and usage, with a special focus on whether these popular devices can be trusted for fitness tracking.

We cover smartwatch features like step counts, sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring, and calorie burn estimations, dispelling myths and setting realistic expectations for users. We offer insights into the varied accuracy of different brands and stresses the importance of using smartwatches as a guide rather than an absolute measure for health and fitness.

5:25 We explore the world of smartwatches, from different brands and preferences to current market trends. You may be surprised by which country has the most smartwatch users in the world!

https://www.demandsage.com/smartwatch-statistics/

10:56 The accuracy of step counts from smartwatches varies greatly between brands and how we wear our watches. A fun fact: a smartphone in our pocket is more accurate at counting steps than a watch on your wrist!

17:11 We can’t substitute data for critical thinking. It’s best to use our watches as a barometer to measure general movement, rather than as an accurate measure of step count.

17:52 How reliable is sleep tracking on smart watches? There is extreme variability between brands and most overestimate sleep by misrepresenting periods of wakefulness. Typically, smartwatches are better at recording deep sleep.

22:02 There is a psychological impact of sleep tracking, and it could be more hurtful than helpful at times. We talk through how we can make the most of the data these various smartwatches provide.

26:58 Smartwatches are getting much better at monitoring heart rate, with new abilities to even monitor heart rate irregularities. Fitness trackers become less accurate as the intensity of our exercise increases.

35:00 Where smartwatches tend to let us down: in estimating accurate calorie burn. Smartwatches typically don’t have enough data to provide calorie burn information that reflects our true caloric needs, though we can utilize that information as a barometer.

38:38 Smartwatch usage can be a part of a healthy relationship with food and movement, as long as we navigate the data in a way that includes nuance and doesn’t leave us hyper-fixated on the numbers. Our watches can inform our movement, but shouldn’t dictate how we

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