Opinion
Active Editor Matt Kollat senses a shift in how people optimise health via their wearables
I ’ve been a keen exerciser for most of my life, which shouldn’t come as a surprise, given my position as an Active Editor at T3, a vertical that encompasses outdoors, wearables and fitness, among other categories. Of all the things I write about, performance wearables have played a crucial part in how I see and do physical activity in my everyday life – that’s understandable, I guess, as they often gamify sports, which can help you stay active.
However, in recent years, I’ve noticed a change in how smartwatch users perceive health and fitness, which was confirmed during an interview I did with Sander Werring, CEO of Polar Elektro, manufacturer of fanfavourite multisport watches such as the Polar Vantage V series.
“In the past, sports were an enabler for good health. Nowadays, it’s turning around,” Werring said. “Today, health is an enabler to perform better at sports. As a result, wellness features are becoming important, such as sleep and recovery guidance. This means that wellness and health features are appearing in our products.”
It might sound strange initially that people optimise their health to do better at sports, but it makes a lot of sense. Before, we ran/cycled/ swam to help us sleep better, improve cognitive function and lose weight. As we started to appreciate the fundamental changes exercise induces in our body, we also started to understand that optimising these factors also enabled us to perform better in our chosen sport.
All of a sudden, sleeping better wasn’t just good for its own sake – it also made training easier and more beneficial. The more we tweaked our lifestyle to help us perform better on the field, the more we began to go after those marginal gains by eating better and recovering more efficiently.
The change has been mainly due to the widespread acceptance of smartwatches
This change was mainly due to the widesp
