Is the Jawbone Wristband the Future of Healthcare?

Can a wristband monitor your health?

A new product from Jawbone is making waves in the healthcare industry. It's a bendable, waterproof wristband that people can use to track their health stats and keep track of how much exercise they get throughout the day.

The wristband is called The Up and it connects with an app on the iPhone (even though an Android app is in the works) using a small audio jack hidden under a silver cap on the end. In addition to syncing the wristband to their smart phones, users also have to charge the device by plugging into a USB connector every week or so.

The wristband keeps track of how often its wearers sleep and exercise. It monitors the wearer's movements and can tell when they are asleep. As an added plus, you can set an alarm and the wristband will wake you up with gentle vibrations. In addition, it monitors how deeply you sleep and picks a time closest to your desired awake time, attempting to wake you when your sleep is at its lightest.

The Up also keeps track of how much you move during the day and logs all of your activity. For example, if you spent the day shopping at the mall, it will track how long you walked and how many miles you went. Along with the smartphone app, users are encouraged to keep a log of the food they eat and how they felt a couple of hours after eating.

The neat thing is that it combines all of this data to help people get a clear idea of their activities. By tracking these activities, users have a comprehensive tool for managing their health information.

Although it has the potential to grow in the future to be a tool that can also monitor blood pressure and sugar levels, for now at least, Jawbone envisions The Up to be a way for people to connect with their friends and share their health data. The iPhone app encourages people to invite their friends and get support for mini-goals. Even though the app isn't integrated with social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook just yet, there is still space to connect with friends inside the app.

Personally, I don't think that I would want to use the wristband and app with my social network. I think that when I sleep and how much exercise I get is way too personal for my Facebook wall. On the surface, it seems innocuous enough, but I can't help but wonder what will happen when I tell my friends that I couldn't go out because I need to sleep and the next day they see several bouts of strenuous activity throughout my night with few sleep hours?

The other downside is that I would have to have friends who have the wristband in order to share the information with them. Without any friends who have it, it would be hard to stay motivated.

The Up retails for $99 and is available at most Apple stores, Targets and Best Buy.

What do you think about this type of health monitoring? Do you see any other applications for this technology in the future? Please share your thoughts and comments.

By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for HealthcareJobsiteBlog and Beyond.com.. Along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.

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Technogym Makes Its U.S. Debut

Technogym, one of the world leaders in fitness and wellness has just launched their first center in the U.S. The new wellness center will be located in New York City, in the SoHo district. The center was designed to be an education center, a retail shop and a showroom.

Technogym has over 50,000 fitness centers around the globe and is one of the leaders in upscale home gym design. They market themselves as a “Wellness Company” and have a commitment to promoting physical activity and exercise as an opportunity to help create a more sustainable and healthy society. In fact, the American Medical Association recently has chosen Technogym as the official partner in their “Exercise is Medicine” initiative that focuses on promoting physical exercise as a treatment for many chronic diseases.

According to Nerio Alessandri, the founder of Technogym, his philosophy is this:

"Wellness is a total social opportunity — for governments to reduce health service costs, for companies to stimulate their members to be more creative and productive and for all people to improve their health and daily lifestyle," says Mr. Alessandri. "People's awareness of the benefit of physical exercise is constantly growing in all population clusters, and we feel that it's the right moment to launch our comprehensive consumer plan, catering to the needs of every user, from beginners to professional athletes."

This is a new push for a healthy country, and it will be interesting to see how this company grows here in the U.S. Personally, I like their approach. They have treadmills and other machines that offer TV, and even internet connections. If I had something like that, I would have no excuse to get off my couch and get more exercise.

Are you looking for a job in the Healthcare industry? Be sure to visit HealthcareJobsite.

By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.

Green Your Workout Routine

How about taking an environmental initiative and giving your health and the environment a clean start by greening your exercise routine?

You may not think that a few simple actions can help you lose weight and reduce your carbon footprint at the same time, but if you follow these tips you’ll be well on your way to a green exercise routine:

1. Try a reusable water bottle.
Staying hydrated is important when you exercise so instead of buying a pack of bottled water and creating more plastic waste how about using a stainless steel or recycled water bottle that you can wash and reuse again.

2. Eat organic.
Get your energy boost with organic cereal and granola bars, or try a homemade smoothie by mixing organic yogurt, orange juice and fruit together in a blender.

3. Walk, run, or ride a bike.
You don’t need an exercise machine that uses electricity to help you burn calories, if the weather’s good. You can always get your green exercise by walking, running, or riding a bike around a park or neighborhood. You can even take along biodegradable bags and pick up trash and recyclable aluminum cans along the way to help clean up your surroundings.

4. Dress the part.
Whether you need a sports bra, running shorts, or workout sneakers you can always find clothing and accessories made from organic cotton, recycled fabric, bamboo, and other natural ingredients. You should also donate your old workout clothes to thrift stores.

5. Plant a garden.
If you have a backyard with available space or know someone who does then you can get a weekly workout by planting a garden this spring. All the digging, planting, watering, and weeding will give you a great workout every time you visit the garden, plus you can eat your organic fruits and vegetables as a healthy meal! To be extra eco friendly you can reuse rainwater caught in a barrel to water the plants.

6. Save water: Wash your towels less.
Most likely you are going to take a shower after a heavy workout. If you use a towel to wipe away sweat, you don’t have to wash it after its first use. Reuse the towel a few times more since you’re going to take a shower anyways. This will help conserve water because you’ll be using the washing machine less.

7. Try natural deodorants.
Many deodorants contain harmful ingredients such as aluminum and formaldehyde, so freshen up after your hard workout by using deodorants made from all natural plant-based ingredients or make your own. Also, make sure that the product is certified “cruelty-free” to prove that it has not been tested on animals.

8. Encourage your gym to go green.
Some gyms are starting to install green cardio equipment, which usually uses energy from your pedaling or running to generate electricity, which is then used to power the gym.

Make these tips a part of your daily eco lifestyle routine. You’ll not only get in shape but help out the environment.

Help make the world a healthier place -- start your career as a health care professional today! For more information on healthcare careers, visit http://www.healthcarejobsiteblog.com/

Bambi Blue is a freelance writer, editor, and codemonkey living in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She moonlights as a jazz musician, a social butterfly, and most apparently a weisenheimer. Loves to cook, hates to clean, and can easily be found on Twitter.