We’re making better Sense of our lifestyle, with a helping hand from Fitbit
Our family jumped on the Fitbit bandwagon pretty early on – from a rough guesstimate, back in 2011. At the time, Fitbit and its technology was revolutionary, and a decade on, it’s still leading the way in terms of smartwatch innovation, personal health and lifestyle tracking, and even helping with motivation.
Ten years ago, wearing a watch to tell the time was still a thing (just). These days that requirement is long gone, thanks to the smartphone. Fortunately, Fitbit was always so much more than just a watch. That early Fitbit truly changed my habits. I’m naturally inclined towards goals and structure, so the 10,000 steps a day challenge really resonated with my DNA. On particularly sedentary days, it wasn’t uncommon for me to nip outside to walk around the block a few times, often late at night, just to reach that magical 10,000 number. Looking back, it provided a smug sense of achievement last thing in the evening – a useful accompaniment to a good night’s sleep.
Technology has evolved significantly since my early Fitbit experiences. We’ve wholeheartedly rediscovered the appeal of the Fitbit, having upgraded to the Fitbit Sense about three months ago – following a 12-month hiatus of not wearing a Fitbit or any other smartwatch (the last one was inadvertently misplaced following a weekend’s camping in a horsefloat, torrential rain, and a desire to pack up and leave as quickly as possible. It’s probably still lying in the middle of a grass paddock somewhere).
We’d adjusted to LWF (life without Fitbit), but now that it’s back in our life, we can’t imagine being separated again. It’s like having a non-demanding but supportive friend on your side – sharing gentle nudges and reminders, caring for your health and wellbeing, and encouraging you to get up and walk when you’ve inadvertently sat for too many hours at your computer. Best of all, there’s no judgement; just a reminder of some goals you might like to consider or encouragement to take a few moments to breathe and relax, with your personal (and tracked) stress levels in mind.
Full disclosure: there was a small moment of trepidation about reuniting with Fitbit. As we age, we’ve discovered a rapidly declining tolerance for the demands technology sometimes requires. Fortunately, this wasn’t the case with setting up the Fitbit Sense. Thankfully, it was as simple as downloading the app, leaving the watch and phone to get to know each other for a few minutes, and following a few simple prompts to get everything up and running.
Pro Tip: Have some fun exploring the options to personalise your Fitbit. We loved being able to choose from having our own personal photos on the screen to the myriad of free options on the Fitbit app.
The additional health and wellbeing features on the Sense (and all of the new Fitbits) are truly astounding. Tracking steps is mere child’s play now – the Fitbit has evolved to help manage stress with its innovative EDA sensor (actually the first-of-its-kind on wrist EDA Scan app) and also gives a daily Stress Management Score – eek.
If you want to go next level, you can even keep an eye on your heart health with the ECG app, which assesses for heart rhythm irregularities and gives heart rate notifications when it senses that your heart rate is above or below your personal range.
Our favourite feature though is undoubtedly the sleep-tracking measurements. Sleep has become a highly valued commodity and knowing whether you’re actually getting good quality sleep answers a whole lot of other questions around mood, appetite, energy levels, etc.
There’s also a fascination (veering on obsession) with seeing how your levels of sleep fluctuate throughout the night – from light and deep sleep to time spent in REM. Impressively, Sense also tracks your skin temperature throughout the night, and your estimated oxygen variation to help uncover potential breathing disturbances.
Pro Tip: If you’ve got a bedside companion who refuses to acknowledge their snoring and night noise issues, you can use the Fitbit Snore & Noise feature. This tracks snoring sounds and better still, provides a summary of results, including a satisfying chart of the noise levels incurred. #itoldyouso
The level of insight into your individual lifestyle is fascinating and serves as a reminder around everything from active minutes and calories burned to water intake and even menstrual health.
If you’re a workout fiend, you’ll love the real-time stats, heart-rate data, goal-setting options, and post-workout summary. The Sense is designed to work with a wide range of types of exercise – differentiating between running, cycling, lifting weights, and swimming for example. Did we mention that this glorious piece of technology is water resistant up to 50 metres so can be worn swimming lengths. And yes, it tracks your lengths (just remember to update the pool length before you start if you’re swimming in different pools).
Fitbit Sense also allows for Fitbit Pay, which can be used at all stores accepting payWave and contactless payments. And it also offers the option to control your Spotify music – handy while working out.
Other features we love: find my phone, being able to receive texts and answer phone calls, the ability to set and change alarms, built-in Amazon Alexa, which allows voice assistant checking of weather, setting timers, and controlling other smart home devices.
The final tick of approval comes with the fact the Fitbit Sense is just so comfortable to wear. Not all watches are – but the soft strap and shape of the Sense are designed to maximise comfort. And if trend is a priority, there’s a stylish collection of alternative watch straps, including Brother Vellies woven leather bands, active bands, and Luxe steel or link bands. Battery life is a whopping six days (and it takes just 12 minutes to add a full day’s charge).
The Fitbit Sense (and new Fitbit Sense 2) come with a six-month Premium Membership, which offers a variety of additional features.
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