About five years ago, Taylor Poindexter wore the Oura ring, a wearable device that promises metrics like tracking sleep patterns. Now it’s probably collecting dust in a storage unit at the bottom of a random box.
The 35-year-old from Arlington, Virginia, says, “I’m not one to try too hard to get healthy, but I feel like sleep is one of the things I can really focus on and have a positive impact on my body. So the idea that there was something that could help me sleep better and be healthier overall was very appealing to me.”
But as the months passed, she realized something. Once she felt better and was able to be herself, the ring told her that she felt tired and needed rest. Did she miss something? Thoughts ran through her head: “Something is wrong internally and it’s telling me so.” She later became disillusioned and disappointed. Poindexter stopped wearing her ring late at night with friends because she was afraid to wear it if she had a glass or two of wine or stayed out late.
A year later, she took off the ring for good.
She recently shared her experience on social media. Some agreed with her, while others disagreed.
One X user wrote, “Placebo effects are underestimated. Too much surveillance can be your worst enemy. Tracking is not always positive.” “You don’t need a wearable to communicate how you’re feeling,” said another, while another added, “The real value of these things is understanding trends over months and years.”
USA TODAY has reached out to Oura for comment.
Research shows that wearable devices cause stress and anxiety in some patients. Today, more data is available to the average person than ever before thanks to devices like the Oura ring, WHOOP bracelet, and Apple Watch, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to track these metrics. With longevity influencers, government officials, private sector experts, traditional medicine experts and more clashing on the subject, consumers are often literally left to their own devices, without clear instructions on who (or what) to trust.
According to medical experts, regular visits to your primary care physician remain the standard recommendation for maintaining good health. But wearable technology devices can be an additional tool in your toolbox.
Wearable devices as “potential insights” into longevity
Poindexter still wears an Apple Watch. Step counts, heart rate, and general calorie burn are worth monitoring, she says, but tread carefully. “I like to look at it as kind of a potential insight, but I try not to rely on it too much, because over the years I’ve also found myself doing things where, for example, right before a workout my Apple Watch goes off, and I’m like, ‘Oh my god, it’s not tracking me or I don’t know how many calories I’ve burned.'” And, you know, getting into that mindset, that’s exactly what I want to avoid. ”She never wears it to bed.
Wearables can absolutely be beneficial and even life-saving for the right patients. The key is to view every data point as a small part of the overall story, rather than as an indicator of overall health. According to a blog post from Banner Health, “Your energy, mood, strength, and comfort matter.” “If you are in good physical condition, slight changes in your numbers may not require immediate attention.”
The way WHOOP Chief Marketing Officer John Sullivan sees it, data can only become overwhelming if left unchecked. Think of the information you get from wearables as nudges, not report cards. “It’s important to make all of these small decisions add up and experience a virtuous cycle of positive reinforcement and behavior change,” he previously told USA TODAY.
Rather than relying solely on wearables, Poindexter gets annual health exams and enrolls in functions that include more thorough blood and biomarker tests.
Either way, we’ll all start tracking our health more closely. Take wearable data with a (huge) discount.
