I got an Apple Watch a few years ago when I signed up for some life insurance. It was great, but when the opportunity came to replace it, I passed.
Of course, I loved being able to read emails on my watch, send text messages, and receive a constant stream of ebay, whatsapp and news notifications (JK I hated that).
I bought in really for the “health” benefits. But over 4 years of ownership and I don’t think it made much, if any improvement in my health.
I also didn’t like the constant connection, even when my phone was face down, my wrist would be going off. I ended up putting it into perpetual do not disturb mode. Since I stopped wearing it, I haven’t missed it at all.
The heart rate and fitness measurement started to feel intrusive. For example, Apple told me my heart rate was jumping into the 130s at night, sometimes for 20 minutes at a time. I found this to be quite concerning, and reported it to my doctor. My doctor told me that unless I wanted to go on a beta blocker there was nothing else to do about it. They gave me an EKG to give me some peace of mind, and it was fine. He said nobody knew if it was normal since this is the first time in history everyone has had 24/7 surveillance of their own heartbeat. I wish that made me feel better but it actually stressed me out. I set my heart beat to the watch face and checked my heart rate through the day. Sometimes I’d get a high heart rate notification and that would stress me out again. Was I tired? Dehydrated? Stressed out? Having a heart attack? My doctor didn’t know, how was I to know? After a few years of worrying about it, I decided to stop paying attention and it’s made no difference to my day. If anything I feel calmer. Others have shared with me the same happened to them. While I do believe my heart revs up, I also haven’t noticed this with my current heart rate monitoring solution (Oura Ring). It could be a problem with heart rate measurement algorithms or sensors. Who knows? I sure don’t.
My Current Watch
This is my Seiko, model number SN-who remembers. It’s got an automatic movement that’s charged by my movement. It can’t count my steps, heartbeats, or handwashing time, it doesn’t have an alarm, a stopwatch or a compass, it can’t even glow in the dark. It’s purely analogue. If I stop wearing it, it stops working. If a month has less than 31 days in it, it needs me to help it get back on track.
I love that to tell time, this watch needs me to wear it. It doesn’t have a battery to replace, although it is not maintenance free. If seiko goes out of business, my watch will still work. There is no software to update. Being completely obsolete, it cannot be made any more so. It has one job and it will do it if I use it.
Considering a Digital Watch
I am however considering a basic digital watch. It would be nice to set an alarm, to be able to see what time it is without a flashlight, and to be able to keep track of time without help. I might get a casio, a gshock, or perhaps if I’d like some extra features, a garmin. I’m not sure.
Noiseless Health Tracking
The apple watch comes with a lot of attractive bells and whistles but these features are made to aid Apple in selling more products. It collect data about you, entices you to buy fitness subscriptions, apps, widgets, chargers, bands, and other accessories.
I do enjoy monitoring my health but my preferred tool is an Oura Ring. The Oura Ring doesn’t have a display, doesn’t vibrate, doesn’t bother me. It measures sleep quality and can tell you a few days ahead of time if you’re getting sick by monitoring your body temperature.
It strikes the balance for me since it is unobtrusive but gives me enough data to make more informed choices without feeling constantly pestered and surveilled.
So that’s it. If you are considering dumping your smart watch, let me tell you, in my experience it’s painless to give up. Without one I feel less distracted, less expectant of the next thump on the wrist. I feel more at ease, more human, and I recommend giving it a try.