Activity monitoring bracelets are healthy accessories

Jericho resident Faisal Zakaria, 40, is a self-declared technology geek. He also could use some tips on getting a good night's sleep. So he was quick to jump on the activity bracelet bandwagon.

With their high-tech capabilities and stylish look, this new generation of activity monitors is pushing aside old-school pedometers. Activity bracelets still tally the number of steps you take, but some also calculate calories burned and hours slept -- or, as in Zakaria's case, not slept.

A host of such bracelets have hit the market, retailing from $50 to nearly $300, with prices varying by the number of bells and whistles they have. Most of them include apps, allowing wearers to keep track of the collected health data online. Many bracelet fans, including Zakaria, also have formed groups with friends and relatives near and far that compete for steps, zzz's and other healthy outcome measures.

HEALTHY COMPETITION

Zakaria, director of information technology, software and integrations at Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola, said he averages only 4 to 4.5 hours of sleep a night and purchased his Jawbone bracelet to get a better handle on his insomnia. The bracelet is smart enough, he said, to know when he's actually awake as opposed to just rolling over in a fitful sleep.

Has the Jawbone improved his sleep? Not so much, he said, but largely because he admits that he's not as disciplined as he should be. The app does give him pointers on how to get more sleep, he said, and he also uses it to monitor his intake of caffeine, which is linked to sleep loss, especially when consumed midday to late at night.

The bracelet has, however, stirred up some healthy competition with his brother, who lives in Melbourne, Australia, and some cousins and friends.

"There are about eight or nine of us, and we keep track of each other and compete online," Zakaria said. "My cousin walked 13,000 steps over the weekend, so I got on the treadmill and beat that record."

Zakaria said he's hoping the sleep clinic at Winthrop-University Hospital will consider a pilot study involving the devices in the near future.

The North Shore-LIJ Health System also is considering a pilot wellness program using activity trackers.

"We hope to use the results of that pilot to inform future wellness activities within the health system," said Michael Lettera, director of wellness for the North Shore-LIJ Office of Community and Public Health in Lake Success -- and also an activity bracelet wearer.

He wears a Fitbit, which he got as part of a pilot walking program where he previously worked, and he's a fan.

"It made me become more aware of my activity, and the second piece was the ability to compete against myself and others," Lettera said. "We all wanted to be on the top of the leader board, so it really made me walk more." To score more steps while traveling to his job in Manhattan, for instance, he'd get off the subway several stops early. The extra activity also has helped him maintain a recent weight loss.

VALUABLE TOOL

"I don't see any downsides," he said. "In my community, we see people with these bracelets all the time, especially among people in family- and work-based challenges." Using an app to sync the activity monitor to a phone reinforces increased activity. "We love smartphones, and this is really a great use of them," he said.

Lettera said he still tries to walk more, but now that he's working on a hospital campus in Long Island, it's not as easy to accrue steps as it was in New York City.

Dr. Kevin Marzo, chief of cardiology at Winthrop-University Hospital, likens activity bracelets to gym memberships: "If you belong to a gym and you go to the gym, you will be healthier." Same can be said about investing in an activity bracelet. "If it helps you to walk more and eat healthier, it's a good thing," he said.

Michelle Milgrim, a registered dietitian and wellness coordinator for the North Shore-LIJ Health System, agrees.

"Any tool that can make it easier or more convenient for self-tracking can be valuable in maintaining weight loss," she said. "Most people can't accurately recall what they ate or how many steps they took, so this gives them some method to evaluate what has changed and what still needs to change."