With the advancement of technology, digital watches have become more than just a timekeeping device. Digital watches or smartwatches are gaining popularity day by day as self-tracking tool. Not only are smartwatches great for monitoring health-related data but they also promote an active lifestyle.
Nowadays doctors and health practitioners promote using digital watches for people especially those who are dealing with health conditions like heart problems, abnormal motions, fall detection, and many more. As a smartwatch can track and store data, it helps doctors identify patterns around sleep activity, heart health, and oxygen vitals. With the advancement of technology, there are now digital watches with embedded medical-grade sensors which help detect ECG, SPO2, and blood pressure.
5 Ways You Can Use Digital Watches For Healthcare
1. Sleep Monitoring
Getting a restful sleep is an integral part of maintaining overall health and well-being. According to many doctors, an adult requires an average of 7 hours of good-quality sleep on a regular schedule each night. Most digital watches now have built-in monitoring features that help track sleep patterns.
These digital watches use accelerometers to monitor both the quantity and quality of sleep. An algorithm analyses accelerometer data to calculate sleep time and quality using the movement you make while sleeping. Not only do these digital watches monitor sleep but also track deep sleep time and improve your daily sleeping habits through regular reminders.
Sleep monitoring is extremely beneficial for people who deal with sleep disorders like insomnia, sleep apnea, or abnormal movements and behaviors during sleep also known as parasomnias. People who experience restless body movements in their sleep can also download a sleep monitoring app for their digital watch. These apps sync to their devices and notify caregivers and loved ones when the watch detects abnormal body movements while they are sleeping.
2. Accelerating an Active Lifestyle
Digital watches are one of the most effective ways to track your physical fitness and maintain an active lifestyle. Most digital watches are now equipped with sensors that monitor your heart rate, the number of steps you take, and the calories you burn throughout the day.
Not only just basic step counter but many advanced digital watches models have an in-built sports mode which has more than 20+ workout modes and sports activities tracking features. From outdoor running to core training from yoga to mixed aerobics, you can almost find anything on these smartwatches. By setting fitness goals and tracking your progress, you can make adjustments to your daily routine and improve your physical health.
3. Abnormal Motion Detection
One of the most remarkable in-built features of digital watches is detecting abnormal motion detection. This feature is especially helpful for seniors who live alone or for people with certain medical conditions that make them more prone to falls. This feature also uses an accelerometer to detect sudden and abnormal movements that may indicate a fall or a hard hit.
As the digital watch will detect any abnormal motion, it will vibrate and sound an alarm to alert the wearer. If the wearer does not turn off the alarm, the watch will automatically send an alert to the wearer’s emergency contacts, so they can check and make sure the person is okay.
4. Heart Health Monitoring
As there are a variety of internal and external markers of heart health there is no digital watch that can measure all dimensions accurately. For people with heart conditions, these digital watches can track their heart rate throughout the day. Some digital watches models also have electrocardiogram (ECG) features that measure your heart’s electrical activity.
This feature helps detect irregular heart rhythms and other heart conditions early, so you can seek treatment before they become more serious. With the help of detecting heart rate, doctors can also monitor using the data that gets stored in these digital watches.
5. Medication Reminders
Tracking multiple medications and taking them on time is a difficult task, especially for people who are taking multiple medications. Digital watches can successfully serve as medication reminders. This feature can be highly useful for people who are dealing with chronic conditions or older adults with multiple prescriptions every day.
Missing a dose or taking the wrong medication can have serious consequences. Fortunately, with the help of digital watches, you can easily manage medication via reminders. You can set up multiple alarms for different medications at different times of the day, ensuring you never miss a dose. Many digital watches also have a medication tracking feature that lets you input the name of your medication, dosage, and frequency. Some advanced digital watches also come with features that allow you to track your medication history, schedule on your phone or computer and even send reminders to your caregivers or family members.
With digital watches’ advancements over the years, they are now valuable health and wellness tools. These devices are more than just timepieces, since they monitor sleep, track physical fitness, detect abnormal motion, monitor heart health, and remind you to take medications. With these features, we can improve our overall health and enjoy a happier and healthier life.
