This Is Why Your Smartwatch Is Giving You Anxiety, and What You Can Do About It
Key takeaways
- Whenever I wear a smartwatch, I find that my anxiety increases -- specifically, my health anxiety.
- What s ironic is that part of my job involves testing health-monitoring wearables, including fitness trackers and smart rings.
- Healthy adults and individuals with pre-existing medical conditions are increasingly using these devices to manage their health.
Whenever I wear a smartwatch, I find that my anxiety increases -- specifically, my health anxiety. Also known as hypochondria or illness anxiety disorder, this type of anxiety makes me worry that I am or may become ill even when I m healthy.
What s ironic is that part of my job involves testing health-monitoring wearables, including fitness trackers and smart rings. While I love exploring this technology and do think it can help you learn more about your body, I have to be careful about how I use it so my anxiety isn t triggered.
Healthy adults and individuals with pre-existing medical conditions are increasingly using these devices to manage their health. Whether 24/7 access to health information from a wearable actually helps or potentially harms people is really unclear, says Dr. Lindsey Rosman, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiology and co-director of the Cardiovascular Device and Data Science Lab at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.