In one of his articles for MIT Review, Bill Gates argues that human life expectancy has increased in the last several decades and that we are witnessing a shift from “life quantity” to “life quality.” He adds that because of our longevity, people are concentrating now more on well-being than ever before. Overall, Mr. Gates stays positive as to the future of health. He believes that technology will help humans lead healthier lives, discover new types of medicine that will treat such deadly diseases as Alzheimer’s, cancer, or assist many in dealing with depression.
Unfortunately, a lot of people do not subscribe to Bill Gates’ positive outlook. That’s why we decided to have a glimpse of what health and wellness technology is already doing for you today.
What are the main causes of death in America?
Eating on the run, high levels of stress, sedentary lifestyle, lack of physical activity, bad habits like smoking or drinking alcohol, poor quality of sleep — any of these factors or, which is more likely, a combination of them, can lead to disease. Let’s look closer at the statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 2017 (CDCP), and see what’s really killing Americans today.
As we can see, 8 out of 10 causes are health-related, and what is more, heart disease and cancer are responsible for 44.3% of all death cases across the United States. It is as if almost the whole population of Maine has died out of the face of the earth.
Even though life expectancy is currently 78.81 years, and we do live longer, we still suffer from various illnesses that prevent us from having a decent quality of life. And this is when health and wellness technology comes to the rescue.
How can wellness tech help you to reduce health risks at work?
A lot of companies in the US and worldwide are highly aware of the substantial health risks a white-collar lifestyle can pose to employees. Besides, workers with poor physical and mental conditions are very likely to be contra-productive, and they usually underperform, which costs businesses quite a lot of money. For this reason, many corporations invest heavily in wellness technology.
Wellness technology is software or hardware that many organizations use to identify health issues, prevent diseases, promote wellness programs that help lead a healthy way of life as well as foster mental and physical well-being of employees.
Wellness tech can be represented in an array of ways, form a wearable health and wellness technology, like Apple Watch, Wear OS by Google, and a mobile app to a holistic wellness platform that combines a comprehensive set of data generated from multiple sources like health records, fitness trackers, mobile applications, and manually input information. Such a platform helps you assess the overall state of health, predict disease risks, ensure good well-being, and even produce specific recommendations tailored to you.
Thus, by providing employees with necessary wearable health and wellness technology, companies ensure a win-win outcome for everyone involved. Employers do not spend budget on paid sick leave, insurance, and any other corporate health-related benefits, and employees stay in a good physical state and perform better.
How can you apply technology to improve personal performance, health, and fitness?
Indeed, many companies take care of their employees. But what if your company is still on the verge of incorporating a new wellness technology, or it doesn’t plan to do so. How can we use technology to live a healthy and active lifestyle in this case?
The good thing is, you have everything at your fingertips to lead healthier lives. You can use plenty of mobile apps, health, and wellness gadgets, which are available online and in brick-and-mortar stores. These things can significantly assist you in improving your personal health and fitness.
So, how can you minimize your chances of getting into the statistics of the CDCP by using wearable health and wellness technology and mobile applications?
First of all, the best way to reduce any health risks is to prevent them. For example, Flaredown is an app that helps its users track health issues, always keep an eye on varied symptoms, and manage chronic illnesses. The app was featured at Forbes as one of the seven health technologies to watch for in the future.
In addition, you can track your state of health by choosing a comprehensive set of criteria and logging info on the food you eat, medication you take, natural treatments, mental health states, weather conditions, physical activity, and many more. Moreover, you can customize and add your own criterion. Thus, by analyzing an extensive set of data and analytics, which you can share with your MD, you can understand your mental and physical conditions.
Secondly, using technology to promote physical activity can be a major lifesaver. If you work at an office, it’s highly probable that you spend at least 8 hours per day sitting at your desk. Needless to say, that for some business persons this number can be much higher. A sedentary way of life is a major contributor to heart disease, depression, colon cancer, obesity, and other illnesses. This is when different wearable devices and apps come in handy.
Your fitness tracker, smartwatch, and smartphone apps can help measure your heart rate, count the number of steps you take daily, and assess how many miles you have run. Wearable technology and mobiles can also give you signs, like vibration or beeping, to let you know that it’s time for you to have some physical activity.
Unfortunately, staying active all the time does not mean that you’ll stay healthy all the time. What you need to remember is that your well-being highly depends on what food you eat, and what kind of eating habits you have. Most of the time, our fast-paced lifestyle and junk food are a major stopper on our way of eating healthy and reflect on what we should really eat to stay fit.
If we want to have sound health, we need to track calories to watch our weight. Moreover, in the matter of eating, “one size fits all” just doesn’t work for everyone as people want to reach different goals. For instance, if you already into sports, you might want to alter your diet to meet individual objectives.
One such app that promotes an active way of life and healthy eating is Nutralete. The mobile app aids fitness coaches and their clients to track diet plans, count daily intake of calories, and check your progress in terms of weight loss and lean muscle building.
All in all, there are many apps and tech wearables in the sea — you can pick up any that will help you to keep fit, eat healthy food, and maintain physical and mental well-being.
Wrapping Up
Wellness tech and innovative health technology can influence our lives and reduce the risks of getting heart disease, diabetes, and many others. Probably, Mr. Gates is right about his assumption that health and wellness technology will have a positive impact on humans. Even today, we have lots of mobile apps and wearable tech devices that are helping us to live longer as well as improve the quality of our lives.
Are you concerned about the health of your employees and want to build a wellness app? Reach out to LITSLINK, a software development company in the USA, and we’ll turn your idea into a reality!
