How Much Personal Data is Needed to Stay Healthy?

A few months ago, a story ran in Wired Magazine that described a noticeable shift in the scientific method, and attributed the change to our ability to produce and store large amounts of data.Historically, the scientific method was built around a testable theory.  But in the 21st century, theories were becoming obsolete; the data simply spoke for itself.

Data from our bodies is no exception -- physiologic data can now be accessed as a real-time data stream thanks to personal health monitors. But does the vast amount of data we get from our bodies make us any healthier? Do we need to collect data 24-hours a day in order to learn something interesting about our health? Is it even feasible to wear these sensors all day, every day?

I am embarking on a new self-tracking experiment to answer these questions (and possibly a few others). For 30 days, I will be using devices such as the Zeo personal sleep coach, the Philips DirectLife activity monitor, the Mio Motiva wristband on-demand heart rate monitor, and the Nike+ sportband. The goal of this study is not to pit one device against another; rather, I want to focus on what the data tells me, and how I can best use it to stay healthy.

I'll get a blog post up here at least once a week, all the while working on a longer story about the journey that will be released at the end of the month.

Stay tuned. It should be a fun ride...

Behavior Change: A Central Topic at Health 2.0

The afternoon of Day 1 of the Health 2.0 Conference was highlighted by the session, "The Patient is In".  First up, a video that documented the experiences of a group of people that recently started using patient health tools, such as online health journals that track diet or exercise, support sites for quitting smoking, or home blood test kits.

Following the video, a few of the participants were joined onstage by technology pioneer Esther Dyson.  Some panelists said that while they exercised a bit more and ate somewhat better during the course of the experiment, soon after they returned to their old (bad) habits.  Others were completely sold on the idea of self-tracking, and one particular panelist said that his daily running and mile-logging inspired his daughter and her friend to do the same.  Likewise, his neighbor, having noticed him trotting around the neighborhood several times a week, started his own walking regiment.  In the panelist's words, "People draw energy from supportive environments".

Social contagion, the idea that behavior change can be contagious, has been gaining ground.  A few months ago, I experienced the power of social contagion for myself: as many readers know, I'm a long-time runner.  But no matter how many miles I logged per week, my wife never really understood why I was out on the road, tormenting myself for hours.  It wasn't until she bought a Nike+ sensor, and her boss challenged her to a "See Who Can Run More Miles in a Month" challenge that she became hooked on running.  Now I have to spy on her website running log to make sure I still run more miles per week (yes, I'm competitive too).

Some people are inspired to change their behaviors by logging how many calories they're consuming every day.  Others are motivated by seeing friends or family stop smoking.  And for some, it takes someone else to throw down the gauntlet, and say, "I bet I can kick your butt in a race around the track" for the change to occur.

Esther Dyson concluded the session by saying that we can also drive behavior changes by associating the things we just don't like to do with small "rewards".  Personally, she rewarded the monotony of flossing with a 5-minute reprieve from her intense exercise routine.  So on days she flossed, instead of swimming for an hour, she could quit after 55 minutes.

Social contagion and little rewards go a long way in keeping people focused and motivated, and I was glad to see these ideas brought up at today's conference.

Losing Weight Requires the Right Tools, But Not Necessarily the Fanciest Ones

Self-tracking is an effective way to change behaviors. That’s the result of a study conducted last year by the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research.

“The more food records people kept, the more weight they lost,” says Jack Hollis PhD, a researcher at KPCHR and lead author of the study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. “Those who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records. It seems that the simple act of writing down what you eat encourages people to consume fewer calories.

“Every day I hear patients say they can’t lose weight. This study shows that most people can lose weight if they have the right tools and support,” says Keith Bachman, MD, a Kaiser Permanente internist and weight management specialist. “Keeping a food diary doesn’t have to be a formal thing. Just the act of scribbling down what you eat on a Post-It note, sending yourself e-mails tallying each meal, or sending yourself a text message will suffice. It’s the process of reflecting on what we eat that helps us become aware of our habits, and hopefully change our behavior.”

The study concluded what proponents of self-tracking have known all along, namely, that monitoring your own actions creates a heightened self-awareness. Sure, fancy new iPhone apps where you track your weight or blood-sugar over time are cool, but self-tracking doesn’t have to go hand-in-hand with technology.

Case in point, on my last visit to my mother’s place, I found a home blood pressure monitor and a piece of paper with scribbled numbers on it sitting on a table in the living room. She told me that she has been tracking her blood pressure every day for the past months, and writing the numbers in her notebook log. I had been tracking my running data for years using elaborate web programs, and complicated sensors. But suddenly I realized that self-tracking doesn’t have to be limited to the tech savvy or early adopters; a pen and a piece of paper will do the trick.

My Sleep Coach Just Told Me to...Well, Sleep!

A friend of mine sent me a link to a new device that aims to improve the quality of sleep you're getting (thanks, Andy).  Say hello to the Zeo Personal Sleep Coach.  Armed with a hypoallergenic wireless headband and an alarm clock-like receiver, you can analyze how your beauty rest is affected by things that go bump in the night (literally, for the dog in the YouTube clip above).

Want to know how long it took you to fall asleep?  Curious about how much deep sleep or REM sleep you got?  Interested in knowing how many times you woke up during the night?  No problem, the Zeo Sleep Coach has it covered.

USAToday and Technology Review both blogged about the Zeo Sleep Coach.  These reviews highlight the interesting features of Zeo's device, but both are stumped by the coaching aspect; It doesn't seem clear how the feedback from the collected data makes you sleep "better".

With the soaring popularity of Nike+, and the anticipation building around the first release of FitBit, it's quite clear that people are looking for clever ways to automatically track data.  It's intriguing to think about tracking our sleep patterns.  After all, that's a metric we can't directly observe ourselves.  Zeo clearly states that the Sleep Coach is not a medical device, and should not be used to diagnose sleeping disorders.  But I'm sure the millions of people with sleep apnea are chomping at the bit on whether any useful information can be pulled out of the collected data.

If anyone has one, or orders one, post your comments!