How to become fit and healthy using your mobile phone

By Adam MacDougall

There’s a new horror movie in cinemas this week (even if the scariest thing about it seems to be the reviews it has been getting) called Countdown. The idea is so simple it’s hard to believe someone hasn’t done it already, though the critical response so far might just explain the delay.

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I’ll tell you what, I’ll save you the $20 on a ticket. The plot goes something like this; you download an app on your phone and it suddenly kicks off a countdown to the date and time of your death. At first you think it’s a joke, of course. But as the numbers continue to drop you begin to realise that it’s actually terrifyingly accurate.

It is, of course, the very definition of a killer app. Which is exactly the joke the movie’s makers appear to have been going for. And while that premise is pretty far-fetched, there is actually plenty of truth to the idea that our technology is genuinely trying kill us.

Study after study has found that our addiction to our mobile phones is wreaking havoc on our night-time routines, disrupting our sleep and so putting us at a much greater risk of things like stroke, cancer, obesity and heart attack.

Reaching for your phone in the morning is a massive no-no, too, with that blue light setting off a kind of fight or flight response in our bodies, causing our cortisol levels to suddenly spike, and effectively electric-shocking us into life.

And that’s before we even begin to talk about the mental health issues that can be caused by addiction to social media, or the spinal problems that come with slumping over a computer all day, every day.

The point is that all of this technology designed to make our lives so much easier has come with its own set of problems, some of which can be really damaging to our health.

But there is also some new technology that is seriously beneficial for our overall health and wellness.

And so this week I’m going to help you separate the good from the bad, the killer apps from those that might try and kill you.

 FAST FACTS ON … MOBILE PHONE APPS

1. Calm the mind

Meditation and mindfulness is no longer something that only happens in the back of VW Kombi van parked near Byron Bay.

One of the easiest ways to start is by using a guided meditation app on your phone, and one of the most popular is Calm. There are simple, 10-minute meditations that you can do in the comfort and privacy of your own home.

2. Step up

Wearable fitness trackers have been around for some time but used correctly, they can be like having a personal trainer on your wrist. The Whoop Strap is a newcomer here and it’s way beyond a simple pedometer.

It measures your heart rate, how many calories you’ve burned and even your readiness to train and your sleep quality.

3. Weigh it up

The body mass index (BMI) is one way of tracking your weight-loss goals but can be inaccurate. When I played footy, everyone on the team would’ve been ‘obese’ on that scale. The reason is your weight is a broad figure encompassing fat, muscle and water — and only one of those is bad. So if you use scales, buy a hi-tech set that separates those metrics for you, so you really know where you stand.