Smartwatches and health monitoring wearables are becoming increasingly prevalent, but they can trigger health anxiety in users. Health anxiety, also known as hypochondria or illness anxiety disorder, makes people worry they are or may become ill even when they are healthy. Experts offer guidance for managing this challenge while benefiting from wearable technology.
Turning Off Alerts and Limiting Checks
Dr. Lindsey Rosman, assistant professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, has observed clinically that it can be beneficial to either scale back or turn off wearable features that cause anxiety. This is especially helpful for people with pre-existing conditions like atrial fibrillation, whose wearable’s irregular heart rhythm notifications can fuel unnecessary doctor visits and anxiety.
Rosman published a case report on a patient who performed over 900 EKGs on her smartwatch in a single year, leading to multiple ER visits and marital conflict. Dr. Karen Cassiday, author of Freedom from Health Anxiety, notes that compulsively checking wearables can become negative reinforcement that propels anxiety forward. Setting a weekly alert minimum can help users focus on trends rather than individual data points.
Understanding Limitations
Most consumer wearables were developed as personal wellness devices and are not required to demonstrate safety and efficacy like traditional medical devices. While some devices have FDA clearance for specific features like detecting irregular heart rhythms, a single-lead ECG from a smartwatch is not equivalent to the 12-lead, hospital-grade ECG a cardiologist uses.
Stress and sleep scores lack clinical validation because there is no gold standard to validate against. Dr. Rosman emphasizes consulting your doctor before starting a wearable, understanding your personal baseline, and knowing when to seek emergency care versus waiting.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.cnet.com/health/mental/how-stop-wearable-health-anxiety-experts/