Why Insights & Tech Should Be Making Us Healthier
In today’s world being healthy is hard. We’re all far to busy, watch too much Netflix and probably drink too much wine…It shouldn’t have to be hard when we’re surrounded by tech.
We’re smart but we’re still kinda dumb
We are surrounded by some pretty smart technology, from machine learning to tiny wearable devices. But even with all that fancy gear we still don’t have any insights into how we can be healthier or how body is feeling.
“I just don’t think it has been nailed yet”
Don’t get me wrong there’s definitely a bunch of apps and devices that try and assist us but I just don’t think it has been nailed yet.
What’s out there right now?
There are a tonne of wearables that you can easily buy for under $300 all loaded with smart sensors that can monitor your health (almost 24/7). There are also 100's of apps that try and integrate with these devices as well as offer some kind of platform or service that aims to make you healthier or more active.
I’ve tried a lot of these apps and devices but am still to find anything that I truly find useful. The main reason behind that in my opinion is the disconnect between the wearable and the app itself. For example your wearable might know how many steps you’ve completed today but that information alone is not that helpful.
I like that Android and iOS have API’s that allow developers to access this information but to be honest, if these kind of features were built right into the OS the experience and quality would be 10X better.
What we should be seeing by now
We’ve had wearables and health platforms for years now and not to sound like a typical millennial but I’m kind of bored and disappointed in their progress.
What I think we should be seeing by now are insights. Lots and lots of insights.
These platforms and wearables already have a huge amount of data, from how many steps you’ve walked to how your heart rate was during the day so there should be no reason why we aren’t seeing insights right now.
Insights? How do they help?
As I said we’re all way to busy these days to realise that we haven’t completed any exercise today or maybe even left the couch. That’s where insights fit in.
In their most basic form they can be simple reminders that guilt you into being more active, to complex notifications or alerts that bring forward information that would otherwise be hidden behind all that data.
Bringing this information forward will help you set and reach your goals as well as understand your body and its limits, ultimately building healthy lifestyles! #winning
Is there anything exciting on the horizon?
There’s always some kind of new wearable either being released or discontinued (JawBone).There are a few, I think, that are heading in the right direction like Fitbit and their range and of course the Apple Watch.
As for platforms or apps…if you buy one of the above then you’ll likely see major improvements in this area in the next year or so due to the progress with machine learning. I’m sure there are others working on similar ideas but in my opinion the two giants above will likely lead in this area.
Recently at Apple’s WWDC they demoed some exciting WatchOS 4 features that seem to be heading in the right direction…
Until then we’ll have to be patient and wait and see.
If your already using a wearable I’d love to know what kind of insights you’d find useful and interesting!?
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