Do Smartwatches numb our feelings for the steps we take?

Reaching physical activity goals can be achieved by accumulating steps. Smartwatches are frequently and increasingly used to track steps But do they „numb“ our perception of steps we make, or can we increase our subjective accuracy of accumulated steps after wearing a Smartwatch?

A new study concludes: „The counting and reporting of daily steps with a smartwatch allows improving the subjective estimation accuracy of daily step counts, with a stabilizing effect for at least 6 weeks.“ (Düking et al., 2024)

So what? Smartwatches might not „numb“ our feelings for the steps we make, but rather increase how well we can estimate our own steps!

Full Study: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/digital-health/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2024.1400369/full