Wearable Technology and Mental Health: Helpful Tool or Just More Data?
Wearable technology has become increasingly common in everyday life. Devices like smartwatches, fitness trackers, and smart rings now go far beyond counting steps. Many are designed to monitor sleep, stress, heart rate, and other physiological markers that are closely connected to mental health. While these tools offer promising benefits, they also raise important questions around accuracy, accessibility, and how much data is actually helpful. How Wearables Support Mental and Physical Health Tracking Most wearable devices collect continuous data such as heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), sleep duration, activity levels, and in some cases electrodermal activity (EDA). These metrics are important because they are linked to stress, emotional regulation, and overall mental well-being. For example, changes in HRV and sleep patterns are often associated with anxiety, depression, and chronic stress (Elfouly & Alouani, 2025). From a mental health perspective, wearables ar...