Moving, eating and sleeping correctly are all key items for staying healthy, but do you know if you’re getting it right? Here’s how the latest generation of fitness and activity trackers can help you.

Today’s lifestyles can be hectic and leave little time even to check on the basics. However these new wearable devices can easily provide you with information about how you’re doing, with a companion website or mobile app to see what’s on track and what you can improve.

Form Factor and Design

Many fitness and activity trackers are light and small enough to be wearable. Clip-on models from Fitbit can be fastened to clothing. Bracelet Jawbone have the advantage that they are unlikely to fall off; and some have a great designer look too. Pick one that’s waterproof if you want to take it into the shower with you. Alternatively, fitness tracker bathroom scales can help you keep tabs on your health, sending you the information via Wi-Fi.

Fitness Tracker Features

The basic function of a fitness and activity tracker is to track, naturally! That means measuring your minutes of activity, the distances you move and the calories you burn. Additional metrics can include steps climbed, food and water consumed and the amounts of different levels of sleep. Many wearable fitness and activity trackers now have wireless connectivity to send your data to your smartphone. Their on-board power may last weeks or longer before a recharge is needed.

Software to See What’s Going On

This is the other half of your fitness and activity tracker – the way for you to see your personal data and compare with your past performance or your future goals. The program or app that does this may be on your mobile phone or on a website. Extra functionality can include coaching to help you achieve fitness goals and tips for improvements in your eating habits and your sleep hygiene.

And an Unexpected Bonus Too!

But a fitness and activity tracker can do even more for you. Simply using one has been shown to motivate wearers to take additional healthy exercise. A study in 2007 by the Stanford School of Medicine in the US showed how a portable tracker helped to increase physical activity, and also improve blood pressure and weight loss. In other words, your fitness and activity tracker could become a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy – in the right way!