BENEFITS OF HEALTH APPS

Health apps can greatly benefit us if we choose to use them. Many people use apps to track their steps or physical activity which is a great way to make us more aware of our daily activity level. Some options for step tracking include google fit, pacer pedometer, runkeeper, stepz, and walker.

Another type of app that is helpful are sleep trackers. With sleep trackers we are able to see how much sleep we are getting and if the sleep is restful or restless. Sleep plays a bigger role in our overall health than we often think. Not getting enough sleep effects are emotional state and causes a decrease in our brains ability to function and be alert. Through sleep tracking we can set sleep goals and improve out sleep habits. Some sleep tracking apps that are available are sleep cycle, sleep score and sleep tracker. 

Also useful are apps to help increase our ability to calm down and sleep better. Sometimes even more beneficial than sleep tracking are sleep aide apps. There are apps available that can track naps, allow you to wake up at the ideal time in your sleep cycle or help to calm ourselves down to help with better sleep. https://www.sleepassociation.org/sleep-treatments/sleep-apps/ this website gives a great list of the most useful sleep aide apps. 

It is important to note that with apps that we download on our phone there are risks. Apps ask for permissions to do things when we download them. It is important to note which things the apps we download will have access to and what information we are sharing with them. There are current debates that the FDA should play a greater role in protecting health information shared through apps. However, currently each app is able to decide how they protect your information and ultimately we are responsible to know what information we are sharing. 

References

Alonso, J., Romero, S., Mañanas, M., Alcalá, M., Antonijoan, R., & Giménez, S. (2016). Acute sleep deprivation induces a local brain transfer information increase in the frontal cortex in a widespread decrease context. Sensors, 16(4), 540. doi:10.3390/s16040540

Kasperbauer, T. J., & Wright, D. E. (2019). Expanded FDA regulation of health and wellness apps. Bioethics. doi:10.1111/bioe.12674

Sleep apps - 7 best free ones – American Sleep Association. (2016, December 20). Retrieved November 2, 2019, from https://www.sleepassociation.org/sleep-treatments/sleep-apps/