How dangerous is using bluetooth for the human body? Why do you need a fitness bracelet? Advantages and disadvantages of use Are fitness bracelets dangerous for health?

The times of huge computers are long gone. That powerful set of electronics, which five years ago fit into a system unit under the table, now fits easily into your pocket. The next step in the evolution of technology is computers that we will wear on ourselves - smart watches, glasses, bracelets, pendants, clothes. While the whole world is frozen in anticipation of Google Glass and Apple Watch, the only truly affordable and widespread wearable computers are fitness bracelets.

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Using the example of the Oregon Scientific Ssmart Dynamo PE128 smart bracelet Days.Ru they look at how such gadgets can help in sports, whether they are convenient to use and whether they are worth buying.

Design
Oregon Scientific's bracelet is called Ssmart Dynamo and is an electronic module placed inside a silicone strap. The design of the device is laconic: the bracelet has one button and an LED indicator. The color of the strap will satisfy the most demanding taste. The black one looks the most brutal, with which we tried to surprise subway passengers by rolling up our sleeves and holding the handrail. The bracelet really attracts attention.

Application
The kit includes a USB charger for connecting to a computer and an instruction manual. In addition to the bracelet itself, you need to download the OS Dynamo application for iOS or Android, which synchronizes with the bracelet and shows all sports activity.

First of all, the mobile application asks you to create your own profile and specify standard data - gender, age, height and weight. Based on the entered information, the service will create a schedule - how much sports you need to do per day, how many kilometers to cover, how many steps to take and how many calories to burn. Moreover, all tasks can be adjusted manually.

The bracelet synchronizes with the application via Bluetooth and will automatically count all completed actions and monitor the quality of sleep, and ultimately build statistics on all indicators. The only thing you need to manually enter into the app is the number of calories you consumed. The main thing here is perseverance and patience in searching for products. Problems are also created by the fact that the application is not Russified, so you have to search for the name of the products in English (or a dozen other popular languages ​​of the world).

Charger
A nice addition, especially for fans of sophisticated gadgets in which the battery needs to be charged several times a day, is charging the bracelet: it works autonomously for up to two weeks. In fact, you can put the bracelet on your hand and forget about the need to charge it. A definite plus.

Water resistance
Ssmart Dynamo also has an interesting relationship with water. The manual says it can withstand up to ten meters of water, but recommends not showering with it. Washing his hands with water on the bracelet did not bring him any harm, nor did showering. We were not able to dive to a depth of ten meters, but after visiting the pool it continued to work as usual.

Motivation
The main thing that this and similar bracelets provide is motivation. When you see on the graphs that yesterday you walked seven kilometers and did sports for half an hour, but today you only walked three kilometers and five minutes, it forces you to get up and at least take a walk. The best thing for office clerks and journalists is to get yourself in order. Do you need a similar kick to play sports or get out of a stuffy office for a walk? Everyone will decide for themselves. It seemed to us that nothing more is required from such bracelets.

Recently, more and more companies are bringing wearable gadgets to the masses, claiming that they can help monitor health. IT giants Samsung, Apple And Microsoft have long published proprietary applications for collecting medical data.

Today we will talk about why smart watches and bracelets need to monitor health, how all this is done and, most importantly, whether these readings can be trusted.

Let's make a reservation right away that we will only talk about those gadgets that make up the bulk of wearable devices - watches and fitness trackers. All kinds of portable glucometers and electrocardiographs are the topic of a separate article.

From a medical point of view, today wearable devices can do almost nothing. From the point of view of everyday needs, there is already measurement of pulse, number of steps, body and environmental temperature, as well as hand position.

And now it’s time to pay a little more attention to how it works. We will focus on measuring pulse and temperature since these are the only medical indicators listed.

Pulse

In most gadgets, changes occur through photoplethysmography. A bright light is passed through the hand or finger, and a camera or special sensor reads the captured vibrations of the blood vessels. If you have a smartwatch, you can look at the back and see the sensors. Green LEDs are most often installed.

