Wearables are capable of more than just tracking your daily steps.
These devices have come a long way, and you can rely on smartphones, smartwatches, and smart bracelets to help you better understand what goes on in your body and brain.
They have sophisticated sensors and algorithms that can collect a wealth of data beyond physical activities.
In this article, we’ll explore how wearables are currently being utilized to monitor mental health.
Symptoms Tracking
Wearables can track mental health changes through the monitoring of physiological signals.
These devices can measure parameters such as heart rate, skin conductance, body temperature, and even sleep patterns.
Common symptoms to track include:
- Palpitations (increased or irregular heart rate (HR));
- Sweating
- Tremors
- Muscle tension
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Hyperventilation
By continuously tracking these physiological signals, wearables can identify any variations and anomalies that may indicate changes in stress levels, anxiety, or mood fluctuations.
They can even leverage motion sensors to detect physical activity and movement patterns.
The data collected by wearables can then be used by various mobile apps that help manage mental health.
As digital health development is rapidly advancing, we’ll see more and more apps that use wearables for mental health monitoring.
Wearable Sensors Commonly Used
Here are some of the more common sensors used in many wearables for mental health tracking:
- Accelerometer (ACC): An accelerometer is like a motion tracker on your wearable, keeping tabs on your movements and positions. It can tell when you’re walking, running, or even taking a fall, helping you stay aware of your daily activities.
- Blood pressure (BP): Wearable blood pressure monitors use clever optical sensors to peek beneath your skin and estimate your blood pressure. By detecting changes in blood volume and pressure, these nifty devices give you a snapshot of your cardiovascular health.
- Electrocardiogram (ECG): Think of it as your heart detective. It reads the electrical signals in your heart to measure its rhythm and health. With this information, you can keep track of any irregularities or potential heart-related concerns.
- Electrodermal activity (EDA): The EDA sensor acts like your emotions’ radar, detecting changes in your skin’s electrical conductance. It’s like having a mood monitor on your wrist, offering insights into your emotional states and even detecting moments of stress or excitement.
- Heart rate (HR): The heart rate sensor uses light to monitor your blood flow and gives you instant feedback on your heart rate.
- Heart rate variability (HRV): The HRV sensor goes one step further and analyzes the variations in time between your heartbeats.
- Photoplethysmography (PPG): The PPG sensor utilizes light to measure changes in blood volume, and by doing so, it determines your heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen levels.
- Respiratory rate (RR): The respiratory rate sensor watches your breathing patterns to detect anomalies.
- Skin temperature (TMP): The TMP sensor acts as a temperature gauge for your skin, capturing its surface temperature. These can provide insights into your stress levels and offer clues about your sleep quality.
- Oxygen blood saturation (SpO2): The SpO2 sensor is like an oxygen detective, measuring oxygen saturation in your blood. It’s an essential metric for assessing your overall health and can give insights into how well your body is oxygenated.
These sensors all work together to collect vital data about your body, helping you understand your well-being and guide you on your health journey.
3 Wearables That Monitor Mental Health
If you’re sold on the idea of buying a wearable, you’ll be glad to know that we’ve already picked out the top three notable wearables currently available in the market, which are:
1. Empatica Plus/Empatica Care
Empatica Care stands out as one of the ultimate wearables for mental health monitoring, packed with features that redefine continuous health tracking.
Its data collection capabilities make it a powerhouse smartwatch, equipped with a broad range of sensors and non-stop data streaming to provide comprehensive insights into various health parameters, including mental well-being.
With a special focus on neurology, this device empowers breakthroughs in research related to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy, and Neuroinfectious diseases.
Its advanced optical PPG sensor ensures clinically-validated measurements of pulse rate (PR) and pulse rate variability (PRV), providing users with accurate heart rate tracking.
Additionally, the ventral EDA sensor detects subtle changes in skin electrical conductance, offering valuable insights into emotional states and stress levels, and empowering users to manage their mental well-being effectively.
2. Hexoskin
Hexoskin offers a comprehensive range of health metrics, including continuous reporting for ECG, HR, HRV, and more.
The respiratory ventilation data is collected through the RIP sensors, and statistics such as acceleration, steps, cadence, positions, and sleep patterns are monitored with a three-axis accelerometer.
Beyond its technical features, Hexoskin’s smart garments offer UV protection.
3. BioPatch™ HP
Zephyr BioPatch™ HP is a monitoring device designed to measure human performance in a new and efficient way.
It utilizes impedance to measure respiration and incorporates standard single lead electrodes for precise data collection.
Users can benefit from its full capability with OmniSense™ Live and OmniSense™ Analysis software, empowering them to access and analyze comprehensive health data.
The BioPatch™ HP excels in capturing various biometric indicators, such as HR and HRV.
This data enables users to gain insights into their overall well-being and performance levels.
With internal algorithms for calories, activity minutes, and HR variability, individuals can precisely assess their fitness progress and manage their health effectively.
Conclusion
In conclusion, wearables for mental health monitoring have ushered in a new era of personal well-being and proactive care that you should be taking advantage of.
Through cutting-edge sensors and advanced algorithms, these devices track various physiological signals, emotional states, and activity patterns, giving you all the information you’ll need about your body.
