Can Wearables Extend Our Lives?

Apparently, Gartner seems to think so. Gartner Inc. and their team of analysts have released their top 10 predictions for 2015 and beyond, and they have some pretty interesting theories about the future of wearables. Among them, Gartner predicts that wearables will increase overall life expectancy by the year 2020.

According to Gartner, through the use of widespread adoption of wireless health monitoring technology (fitness trackers for example) world life expectancy will increase by .5 years, which is no small feat. With the world having more access and control over their health, wearables present a huge opportunity to take advantage of common health practices that are often forgotten about, or are just not aware of.

Often the hardest part about starting a healthier life, whether that be eating healthier or exercising, is actually starting. Now wearables haven’t begun to solve that problem just yet, but they are making the rest of the way a whole lot easier and more insightful. In addition to fitness tracking, wearables are capturing heartbeat, temperature, and environmental factors that could help both wearers and researchers. For example Intel partnered with the Michael J. Fox Foundation to gain some key data on Parkinson’s using wearables to track their symptoms continuously.

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