Brits are a nation of tracking fanatics - keeping tabs on everything from sleep to steps

Wednesday, 23rd June 2021, 9:02 am

The study of 2,000 adults found 68 per cent of Brits now track their health and wellbeing habits on a daily basis.

While 51 per cent keep a log of how many steps they take a day, 30 per cent do so with their heart rate and more than a quarter also track their sleep.

Distance they’ve covered, calories they’ve burned and getting a better night’s sleep were all things Brits have wanted to achieve as a result of keeping tabs on themselves.

Were they able to, respondents would also like to track their body temperature, a breakdown of what they’ve achieved and also the time they’ve spent in the sun.

As the nation eases out of lockdown, monitoring habits have become even more apparent with over a third (34 per cent) of Brits admitting they are now more health conscious than before.

A quarter (25 per cent) say they have started to track new traits they hadn’t monitored previously.

Tracking for motivation

The research, conducted by Huawei to launch its Watch 3 that offers a suite of continuous health monitoring, found 67 per cent track areas of their lives to motivate themselves.

More than a third said they'd never exercise if it wasn't for their tracker giving them a boost - while nearly 57 per cent even like to set new goals and compete against themselves and others.

It also emerged that of those who use technology to track their general health, 69 per cent have noticed a positive improvement in their own mental wellbeing.

Keeping track of progress was seen as important to eight in 10, in their daily lives.

We’re a nation that desires updated technology for tracking with 55 per cent using a smart watch or phone to track their habits, and only one in eight are ‘old school’ and use a notepad.

Brits keep track of their progress on apps and tech on average four days a week, with four in 10 claiming they couldn’t imagine a life without technology as a result.

Tech gives the nation a boost

More than half also said buying a new piece of tech gives them a boost to put it to work and keep a better eye on themselves with things such as heart rate or calories burned.

And 56 per cent believe they’re healthier in all aspects of their life due to having more insight at their fingertips.

Anson Zhang of Huawei, which commissioned the research via OnePoll ahead of the launch of their new Huawei Watch 3 launch, said: “The research has certainly shown that tracking a variety of aspects of your life has become commonplace for many.

“To a degree, people are relying on such information to make life judgements and better their health, which can only be a good thing.

“Our latest smartwatch has been created with technology that can provide many people with more of an insight into their lives than ever before.

"It enables users to monitor things like heartrate, continuous SPO2 (oxygen in blood) tracking, and even skin temperature.”


1. Steps

2. Weather

3. Finances

4. Distance travelled

5. GPS location

6. Heart rate

7. Calories burned

8. Sleep

9. Screen time

10. Running

11. Health in general

12. Social media usage

13. Nutrition

14. Menstrual cycle

15. Water consumed

16. Stress

17. Oxygen in blood

18. Swimming

19. Sex

20. Baby sleep times