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Wearable gadgets can track your sleep quality, movement, blood sugar and much more. But what do with all those numbers? Dr. Sarah Benish, a neurologist in Minnesota encourages doctors to engage with patients’ wearable data. "It helps us decipher what they're going through with their symptoms and helps us decide on next steps for testing or treatment,” she says.
If you’re bringing your wearable data to an appointment, a little analysis beforehand can go a long way, as NPR’s Allison Aubrey reports. "Report patterns, not just single data points," advises Dr. Lucy McBride, a physician and author in Washington DC. "For example, a week of disruptive sleep after a major life stressor tells a story. One bad day does not."
McBride had a patient whose Apple Watch flagged a dangerously low heart rate during sleep. Based on the data, McBride referred him to a cardiologist, and he ultimately got a pacemaker.
Doctor’s appointments are also great opportunities to ask questions based on the data you collect. For instance “I've been averaging six hours of sleep, according to my device, but I'm in bed for eight hours, so what's the possible disconnect?” Knowledge and expertise that a doctor has but your device does not — such as your health history and risk factors can help you put together a fuller picture.
While empirical knowledge can be empowering, it’s important to remember you’re more than your numbers, McBride says. "Health is informed largely by data that we cannot measure in any device,” she says. For best results, share your story and your subjective experience with your health care provider, not just your data.
Find more advice on optimizing your relationship with your wearables and your doctor here.
Also: Is tech making us too obsessed with our bodies? |
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Malte Mueller/Getty, Composite by NPR |
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Here’s a loaded question: Do you think women or men are more discerning when it comes to household cleanliness? Sociologist Leah Ruppanner and colleagues ran an experiment to test the stereotype that adult males are relatively unbothered by mess compared to females.
They showed male and female participants photographs of the same room. In one photo the room was clean, and in another the room was messy. Participants rated the clean room as equally clean and the messy room as equally messy. “So this idea that ‘men can't see the mess or dirt’ is nonsense,” Ruppanner says.
And yet, women and mothers still carry a heavier burden when it comes to “mental load” – including keeping track of household tasks and family schedules.
Regardless of your gender or whether or not you have kids, everyone carries a mental load. Leah Ruppanner’s new book Drained: Reduce Your Mental Load to Do Less and Be More. It offers evidence-based tools to reduce what she calls "emotional thinking work" across all areas of life, so you can use your energy in a more meaningful way. Ruppanner shared some of her tips with Life Kit’s Andee Tagle.
Figure out what’s on your mental load
It might be more than you realize. Do you stress about remembering to make doctor’s appointments? Feel guilty about the last time you checked in with your bestie? Do you struggle to find time to work out? Or maybe you fear your dreams are slipping away from you. All of these concerns and more contribute to mental load, which Ruppanner breaks down into eight categories. Her website offers a free assessment tool to figure out what you’re carrying.
Think about where your energy is going
Ruppanner says it’s important to realize that your energy is finite. You can think of it as getting a certain number of “credits” to spend for the day or week. “You cannot, every day, pull your mental load into deficit,” she says.
For some people that will mean cutting down on tasks that contribute to your mental load. “But for others, that will be about figuring out the things that bring you joy, that are replenishing. Then start thinking about how you align your mental spending that way,” she says.
Outsource some of your responsibilities
If you have the financial resources, you can outsource everything from house cleaning to grocery delivery and more. AI can also provide an inexpensive or free solution to streamlining some tasks. Maybe artificial intelligence can do the meal planning. Or there are apps that can read your emails and put [events] into a shared calendar.
Learn more about how to let go and unload.
And: Stuck doing all the household chores? This practical guide can help |
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Andrea Muraskin and your NPR Health editors |
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