Smartwatch tech fails to measure stress in new study
An ever-increasing number of smart wearables claim to be able to tell how well the user is sleeping and how much stress they are under, just in case they might need to make some lifestyle changes in order to address what could be potentially pivotal health discrepancies.
The smart watches or bands in question might not be accurate enough in those measurements, according to a new study.
The experiment, carried out at Leiden University in the Netherlands, recruited 781 students to use the same wearable for 3 months, and to complete regular ecological momentary assessment (EMA) surveys on subjects such as the participants' own sleep, fatigue and stress levels at the same time.
The researchers concluded that, while the subjects' EMA data "overlapped" well with those of the wearables' sensors in terms of fatigue and sleep, they diverged when it came to measuring stress.
It should be noted that the study only incorporated 1 wearable: the Vivosmart 4 from circa 2018, discontinued by Garmin in favor of its newer Vivosmart 5 (currently available for $149.99 on Amazon) in 2022.
It follows that Garmin's approach to stress assessment might differ from that of the EMA, thereby affecting the outcome of the experiment.
Nevertheless, the result is now being interpreted as evidence that few if any wrist-worn smart devices are in any way accurate when it comes to the often popular spec of stress-tracking.
