Ears to Your Health

Yesterday I started writing about women and health issues. Namely, we need to put ourselves first and start acting on what we know we should do; what our next steps will be. I do a lot of writing in my career and for personal enjoyment, and as I wrote my blog yesterday, I was reminded of how easy it is to lose track of time.

I get immersed in an idea and run with it, realizing I haven't gotten up from my seat in an hour or more –usually I notice this only because I need a bathroom break, I need to get going to a meeting or appointment, or I get hungry. Now, this isn't a new dilemma for me. I tell myself that I am going to make a point of getting up every 30 minutes (even if it's only to stretch or take a lap around my house) but I always end up losing track of time. I also try to keep track of my posture. I find that the longer I work on my lap top the more I tend to slouch. I'm pretty good about catching myself, though, but it's a constant adjustment for me to straighten up. So I was happy to discover yesterday a tweet from the WSJ about a new device that reminds people to sit up straight and get up and move around by vibrating when you don't. I re-Tweeted it yesterday and will post it here too.

The device is a $150 sensor called LumoBack, from a company called Lumo BodyTech, that straps around your lower waist to track your posture and vibrates whenever you slouch. It also tracks steps while walking and running, standing time, sitting time, sleep positions and sleep time. You can read Katherine Boehret's review here: on.wsj.com/14KHWwE

I think it may be worth a try as a motivational and coaching tool as much as a gentle reminder to sit up straight and get up and move more.

So that got me thinking about technology and what other products/apps might be out there to help us in our health/fitness quest and this one caught my eye. The Iriver On are earbuds that, not only play music, but also measure heart rate, distance, cadence, speed, and calories burned. The technology was developed by Valencel and licensed to Iriver and are available at sporting good stores. To see how they work visit this site: http://valencell.com/performtek™-technology

It's projected that by 2017 there will be 170 million wireless, wearable sports and health devices, but to date, there aren't many that accurately track key vital signs and activity without being cumbersome. Valencell says a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded study, shows its non-invasive biometric sensor accurately tracks this data, fits into most wearable music earbud designs, and wirelessly transmits data to a smartphone or mobile device where it is analyzed and reported in real-time via a proprietary algorithm and application or via other popular mobile fitness apps.

And here's a fun way to get moving, Konami – you may recognize the video game, "Frogger" – is also the original maker of the dance mat arcade game in "DanceDance Revolution" and a giant screen Classroom Edition of the same game. It's been championed by none other than First Lady Michelle Obama, who says they have it at Camp David and "it will make you sweat."

I'd love to hear what you think, and let me know if you are using or planning to use any of these products and how they work for you.