This Wristband Knows When You're Eating, Running and Sleeping

Posted: October 8, 2012 at 10:23 pm


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A new health-tracking product called larklife wants to be the everyperson's fitness monitor. The company's CEO and founder Julia Hu said she sees a flaw with devices that use social competition to motivate people.

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"The problem is that that type of motivation is actually incredibly demotivating to the 95 percent of us who are not hyper athletes," she said.

Lark, the company that made the device, launched its latest product, larklife on Monday. Larklife is two wearable wristbands that track your fitness, diet and sleep through a free iOS app. Rather than focus on big goals like "lose 20 pounds" or "run a marathon," larklife focus on smaller milestones.

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"For us, we believe that the power of wearable health is not in its ability to just track everything about you, but rather motivate and empower you to feel great and be happier, healthier, and more productive," Hu said. "We're taking the world's best experts in fitness, dieting, productivity, stress and sleep, and putting them in the palm of your hand to give you personalized, real-time advice."

There is one waterproof wristband for day and a cozy, soft wristband to wear while you sleep. These health trackers are similar to other fitness and life-tracking devices like the Fitbit and Nike FuelBand, but have a few key differences.

To encourage users to change their behavior, Hu and her team tapped health experts and developed a complex algorithm to provide recommendations to wearers throughout the day on the wristband's sleek screen. The Lark team thinks you'll be more likely to take the recommendations from experts with a little encouragement from the in-app coach. In fact, Lark wants users to develop a relationship with their device, which will make them more accountable. (It does encourage you and celebrate victories just like a good friend would.) The virtual coach "chats" with you throughout the day on the wristband's screen. It also passively monitors sleep, diet and lifestyle.

For instance, she told me if I went to bed at midnight and woke up at 6 a.m. for a run, my wristband might explain to me in a message that I should eat a protein-fueled breakfast due to the fact I didn't sleep much and also burned energy running.

By reminding users of small goals and milestones, those big goals don't seem so intimidating. Hu says the average person will be more motivated to continue on their quest for a healthy lifestyle.

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This Wristband Knows When You're Eating, Running and Sleeping

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October 8th, 2012 at 10:23 pm

Posted in Health and Fitness




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