Ankita Konwar says a year of using fitness trackers made her question her own judgement

Ankita Konwar, a triathlete, noticed that using fitness trackers for a year made her question her own judgement about her readiness for exercise. She would feel energetic and prepared to train, but after checking her recovery score, often found herself doubting her ability to assess her own condition. Konwar shared her experience on Instagram, questioning whether we've become too reliant on technology to guide our health and fitness decisions.

Dr Sachi Pandya, a psychologist, explained that health gadgets can gradually shift our trust from our own bodily sensations to external measurements, making us more likely to prioritize numbers over subjective feelings. Dr Manjusha Agarwal, a senior consultant in internal medicine, provided an example where a person might avoid exercising because their tracker indicates poor recovery, leading to unnecessary worry and reduced confidence in their own judgement.

Konwar suggested that these devices should support our judgement, not replace it, and recommended checking in with ourselves first before looking at the device, setting boundaries around checking, and remembering that one poor recovery score does not define our health or exercise readiness.