What does a fitness tracker or health band do?
- Updated:October 11, 2021
A fitness tracker is a wrist worn device that monitors several health-related factors.
They vary in design and functionality and may be in the form of a health band or smart watch.
However, here are some of the key features you can expect to find in a fitness tracker:
1. It counts your steps.
It counts how many steps you make.
There are benefits to walking. The step counter helps you know whether you are doing enough.
Depending on which brand you choose, tracker can monitor steps, distance, time, speed, heart rate and calories burned, too.
2. It tracks your exercises.
Many fitness bands also track other activities as well. You can add running, yoga, treadmill, swimming, jump rope and cycling. This depends on the brand and model you buy.
3. It monitors your vital signs.
It tracks vitals such as heart rate and calories burned in addition to tracking your movement and workouts.
You will get a better snapshot of your overall health immediately.
4. It monitors and records your sleep.
It is important to get enough sleep. Sleep helps keep your mind and body healthy.
Sleep deficiency is a common health problem. Nowadays, many people are not sleeping well as they should as it is hard to switch off.
Get enough rest by understanding your sleep cycle.
Your fitness tracker can record the amount and kind of sleep you are getting.
You will know how well-rested you are by looking at the time spent on:
- deep sleep
- light sleep
- Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep
- Time awake.
5. It tracks the calories you burn.
Most, if not all fitness trackers have a calorie tracking feature to help you monitor calories burned for each activity or exercise session.
It is not about the number of calories consumed and is more about the type. However, it is good to know to help you avoid taking in too many calories or conversely too few.
6. It can be synchronised with a health and fitness app on your smartphone.
The best way to use a fitness tracker is to install the accompanying app on your phone. You can align your health goals with your activity level.
Your fitness tracker is also compatible with tools like smart scales which will track your body weight and fat distribution. you will get a more complete picture of your health.
Concluding thoughts.
Statistics and numbers help define your fitness level.
Monitoring your health data helps you know if you are meeting your specific fitness targets quickly.
We can get a better understanding of how we are doing and not how we think we are doing.