fullscreen

eFinder

eFinder

Home › Article

Why your wearable health tracker can make you feel anxious

The Conversation · 🇦🇺 public Australia · · 964 words · By Jennifer Murphy
headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing
Ready to play
Daily briefing

What to know about Why your wearable health tracker can make you feel anxious

The author discusses how wearable health trackers can inadvertently increase anxiety in some users by creating a mismatch between a person's perceived bodily state and the device's data. The text explains the neurological concept of prediction errors and suggests that those prone to anxiety may enter a negative feedback loop of hyper-vigilance when using these devices.

Propaganda risk 10%
Claims checked 9
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center86%
Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Millions of people use a wearable health and fitness tracker.

Why it matters

These devices can be useful for monitoring activity levels, sleep quality and heart rate.

Common ground

But for some, wearables can have unintended consequences on wellbeing.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

The author discusses how wearable health trackers can inadvertently increase anxiety in some users by creating a mismatch between a person's perceived bodily state and the device's data. The text explains the neurological concept of prediction errors and suggests that those prone to anxiety may enter a negative feedback loop of hyper-vigilance when using these devices.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/why-your-wearable-health-tracker-can-make-you-feel-a…

analyticsAnalysis

10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 9 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 4
info Single Source 3
verified Verified By Reference 1
help Insufficient Evidence 1
verified
Claim 1: “A larger study, involving a random sample of around 500 smartwatch users, found a similar pattern. People reported feeling anxious when their physiological data looked abnormal.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of generic links to Study.com, Quizlet, and Wikipedia entries for the number 500 or the S&P 500. There is no evidence of a study involving 500 smartwatch users reporting anxiety over abnormal physiological data.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — 500 may refer to: 500 (number) 500 BC AD 500
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/500
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The S&P 500 is a stock market index maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices. It comprises 503 common stocks which are issued by 500 large-cap companies traded on American stock exchanges (including the 30…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_S&P_500_companies
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — S&P 500 (Standard and Poor's 500) is a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 leading companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. It is one of the most commonly followe…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S&P_500
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 2: “Our brain is a prediction machine. It continuously, automatically generates and updates a mental model of our environment by comparing its predictions to the sensory information it receives.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided search results for 'Human' and 'Human Benchmark' do not contain information regarding the brain as a 'prediction machine' or the specific mechanism of updating mental models via sensory information.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The word person is often used interchangeably with human, but philosophical debate exists as to whether personhood applies to all humans or all sentient beings, and further if a human can lose personh…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Human evolutionary genetics studies how human genomes differ among individuals, the evolutionary past that gave rise to them, and their current effects. Differences between genomes have anthropologica…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_evolution
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Human Benchmark Measure your abilities with brain games and cognitive tests. Get Started
https://humanbenchmark.com/
check_circle
Claim 3: “When such safety-seeking behaviour is reduced through therapy, anxiety symptoms tend to ease – at least partly because people are less hyper-focused on their bodies.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources discuss how CBT and exposure therapy reduce anxiety symptoms by addressing the exaggerated nature of fears and reducing the hyper-focus on body sensations associated with health anxiety.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Exposure with or without cognitive therapy has been shown to be effective in reducing social anxiety symptoms. More recent research found that exposure therapy ...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4610618/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Sep 30, 2024 ... Key points · People with health anxiety tend to be overly focused on their body sensations. · Excessive awareness of body symptoms usually makes ...
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/liberate-yourself/20…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — This can help a youngster recognize the exaggerated nature of his fears and develop a corrective approach to the problem. Moreover, cognitive-behavioral therapy ...
https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Resource_Cent…
check_circle
Claim 4: “Millions of people use a wearable health and fitness tracker.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources confirm that millions of people use wearable health and fitness trackers.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Millions of people use a wearable health and fitness tracker. These devices can be useful for monitoring activity levels, sleep quality and heart rate. But for some, wearables can have unintended cons…
https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/health/2026/06/07/wearab…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Millions of people use a wearable health and fitness tracker. These devices can be useful for monitoring activity levels, sleep quality and heart rate. But for some, wearables can have unintended cons…
https://scroll.in/article/1093383/smart-watches-health-track…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Millions of people are using wearable fitness trackers, which are purported to help with weight loss. But a new study on diet and fitness from the University of Pittsburgh found that those in a trial …
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/10/04/hallberg-do-fitness…
check_circle
Claim 5: “In a study on people with atrial fibrillation, heart rate trackers were linked to more frequent symptom-checking and higher anxiety.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources explicitly link heart rate trackers in patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib) to increased symptom-checking, preoccupation, and anxiety.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Thus, technologies that heighten awareness and attention to normal and potentially abnormal fluctuations in heart rates may lead to substantial increases in ...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8357265/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jul 29, 2024 ... A new study found patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib) who used wearables to track their heart rate were associated with being more ...
https://www.hcplive.com/view/wearable-heart-rate-tracking-li…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jul 16, 2024 ... Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who use wearables demonstrate higher rates of AF symptom monitoring and preoccupation, AF treatment ...
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.123.033750
info
Claim 6: “In that same COVID study, we found a bi-directional link between anxiety and attention to bodily signals.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The search results mention COVID-19 and bidirectional violence or smartphone use, but do not provide evidence for a study finding a bi-directional link between anxiety and attention to bodily signals.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Perceptions of COVID-19 around the World Link to URL.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13669877.2020.1…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Several studies demonstrated that intimate bidirectional violence (BV) is more common than unidirectional IPV. However, little is known about the phenomenon of BV during COVID-19 lockdowns.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10610-023-09565-7
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Objective: We aimed to investigate the association of increased smartphone screen time with insomnia, bedtime procrastination, depression, anxiety, body mass index (BMI), and physical activity during …
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34517442/
help
Claim 7: “Some participants even reported feeling dependent on their health tracker, and become frustrated when they couldn’t wear their device or forgot to.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to support or refute the claim regarding user dependency and frustration when unable to wear trackers.
check_circle
Claim 8: “Some users have found their wearable increased anxiety so much they needed to stop wearing it.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources indicate that wearable devices can increase anxiety, preoccupation, and symptom monitoring, leading some users to experience negative psychological effects.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 29, 2026 ... A key reason wearable health devices may increase anxiety for some people comes down to a mismatch in expectation and what the device says. Our ...
https://theconversation.com/why-your-wearable-health-tracker…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jul 16, 2024 ... They reported a significantly higher rate of symptom monitoring, preoccupation, and anxiety among wearable device users compared with nonusers, ...
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/JAHA.124.035962
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jan 14, 2024 ... Health tracking and collecting data with smartwatches only leads to anxiety and stress ... Might be a few years late with this critique but I've ...
https://www.reddit.com/r/simpleliving/comments/196f8db/healt…
info
Claim 9: “Research my colleagues and I conducted during COVID also found the more anxious a person was generally, the more likely they were to monitor their bodily states through objective measures (such as taking their temperature).”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the search results mention COVID-19 and anxiety, none of the provided snippets specifically confirm a study finding a correlation between general anxiety and the frequency of monitoring bodily states via objective measures like temperature.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Post-COVID Remote Working and Its Impact on People.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09585192.2023.2…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Background: The aim was to assess the impact of COVID-19 self-isolation/social distancing on mental health, and potential correlates, among a sample of the UK population. Methods: A cross-sectional st…
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32562931/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Now that the first COVID19 vaccine from Pfizer is being released, how do mRNA vaccines work?Are Vaccines Causing Magnetism? ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=the81FQoAUI
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.