wearables

Data Death

/ dereid99 / Leave a comment

I’m getting on an airplane. As I get to the airport, my mind starts to sizzle like extra fatty bacon in a scorching cast iron pan. I wonder if anyone can see the smoke spewing from my ears. Did I forget anything? Do I have my passport? What is the exchange rate?  Money at the airport or wait until I land?  Where are my noise-cancelling pods?  Is my bag too big? What are the legal dimensions? Too much information. Chill, bro. I sit down, one, two, three, three, two, one. Why is everyone looking at me?

I need to shut off all my horrifying phone data.  I am monitoring four issues with various apps. First is Garmin for sleep and my activities – how many consecutive 10k days for steps and  workouts. I’m also tracking my sober days (I am Sober) and my calorie intake (MyFitnessPal), especially since I’m on a high fibre diet for a gut condition.  Too much information.

The data barrage is driving me nuts. I need some information for my diverticulitis monitoring – how many days since my last gut attack. My daily activity streak on Garmin tells me how long it’s been since my last attack. On that lovely summer day, I couldn’t get out of bed, so no activity for me, not even a walk, but I’ve ran or walked every day since. I also need to track my diet – how much fibre am I getting per day?  Hence a calorie / nutrition counter.

My new year goal – stop the counting – no more sleep, diet, activity or sober information. I am so done.  I can’t believe I am sitting here afraid to turn the shit off. What is the point to all this? For the next thirty days, minimal data. Here’s the plan.

First kill the sleep data (double barrel shotgun please). What’s the point? Garmin sleep data does more harm than good. I switch to battery saver at night which shuts down all sleep data because the basic mode doesn’t monitor heart rate. I go back to regular mode after I wake.  I tell ya, Garmin was ruining my sleep. Oh no I didn’t get a 100. Frustration. Can’t sleep. No more sleep score. Not accurate anyway.

No more calorie counter. I know my fibre intake (more beans please) – I see it bathed in toilet water every morning. Do I need to count every day?  Nope. I won’t know if my diet change is effective until I get past three months. I’m at 100 days now.

Sober shit – how many days since my last drink. I had a minor indiscretion three weeks ago. It was very depressing to reset to zero.  I’m not there. I am not a loser.  I’m on a path and a very good one. Stop counting. Just be sober. I’ve removed the app and live day to day (as I should).

I’d say chuck the watch for 30 days, but we are going to Mexico, and I will need it in case I want to run (distance, plus map) and I need it for time (and weather is nice). Remember the days when your watch just told time (All hail Timex). I swear that wrist killer is causing more stress than is necessary. Ok, I’m doing it now.  Watch off.  Battery saver. No sleep data. Sober counter gone, app deleted. No more calorie count. Ahhhhh…

Note – 30 days since I wrote this and guess what? I’m still alive.

Good Night Irene

/ dereid99 / Leave a comment

I had a dream we were sipping whisky neat. I threw the glass in the campfire. Darkness surrounded me.  I heard a noise in the bush. Out came a giant Scottish dude named Balvenie. He shouted in an accent I couldn’t decipher.  I got up and ran, fear over my shoulder.  I woke up in the middle of the night sweating. Panting. The next morning, I looked at my watch. Dr. Garmin yelled at me  with a 34-sleep score. Holy shit. Not good. I need to get better.

Now, I’ve always been a great sleeper. I can sleep anywhere – at a movie, concert even while driving (not too often). Sleep is very important right up there with the other two biggies, exercise and diet. But with the invention of smart watches, monitoring is both a blessing and a curse.   How can you not take an interest in your sleep? The device is either yelling at me or stroking me with positivity.

However, how accurate are sleep monitoring watches? When you get a sleep score of 93, they are the greatest invention to man. A 34 score and they are shit. From what I’ve read, watches are very good at monitoring how long you’ve slept and that’s about it. Deep sleep and REM, not so much. I was getting such poor scores on my Garmin (average 82), that I decided to funnel the data into Apple health.  She (you beautiful gem) regularly  gives me a 97-100 score every night, so uplifting. Garmin is nothing more that a scolding old bitty who enjoys picking the wings off flies . Constant low scores surely affects your sleep. We all want a 100 percent right? The highest I’ve ever gotten is 93. Once.

With all these poor scores, I decided to try and enhance my sleep score. First magnesium bisglycinate. Made me sleepy before bed, but if you stop taking it,  your body needs time to readjust. It’s like taking a sleeping pill. Once you use, you become dependant and I don’t want to become dependant on anything, except warm socks in the winter. I tried it for two weeks. No change. Then Gabapentin, another sleep inducing medication.  Same – no change and hard to come off.  Blue filter glasses (I use a reader every night). Nope. In fact for the first week, my score was worse. So none of this shit works – what does work?  Going to bed at the same time. Routine is king. And I’m happy with Apple scores.

Does Garmin really matter – you old cantankerous dick? How do you feel when you put your feet on the floor? Five years ago, I didn’t have a sleep monitoring watch and I felt fine. In fact, I think my sleep has gotten worse (for a time) from the constant nagging and negative Garmin reports. I know more than one person who turns the Garmin sleep data off completely. Switching to the more positive Apple is an eye closer for sure.

Sleep is great. I have a routine and I stick to it. I also make sure my bedroom is cool and dark. And no alcohol. If there’s one good report for Garmin, it’s how shitty your sleep is with even one glass of wine too close to bed. I wonder how many people, like me, who have given up booze after damning sleep reports.  The giant nasty Scottish dude is still chasing me, but good luck trying to catch me.