Essentially, a smartphone with a camera and flash close to each other can do the same thing. The error of this method is only 1-2 beats per minute, which is not critical. But the measurement method is a whole procedure: go into the EPP, place your finger, activate it, wait. In turn, wearable gadgets take readings discreetly and continuously.

By the way, in hospitals the pulse is measured in the same way, but with more advanced technology. You’ve probably seen a “clothespin” being put on a patient’s finger. This thing also measures the oxygen saturation of the blood. The principle is as follows: the signal passes through the finger from the light source to the receiving sensor.

It would be great to have something like this in smart walkers, but it’s difficult to illuminate the wrist without attracting attention or causing harm to the body.

Temperature

There is nothing labor-intensive about such a measurement, but few manufacturers build such sensors into products. So, they turned out to be pioneers Jawbone with bracelet Up 3. To avoid overloading the body with sensors, engineers placed additional instruments on the inside of the tracker. Thus, information comes from both sides of the wrist.

also in Up 3 There is a galvanic skin sensor. It’s unlikely to describe its purpose in a few words, so we’ll explain it as clearly as possible.

It may sound like heresy, but the skin has electrical activity that demonstrates the calm or tension of the body. Of course, the concept itself includes many variables, such as the skin resistance reaction or the level of skin potential. By collecting all these indicators, the sensor reports the level of arousal at various moments - during sleep, at work, after training. By the way, the same sensor is installed in that same “lie detector”.

Credibility

For those who have seriously thought about trusting analytics from wearable devices, we can definitely say that at the moment of technological progress, watches and bracelets do not claim to be “professional diagnosticians.” Human health is still the concern of qualified doctors. If you come across a description of “mobile doctors,” then this is either a marketing ploy or a category of specialized medical gadgets.

However, the data from the artillery sensors on the gadgets is reliable, but nothing more. After all, a disease is a complex process that can occur in people with different symptoms. For example, a sick person has a cough, runny nose, an incomprehensible rash and does not have the strength to get out of bed, but there is no fever. In this case, the smart device will only detect small fluctuations from activities, such as sneezing or wrapping yourself in a blanket. That is, it is impossible to make a diagnosis based on just one indicator, even the pulse.

Today, even devices from companies Sony, Samsung, Jawbone and a newcomer in the form Apple They can only tell you how active their lifestyle is and how soundly they sleep. Although doctors can analyze the health of lifestyle with these meager parameters. For example, an asthmatic with a normal heart rate who walks from 6,000 to 10,000 steps per day will be recognized by the native gadget as “a person in excellent physical shape.” And if the owner eats right, then the electronics will equate him to almost “athletes”.

Benefit

Despite our skepticism, it is possible to obtain some important information using smart accessories. It is important to remember that 60 to 100 beats per minute is normal for an adult at rest. For athletes, these numbers range from 40 to 50 beats per minute. The maximum that the heart can develop is calculated using the formula 220 beats per minute minus age. The resulting number is your personal maximum, from which you should start when you decide to go for a run.

Simply put, 200 strokes is the maximum in 20 years. Then you need to understand what you want to get from your run. So, the standard for fitness is 65-85% of the maximum. So we get that for an easy jog, the heart should beat in the range from 130 to 160 beats per minute. If the actual indicators are significantly higher or lower, then we advise you not to postpone your visit to the therapist. In turn, in athletes under heavy loads, the heart rate reaches 80-90% of the maximum.

Practice

In conclusion, I would like to reflect on the topic of when we should expect the appearance of a truly full-fledged diagnostic device. Obviously, in Russia the process will take longer than in Europe, where the term “mobile medicine” is already spreading with might and main. Domestic doctors still interpret the phrase as a special squad on wheels.

But American investors who are looking for medical startups are already promoting and licensing miracle gadgets with all their might. Or Google's recent patent, which is supposed to fight cancer cells.

