Search
Close this search box.

How You Can Track Your Personal Health With a Smartphone

Photo by Alexander Sinn

Phones are getting increasingly smarter every day. With new features and applications, phones can fulfill many functions, from keeping track of finances to reminding users of upcoming events. However, one of the best features some phones have is tracking personal health. With such a feature, one can keep track of their health and fitness, reminding them to remain healthy in a variety of ways.

That being said, a phone can be used in many ways to capture health information. Some of them will take some manual effort, while others are more automated. In this article, we will walk you through these different methods to give you a better understanding of how your phone can help you stay in good health.

Tracking personal health with smartphones 

Some phones today have built-in sensors that can capture data about the user’s health. For example, phones with GPS trackers can track an individual’s movement, giving data on how far they have walked, run, or jogged in a given time and calculating how much energy was burned. Other sensors can also detect a person’s heart rate, providing an idea of how physically healthy they are.

All of these sensors, including cameras that can scan food labels and accelerators that can keep track of sleep cycles, can collect health information. They can notify the user if they discover any abnormalities to their health and even give advice on how they can improve their lifestyle.

If a phone does not have built-in sensors with any health-recording capabilities, there are also plenty of third-party sensors that can work with the phone to provide that functionality. For example, smartwatches can connect to a phone via Bluetooth, relaying information it collects to an app. Such devices are integral in many people’s lives, allowing them to keep track of their health and the problems they currently deal with. 

Pairing the use of third-party devices with health applications can summarize the collected information to give the user a full overview of their body’s state. This information helps give them a deeper understanding of their current health. 

People can also manually enter their health information into a variety of apps. For example, they can use note-taking apps and the like to record their blood sugar levels, weight, energy levels, physical activities, and diet.

These apps allow the user to record their day-to-day health. They will analyze this information to give the user feedback. For instance, if the app specializes in diet and nutrition, the user can find out whether they are eating the right food and consuming enough of it.

Conclusion 

There are many ways a person can use their phone to track their personal health. From the manual input of data to automated sensors that feed live information to apps, all these health-based solutions can help individuals quickly understand the state of their bodies. With such details processed and analyzed, they can receive notifications about the numerous ways they can improve their lifestyle, whether that is to drink more water or take more frequent walks. 

Dose of Healthcare is a provider of various healthcare content to get you in the know of current health news and more. If you are looking for more medical news, check out our blog!