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A sense of feeling of anticipation. Visible is the cold breath coming from my rivals as they execute the "pre-race" jiggle on the starting line.

A rapid movement of the hips.

I'm at my local 5km community parkrun and I'm focused. The countdown begins...

Wait a second. I have to start my device. The same goes for the person beside me.

The person behind us tuts. I'm not moving until… done! Signal acquired, I'm off.

Amidst the crowd, it's hard to spot a arm without a smartwatch on it. And this isn't only us runners who wear them.

It's a explosive, multi-billion dollar industry. Names like Apple Watch are prevalent, each with an extensive selection of different versions to suit a spectrum of needs. Based on how feature-packed the device you select, costs can range from an affordable sum to thousands of pounds.

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

"It reassures me… It feels like a supporter supporting me."

"I wish it wouldn't say I've had a poor sleep."

A handful of the reactions I've received from fellow tracker enthusiasts when I inquire what they their opinion is on theirs.

A Sea of Statistics

My feelings on mine? Right now, irritating. It's indicating I'm not hitting my target, leading me to doubt whether the foliage I'm passing under are blocking my GPS connection.

A vast number of us fasten these compact devices onto our arms and wear them 24/7, seemingly comfortable with the fact they're perpetually recording us.

Gone are the days when we relied on them only to give us an idea of our pedometer reading. Currently, they can analyse our sleep patterns, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, our recovery score.

It's a challenge to find a bodily function they don't track.

But are they able to do what they say they do? And are the data points we scrutinise a true reflection of the truth? Do they improve our daily wellness, or do the multitude of metrics and constant notifications just contribute to our everyday anxiety?

Addiction or Aid?

"I find myself getting a a little preoccupied with mine," a wearer reveals.

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

Until she found out she could change its configuration, her smartwatch kept telling her she was being insufficiently productive enough. Later on, the watch frequently reports her she's had a restless night.

"I have a six-month old, it's unnecessary for me to be informed I've not slept," she says. "I'm acutely aware only too well."

Why doesn't she just remove it?

"I could, perhaps, but I have this love-hate relationship with it," she explains. "I love it for its fitness insights, I sometimes question whether the additional features it can now do is maybe overkill for me."

The Technology Behind the Tracking

Each model of smartwatch has its own proprietary way of measuring your bodily functions and analysing your data, but the most use optical sensors on the reverse of the watch.

They commonly shine small, green LED lights onto your arm which can observe pulsation, identifying your BPM. More advanced devices analyse changes in the electrical current that flows through the skin to gauge your stress levels.

Expert Perspectives

A professor says that for most people for smartwatches, it's a "delicate equilibrium" - while the rapidly advancing tech could realistically save lives, "detecting disease before we notice anything", it could also turn us the tracked into the "worried well".

He points out that the most advanced wearables can perform tests like electrocardiograms (ECGs), which continuously monitor how stable the heart is. They can flag if someone is experiencing atrial fibrillation (AF), where there is erratic electrical activity in the heart causing an uneven pulse.

This does not necessarily indicate someone is about to have a heart attack, but it can give an advance notice they might be more vulnerable of a blood clot in the future.

But how to interpret these figures is not straightforward. The expert concerns that as more functions are introduced, people may not be able to fully comprehend their data.

"I'm not entirely convinced that the ability to monitor so many things is such a beneficial thing," he says.

A clinical psychologist studying patient behaviour echoes this sentiment. Research into the influence of wearable tech on a specific group of individuals with health issues suggested a noticeable percentage of those who were given devices to monitor their heart health experienced increased anxiety and were "far more likely to use doctor's time".

She noted a vicious circle with her patients - they spotted a concerning reading on their watch. They grew concerned. Their heart rate went up. They got more worried. They looked a second time, and their heart rate increased again.

"If we see data about ourselves that we lack context for then, of course, we are going to seek clarification," the psychologist says. "We look, we obsess - it becomes a vicious cycle."