There are many examples, but the nuance is that they are concepts, patents or startups. Although from such steps a new round of progress may begin very soon. Naturally, a strong push from the engines of the industry and huge Data centers are needed that will accumulate the collected information.

We hope that development will not be long in coming. And we are even willing to bet that really useful medical gadgets will appear in 5 years.

P.S. If there are medical workers among those who read the article, we will be glad to hear the opinions and forecasts of professionals.

It is recommended to remember that wireless devices emit certain waves. Is the device safe or does it have a negative effect on the human body? What should you do to protect yourself from radiation and reduce the harm of bluetooth to the human body?

Are Bluetooth headphones actually harmful to humans? On the streets you often see people using such a headset not only for talking, but also for listening to music and audiobooks.

What it is

Bluetooth is a technology for wireless information transfer. Through a special earphone, a person gains the ability to talk, listen to music, and transmit images. The small device provides continuous interaction between a mobile phone, computer, tablet and even a camera simultaneously or in pairs.

To use the technology, a special headset has been created to help obtain the necessary information.

What happens:

• Double headphones for listening to music in stereo format,
• One earphone for conversations and receiving information,
• Earphone with the ability to attach to the ear.

The consumer is able to use gadgets not only for listening, but also for transmitting information. Small devices are convenient when traveling in a car or in any other conditions, because they do not require the use of hands.

A Bluetooth headset operates on a different principle than regular headphones. The electrical signal in a classic device comes directly from the source. Bluetooth technologies imply a different action - a signal is transmitted to a special radio transmitter, and radio waves are generated, which are received by the headphone receiving device. The wave frequency ranges from 2.4 to 2.8 GHz.

Bluetooth headsets have gained popularity among adults and children. What are the advantages of wireless headphones?

Positive sides:

1. The ability to talk and perform any actions at the same time,
2. Convenient transfer of information from different devices,
3. The use of devices ensures safety when driving; the driver does not have to hold the phone with one hand,
4. The use of devices makes it possible not to use the telephone directly; it is possible to place the mobile phone at some distance from the person.

A Bluetooth headset is convenient for mothers with small children; wireless devices make it possible not to be distracted from the child and answer the call at the same time.

Is bluetooth harmful? The headset is convenient for different people and is undoubtedly popular. However, many medical professionals argue that long-term use of such Bluetooth headphones can negatively affect a person’s condition. The development of unpleasant symptoms and sensations is noted.

What is possible:

• Long-term use leads to impaired hearing functions. A person does not immediately notice a slight hearing loss, but in the future such phenomena can progress.
• The auricle is similar to a human embryo. Impact on certain points affects the condition of the entire body (proven with acupuncture). When using a headset, electric and magnetic fields are constantly generated in the ear due to radiation. It is recommended to remember that radiation is present even when the device is turned off. Constant exposure to high-frequency waves is harmful to health.
• Gradually, the headset began to be made in smaller sizes. Constantly placing the device in the ear puts pressure on the eardrum. Constantly listening to music at high volumes increases the strain on the ear. The result is the appearance of various changes in the hearing aid.
• Medical experts say that frequent conversations using Bluetooth can be harmful. Low-intensity radio waves gradually reduce the effects of a special protective barrier. The brain gradually loses protection from harmful influences. The development of diseases requiring serious treatment is possible.

Thus, the constant use of Bluetooth headsets for health does not always have a positive effect and often leads to changes in the body and hearing aid.

People who frequently use wireless gadgets experience headaches and problems with memory and memorization after some time. It is possible that tumors may appear in the ears after prolonged use of a wireless headset.

When comparing the radiation strength of a mobile phone and Bluetooth headphones, it is noted that in the first case the indicators are much higher. However, constantly wearing headphones is no less dangerous than talking on a cell phone.

