Why you shouldn't rely entirely on your smart watch

For those who religiously track metrics on smart watches, a new study holds warnings about faulty data collection

- Shrenik Avlani

At the turn of this century wearables became available to almost everyone with the 2003 launch of Garmin's first GPS-based running watch, Forerunner 201. Other trackers from Jawbone to FitBit followed but what truly elevated smart wearables from novelty to need was the Apple Watch, which was launched in 2015 and released its latest version last week.

Thanks to smart watches and other wearable devices, we can track everything from steps to sleep, heart rate, blood glucose levels and oxygen levels to stress menstrual cycles, mindfulness hours and breathing.

"We are in the midst of a sensor-driven smart watch revolution. With the development of new technology, more features are offered by smart watch vendors and newer metrics are being made available," says Dr Venkat D Nagarajan, consultant cardiologist and electrophysiologist as well as lead for heart rhythm and cardiac device services at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai.

However, you shouldn't believe everything your smart watch shows you because a lot of its data is error-ridden. As per a study by researchers at Leiden University in the Netherlands, published in the Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science in July, smart watches trip up frequently when it comes to measuring stress and energy levels.

As per the study, there was almost no relationship between the stress levels flashed by the smartwatch and the stress levels that participants said they experienced.