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Your Fitbit Might Help Track the Path of Covid-19
Researchers have known for years that wearables could be useful for detecting illness. Now they’re exploring whether fitness devices could help track and even contain Covid-19.
As a runner, I live by my fitness tracker data — not just to record pace and distance, but to determine how I slept the night before, measure how recovered my body is from my last workout, and see how my training is progressing. I check my data every morning when I wake up, and after every run.
In January, I noticed that my resting heart rate had, out of nowhere, jumped 10 points. I knew that meant my body was working harder than normal, as if I were sick, although I didn’t have any typical cold symptoms, like a runny nose, congestion, or sneezing — just a tightness in my chest and slight cough that could easily be attributed to running in dry air and subfreezing Colorado temps. But I was convinced the change in my data meant something was wrong with me that might derail my marathon training.
After a physical exam, my doctor ruled out anything more serious than the common cold and recommended over-the-counter meds — plus ditching my watch for a few days to prevent me from getting caught in the minutiae of my metrics.
