Data Overdose: When Tracking Health Makes Us Lose Touch with Ourselves

Because wellness isn’t just numbers on a screen.

It’s hard to deny the appeal of health gadgets and apps. From step counters to heart rate monitors, sleep trackers to calorie apps, our wrists, phones, and even our rings are busily logging data about our bodies every minute of the day. On paper, it sounds perfect. After all, information is power, right?

But what happens when the numbers start to take over and the quiet, intuitive connection with ourselves fades away?

The Digital Wellness Dilemma

We live in an age where health data is everywhere. The market for fitness trackers in the UK alone was worth over £400 million in 2024, with millions of people actively monitoring everything from their steps to their stress levels. While these tools can be helpful, they can also trap us in a cycle of constant comparison, judgement, and second-guessing.

I’ve seen clients obsess over their sleep scores, stress levels, or calorie counts, only to feel more anxious and disconnected from their own bodily wisdom. When your worth starts hinging on how many steps you took or how well you slept according to an app, it becomes easy to forget the simple truth: your body is already talking to you. We just need to listen.

Losing the Art of Tuning In

For centuries, humans have relied on internal cues hunger, fatigue, mood to guide their health choices. But today, so many of us have outsourced that intuition to gadgets and algorithms. We wait for a buzz or a red light to tell us we’re tired, hungry, or stressed. We track calories but forget to notice how food actually makes us feel.

This obsession with data can create a barrier to true self-awareness. Instead of learning what our bodies really need, we become fixated on external metrics that might not tell the whole story.

Finding Balance in a Data-Driven World

That’s not to say technology is bad. It can be a helpful tool when used thoughtfully. The key is to remember that data should support your wellness journey not control it.

Imagine using your tracker as a gentle nudge, not a strict rulebook. Taking note of your stress level as one signal among many, not the only truth. And, crucially, spending time offline, tuning into the sensations in your body, breathing, emotions, and energy without distraction.

Embrace Your Inner Wisdom

At Reset & Glow, we encourage you to honour your own inner compass. The feelings, sensations, and rhythms that no app can measure but that your body knows intimately. Wellness is not a number on a screen. It’s a conversation a practice of curiosity and kindness towards yourself.

Next time you glance at your tracker, ask yourself: Am I using this information to support my well-being, or am I letting it dictate how I feel about myself? The answer can be the start of a much gentler, more sustainable path to health.

Written by Izzy

Founder of Reset & Glow