Bluetooth security

New devices always undergo testing and an adaptation period with people. It has been proven that bluetooth is less harmful than talking on a mobile phone.

The undoubted advantage of the device is the wireless method of transmitting information. The absence of wires makes using the device more convenient and safe for humans. This is especially true for people who often spend time driving. The use of Bluetooth allows you to carry on a conversation without being distracted from the road.

Reasonable use of Bluetooth technologies will not cause serious harm to health.

How to reduce harm from Bluetooth headsets

It is possible to reduce the possible harm of Bluetooth on the hearing aid and the brain if you use the headset correctly. They identify rules that, if observed, use of gadgets will not cause problems for the owner.

Rules:

1. It is recommended to use the headset for several hours, not the whole day. Such use will not cause serious harm to the body.
2. You need to remember that even when the Bluetooth device is turned off, it emits radio waves, so it is recommended to remove the headphones from your ears.
3. When using a headset, you must keep your phone at a distance and not in your pocket or hand. In such a situation, the harm from radiation will be minimal.
4. When listening to music via Bluetooth headphones, it is recommended not to turn up the volume too much.

The harm of Bluetooth to humans depends on the use of the electronic gadget.

Consequences

The negative consequences of using bluetooth depend on the correct application. If safety precautions are not followed, hearing impairment, headaches, nervousness, and mental disorders may develop. In severe cases, the growth of tumor formations in the ear canals is possible, disrupting the normal functioning of the brain.

Using a Bluetooth headset is convenient for an active user. However, everything needs moderation; you need to treat the use of electronic gadgets with care and caution.

Video: electromagnetic radiation

People who, even in a busy life, strive to find ways to monitor their health, have long known about the existence of such smart accessories as fitness bracelets. If you belong to this category of citizens and have already begun to ask the price of potential inhabitants of your wrist, then we advise you not to rush. If you already have an iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, then you may not need to worry about the additional costs.

If you are not aware, your smartphones have motion coprocessors, that is, essentially the same chips that are used in popular pedometer models. And if you open it in iOS 8, you will find that the system has been monitoring your movements for a long time and keeps daily statistics of the steps you have taken. Thus, we can already say that if you have one of the above-mentioned iPhone models, then you already carry a pedometer in your pocket. And if you install a good application for tracking movements, the question arises: do you need to buy a special accessory for this?

Recently, a study by scientists from the University of Pennsylvania was published, which compared the accuracy of the pedometer sensors of popular fitness bracelets, as well as several models of smartphones with installed applications for tracking steps. The comparison included: Samsung Galaxy S4 with the Moves application, with the Moves, Health Mate and Fitbit applications, as well as bracelets, Fitbit Flex, Fitbit One, Fitbit Zip and Digi-Walker SW-200.

Participants in the experiment were asked to walk 500 and 1500 steps on a treadmill at a speed of 5 km/h. To obtain the most accurate results, the process was repeated 28 times. As a result, the smartphone sensor readings deviated from the real data in the range from -6.7 to 6.2 percent. The bracelets showed much less impressive accuracy: a range of deviations from -22.7 to 1.5 percent.

First of all, I would like to sympathize with those who purchased the Fuelband bracelet: the miracle of technology from Nike as a pedometer is significantly inferior not only to bracelets, but also to phones. In the graph below you can see how far the recorded indicators deviate from the actual number of steps taken.

Almost perfect results were shown by the Fitbit One and Fitbit Zip bracelets, but if you look at the performance demonstrated by the iPhone 5s, it becomes obvious that the M7 coprocessor is not so wrong that you need to go to the store for a fitness accessory.

The results of this test indicate one thing: if sports bracelets can interest owners of iPhone models of the last two years in anything, it is perhaps the alarm and notification function. As for their main purpose, their presence seems completely unnecessary. All we have to do is wait until April and see what performance the long-awaited Apple Watch, which is designed to make a real revolution in the field of sports and healthcare, will show.

