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A sense of building tension. Apparent is the frosty air emanating from my fellow runners as they execute the "pre-race" wiggle on the beginning point.

A quick flick of the hips.

I'm lined up for my local weekly parkrun event and I mean business. It's almost time...

Wait a second. I need to start my tracker. The same goes for the guy next to me.

The person in the line expresses impatience. I refuse to go until… yes! Signal acquired, and I'm running.

In the mele, it's hard to find a wrist without a fitness tracker on it. And it's not just us participants who use them.

We're witnessing a thriving, multi-billion dollar market. Names like Samsung Galaxy lead the market, all offering an wide selection of different models to fit a variety of budgets. Based on how feature-packed the device you select, prices can start from an affordable sum to a small fortune.

"It drives me insane, it's impossible to switch off."

"It provides solace… It feels like a companion encouraging me."

"Please don't notify me about a restless night."

Just some of the responses I've had from fellow smartwatch wearers when I ask what they their opinion is on theirs.

The Data Dilemma

My current opinion on my own device? Currently, frustrating. It's reporting my speed is wrong, causing me to question whether the overhead branches along my route are blocking my satellite signal.

Countless individuals of us attach these small gadgets onto our wrists and keep them on 24/7, seemingly comfortable with the fact they're constantly recording us.

Long past are the days when we depended on them only to give us an idea of our daily steps. Currently, they can track our sleep quality, stress levels, heart rate variability (HRV), our body battery.

It's difficult to find a health indicator they aren't designed to measure.

But can they do what they advertise? And are the statistics we analyse a true reflection of the truth? Do they improve our overall health, or do the multitude of readings and motivational messages just contribute to our sense of overwhelm?

A Love-Hate Relationship

"I become a a little fixated with mine," a wearer admits.

While she loves how her device tracks her exercise, she finds some of its other features "excessive" at times - a feeling first discovered during a significant period.

Before she realised she could adjust the settings, her smartwatch constantly alerted her she was failing to be productive enough. Later on, the watch keeps telling her she's had a bad night's sleep.

"I have a six-month old, it's unnecessary for me to be informed my sleep was poor," she says. "I know that only too well."

Why doesn't she just remove it?

"I could, theoretically, but I have this complicated dynamic with it," she says. "I appreciate it for its exercise data, I sometimes question whether all the other things it can now do is possibly excessive for me."

Inside the Device

Different brands of smartwatch has its own novel way of tracking your vitals and analysing your data, but the vast bulk use optical sensors on the back of the watch.

They usually emit tiny, coloured LED lights onto your skin which can observe blood flow, detecting your pulse rate. Sophisticated devices measure changes in the electrical current that flows through the skin to assess your recovery state.

Expert Perspectives

A professor says that in general for smartwatches, it's a "delicate equilibrium" - while the ever-evolving tech could potentially aid early diagnosis, "identifying issues before we feel unwell", it could also turn us watch wearers into the "concerned but fine".

He points out that the most advanced wearables can conduct tests like heart rhythm analysis, which constantly monitor how normal the heart is. They can flag if someone is experiencing a heart arrhythmia, where there is abnormal electrical activity in the heart causing an uneven pulse.

This does not necessarily indicate someone is about to have a cardiac event, but it can give an advance notice they might be more susceptible of a blood clot in the long term.

But how to make sense of these readings is complex. The expert worries that as additional features are incorporated, people may not be able to fully contextualise their data.

"I remain sceptical that having the capacity to monitor so many metrics is such a positive development," he says.

A clinical psychologist specialising in cardiology echoes this sentiment. Research into the influence of wearable tech on a set of cardiovascular patients suggested a significant portion of those who were given devices to monitor their cardiac function experienced heightened worry and were "more inclined to use medical services".

She noted a cycle with her patients - they noticed a alarming metric on their watch. They grew concerned. Their heart rate went up. They got more worried. They looked a second time, and their heart rate went up again.

"If we see stats about ourselves that we can't properly interpret then, understandably, we are going to seek clarification," the psychologist says. "We look, we re-check - it becomes a feedback loop."