When it comes to devices, is data too much of a good thing? | Expert Opinion

If you’re one of the many people that wear a watch or other device that tracks your health, you have access to an incredible amount of data. With a flick of your wrist, you can learn the exact number of steps you’ve taken in a day, how many hours and minutes you slept and the time spent in each sleep phase, your heart rate and rhythm, your blood sugar, and so much more. We live in an age of amazing technology, with more information at our fingertips than ever before. So, what do we do with all this information?

Data can help motivate us to meet exercise goals (though there isn’t clear evidence to support the rule of 10,000 steps daily, there’s certainly no harm in aiming for it). Having information about our sleep may encourage us to make it more of a priority. For those with an underlying heart condition, knowledge of heart rate and rhythm may be useful in guiding medical treatment. People with diabetes now have instant information about their blood sugar level without having to prick their fingers every few hours. No one can argue that having access to data about our bodies can contribute to improving health and wellness.

However, the sheer amount of data gathered can be overwhelming and at times distressing. It’s quite common for patients to tell me that they thought they were healthy until their device told them otherwise. One reason for this is that any device tracking health data uses a fairly narrow range of what is considered “normal.” If you fall outside that range your device assumes something is wrong. Heart rate range and variability is a perfect example. While most adults have a heart rate between 60 and 100 beats per minute, there are perfectly healthy people who have heart rates less than 60. In fact, we often see this in athletes. Not to mention that in any given day a person’s heart rate goes up and down. A device might interpret some of this as abnormal and send the wearer a health alert.

It can be easy to assume that the data collected by a wearable device should be trusted over our own experience, but this isn’t usually the case. What is often the best measure of wellness is how you feel physically and emotionally. If your device shows sleep data that isn’t “normal,” but your energy level is great, and your sleep is good quality, it’s OK to trust yourself instead of your device. Aside from blood glucose monitors for people with diabetes or heart rhythm trackers for atrial fibrillation, I often reassure my patients that they can safely disregard most of the data from their devices.

My advice for how best to use fitness trackers and other wearable devices is to consider your health and wellness goals. If you have concerns about your sleep or daytime energy, collecting data through a device may be useful but follow it up with a visit to your physician. If you seek motivation to do more exercise, a step tracker can be great but that number shouldn’t be your only goal. For example, I wear a device that counts my steps. While it is nice to see the little fireworks that explode on the screen when I hit 10,000, I recognize that some days what may be best for my health is to rest or read a book. Other days I may stretch or lift weights. Those activities won’t show up on my tracker, but they still contribute to my health.

Like many things in life, moderation is key. Think about what data you want to receive and why. If hearing an alert sound or seeing certain data is distracting, consider turning it off. Most importantly, don’t let your device override what your body is telling you. No device is meant to cause stress or anxiety. If you are getting alerts that your data is abnormal or an indication that something is wrong, let your doctor know and have a conversation before you make any radical changes to your lifestyle.

Amanda Finegold Swain is a family medicine physician who works in the University of Pennsylvania Health System.