Exist

Sleep hacking and a mood-monitoring bra: Quantified Self weekly links

1. Danielle Morrill on the Jawbone UP

Startup founder and mentor Danielle Morrill wrote this blog post about her first week using the Jawbone UP. I always find it interesting to read initial responses to a fitness tracker.

When I plug in my UP to sync with my phone I am always excited to see what new progress I’ve made, and I know it’s within my control whether I will hit my goal of 10,000 steps a day or not.

2. Six Secrets of Sleep Hacking to Get More Effective Rest

If sleep is something you’re tracking in the hopes of optimisation, this could be a handy article to read. I especially enjoyed this point, though I’m not sure how much I trust it:

The cells in your body run on glucose from sugar and ketones from fat. Most people on the standard American diet have acclimated their bodies to a life of burning sugar. So that’s exactly what your brain does all night long while it’s processing the day’s events and helping your body recover. It’s one of the reasons most people wake up starving and their cravings point them toward that box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. However, if you provide your body with a nice injection of fat before you go to bed, it can use those efficient and delicious ketones to get through the night, letting you get better rest.

3. Microsoft is building a mood-measuring bra

A team from Microsoft’s visualisation and interaction research group embedded an electrocardiogram and electro-dermal activities sensors as well as a gyroscope and accelerometer in the bra.

In their paper, the researchers say using a bra “was ideal because it allowed us to collect EKG [electrocardiogram] near the heart”.

I’m not about to rush out and get one of these, but it’s interesting to see where wearable tech is going (in all directions, it seems).