Based on materials from JamaNetwork.com

While the fashion for wearable electronics is actively taking over the world, more and more people are wondering why fitness bracelets and fitness trackers are needed? On the Internet, debates flare up every now and then: are there any benefits from smart bracelets, or is it a tribute to fashion and another trinket for geeks. Let's think about it.

Know yourself

The first opportunity that “electronic smart guys” open up for us is to learn more about our body. As a rule, it can be difficult to objectively assess your daily routine, nutrition and rest without exact numbers. If the journey to work takes two hours and takes a lot of energy, it seems to us that we are active. At the same time, we often don’t think about the fact that we spend these two hours sitting in transport, and walk for 5-10 minutes. It seems to us that without breakfast in the morning or without dinner after 18 o'clock, we will lose weight and feel good, although in fact, the absence of breakfast slows down the metabolism, and 18 o'clock is a figure taken from the ceiling, and by eating this way you can seriously harm.

And wrist gadgets, recording daily activity and saving it in the form of graphs and statistics, help you look at your lifestyle from a different angle: based on accurate data, evaluate not only daily results, but also trends, and derive patterns.

Motivation and discipline

“Those who start a new life on Monday” are probably familiar with the situation: that same Monday has arrived, training and dieting have begun, a couple of weeks pass, or maybe a month, but outwardly the results are not yet visible. It seems that the efforts are in vain, and soon training and diet are abandoned. It's really hard to force yourself to continue if you don't see what you've achieved.

How can you see this? With a smart bracelet, achievements are visible from day one. And the fruits of every hour of training, daily results and their dynamics, presented clearly, are the best motivation to move on. By analyzing your statistics, comparing the results with the norm and your goals, everyone will be able to adjust their activity, nutrition and rest regime.

Another rather pleasant pro and plus of “wrist assistants”: you don’t need to waste time keeping a sports diary and counting calories, the data is recorded automatically.

No less motivating is the opportunity to compete with loved ones, friends and colleagues by adding them as friends in the application. Does anyone really want to be the worst? I'm sure not.

Diet

For those who are on a diet, top smart bracelets offer a convenient nutrition analytics system. Gone are the days of inconvenient calorie counters in which you need to enter ingredients and then write down the amounts. Now you just need to select a dish from the catalog or scan its barcode, and your food diary will be filled with data on the calorie content and nutritional value of what you eat, and the application will show how much your daily requirement has been met.

Although it can be useful for those who are not on a diet. Do you know the calorie content of your favorite treat? It always seemed to me that snacking on Snickers was a trifle that would not affect your figure. But when you enter what you’ve eaten into the app, some rather interesting things become clear: it turns out that the aforementioned calorie bar is almost equal to a third of my daily requirement. In other words, more than one meal. Disappointing, even if you consider only the energy value and do not go into its nutrient composition. In this way, through experience, we come to understand where the extra pounds come from and how to avoid them.

Changing or maintaining weight

By the way, about kilograms. For many, fitness trackers become assistants in losing weight or, conversely, in gaining weight. How? Firstly, they help monitor activity, and secondly, nutrition. These data should not be considered separately, but in conjunction. Most often, the gadget itself counts steps and calorie consumption while moving, but two numbers are not enough to control weight, so if you want to lose or gain weight, carefully study the capabilities of the included software.

For example, a graph of calorie consumption by time of day will allow you to understand when and what you spend maximum energy on, and how the load is distributed throughout the day and week. It is important to be able to estimate how many calories are spent on a particular type of activity. After all, by changing the ratio between different types of activity, it is easy to regulate the number of calories burned and control weight.

It must be remembered that calories are consumed both at rest and during sleep. It’s convenient when a wrist device calculates this too, the main thing is that the calculation takes into account personal data (gender, height, weight, age). And, of course, don’t forget that balance is important in everything; weight also depends on calories consumed. Their calculation has already been mentioned above; not all smart bracelets can boast of it.

