TECH CONTROL

Get the most out of your health and fitness devices, says Dr Alka Patel

-  LUCY ROBINSON

With a heart rate monitor and stepometer on her wrist and a light sensor clipped onto her jumper, Dr Alka Patel looks like an astronaut setting off for a mission to the International Space Station. But for Dr Patel, this is ordinary.

Putting on her collection of wearable tech is simply part of her morning routine, alongside brushing her teeth, doing her hair and applying make-up.

And she’s not the only one – around 3.65 million Brits own a smartwatch. The Duchess of Sussex has even been spotted wearing an anti-stress patch, which claims to slow down the body’s response to stress by sending signals to the parasympathetic nervous system. Wearable tracking devices to monitor our daily steps or activity levels are also proving popular.

The difference lies in the data, as a YouGov survey found just 54% of Brits understand all of the metrics on a wearable device. Now, Dr Patel is on a mission to get people using this information to their advantage as part of what’s being dubbed “biohacking”.

“The hacking bit is about looking at the principles and processes that take place in your body. The bio bit is biology. What you’re doing is finding a shortcut to take over your biology,” she explains.