The “smartest” of such devices will calculate not only the calorie content, but also the nutritional value of the diet - the ratio of fats, proteins and carbohydrates, and the balance between consumed and burned calories. This makes life very simple: if you want to maintain weight, reduce the balance to zero; if you want to lose extra pounds or gain missing ones, achieve a difference of 10-15% between calories received and calories expended.

Sound sleep and a cheerful morning

Sleep is an essential component of the body's recovery and regulation of biological rhythms. According to world statistics, more than 40% of residents of large cities suffer from sleep disorders. Insomnia often exacerbates chronic or ongoing illnesses and can have serious health consequences, so it's worth thinking about your sleep. And here models with sleep monitoring function come to the rescue.

A smart bracelet will help you assess the duration and efficiency of sleep. But the main advantage is that thanks to such a gadget you can analyze which stresses and foods interfere with sound and peaceful sleep, and which ones contribute to proper rest (after all, data on activity and nutrition is also recorded); monitor the effect of medications; plan the duration of your rest and determine the best time to sleep.

The next plus is the hotly discussed and available on most trackers “smart alarm clock”, which, from the time interval you specify, will select the sleep phase most suitable for waking up, so that you wake up on time and in a good mood. Sound sleep, easy awakening and an alarm clock that does not disturb loved ones - isn’t that a benefit?

Results

Main functions:

Activity monitoring

Sleep monitoring

Smart alarm clock

Nutrition monitoring

Calorie balance calculation

Calculation of nutritional value of diet

Distance calculation

Summing up the thoughts on the topic “what is a fitness bracelet for”, I would like to briefly note a few more useful things:

Many bracelets have a watch

Ability to set vibration reminders

Setting goals and monitoring their achievement

Monitoring your medication intake

Water balance

Remote control over the health of loved ones

Ability to send data to your doctor or trainer

In general, we get a fairly significant list of functions designed to motivate us to lead an active lifestyle and monitor our health without spending a lot of time. But many will say that they don’t need an expensive bracelet (although there are many inexpensive but functional models) because similar functions are available in regular mobile applications. What is the fundamental difference?

1. If you have a smart bracelet, all your data is in one application. There is no need to download 100 applications, register and enter data in each, synchronize them with each other and clog up the smartphone’s memory.

2. To ensure accuracy of the results for steps, distance and activity in the application, due to reminders, you need to constantly carry your smartphone with you. While jogging, in the gym or on the playing field, it will clearly get in the way. And in the office, it will often remain on the table while you go to lunch or a meeting. Needless to say, you are also unlikely to hold your smartphone in your hands or pocket while cleaning at home. Meanwhile, calories will be spent, but will not be counted. This problem will not arise with a bracelet - it is always on your hand or on a special fastener for clothes.

3. Many applications only work when turned on or require that some functions are turned on on the phone (location detection, etc.). This inevitably speeds up the discharge of the mobile device. Fitness bracelets do not require constant pairing with a smartphone; you can synchronize once a day or less often - depending on the model. This will not greatly affect the charge of your smartphone, and you will be able to stay “in touch” much longer.

4. In applications, many functions are not available without the Internet, but with a bracelet you can view activity directly on its display or, for more details, on your smartphone, and the Internet is not needed (for example, this is how ONETRAK bracelets are designed).

5. For global conclusions, statistics are needed for a long period of time, and the guaranteed period of data storage can be significantly shorter for different applications in comparison with smart bracelets.

6. Mobile applications cannot be opened from a computer or laptop; many are not even adapted for a tablet. And manufacturers of fitness trackers make desktop versions to make studying graphs more comfortable.

Conclusions: smart bracelets and fitness trackers are not “expensive pedometers”, not a “useless toy”, not a panacea for all diseases, but they are convenient and functional devices that will save your time and help you stay in good shape, monitor your health and improve your physical fitness. form. The main thing is to choose the functionality you need and start moving towards your goals.