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An atmosphere of nervous excitement. Visible is the cold breath exhaled by my competitors as they do the "pre-race" wiggle on the start line.

A rapid movement of the hips.

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

Oh, hang on. I must adjust my tracker. As does the guy alongside me.

The person behind us sighs. I refuse to go until… there! Signal acquired, and I'm running.

In the mele, it's difficult to see a wrist without a wearable on it. And this isn't only us runners who rely on them.

We're witnessing a thriving, multi-billion pound industry. Names like Garmin are prevalent, all offering an wide array of various versions to fit a variety of lifestyles. Based on how feature-packed the watch you choose, costs can range from a hundred pounds to a significant investment.

"I find it infuriating, I can't stop checking."

"It comforts me… It feels like a supporter guiding me."

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

A small sample of the responses people have shared from fellow device users when I ask what they think of theirs.

The Monitoring Conundrum

My current opinion on mine? Currently, annoying. It's reporting I'm off pace, causing me to question whether the overhead branches I'm running below are interfering with my location tracking.

Countless individuals of us attach these compact gadgets onto our arms and use them 24/7, seemingly at ease with the fact they're continuously recording us.

Gone are the days when we relied on them exclusively to give us an estimation of our daily steps. Currently, they can track our sleep quality, stress levels, glucose levels, our body battery.

It's tricky to find a health indicator they fail to monitor.

But can they do what they say they do? And are the numbers we analyse a faithful picture of the truth? Do they enhance our overall health, or do the plethora of measurements and motivational messages just contribute to our daily stresses?

A Love-Hate Relationship

"I find myself getting a bit fixated with mine," a wearer reveals.

While she loves how her device records her exercise, she finds some of its other functions "daunting" at times - a feeling that became apparent during a significant period.

Prior to discovering she could change its configuration, her smartwatch constantly alerted her she was being insufficiently active enough. In a new phase, the watch keeps telling her she's had a bad night's sleep.

"I am caring for a infant, I don't need to be informed I've not slept," she says. "That fact is perfectly well."

Couldn't she just stop wearing it?

"It's possible, I suppose, but I've got this push-pull dynamic with it," she explains. "I value it for its fitness insights, I sometimes question whether the myriad other functions it can now do is perhaps overkill for me."

The Technology Behind the Tracking

Different brands of smartwatch has its own proprietary way of measuring your vitals and analysing your data, but the majority use sensors on the back of the watch.

They usually shine tiny, coloured LED lights onto your wrist which can observe capillary action, recording your pulse rate. Sophisticated devices measure changes in the bioimpedance that passes over the skin to get an idea of your recovery state.

Expert Perspectives

A professor says that in general for smartwatches, it's a "fine balance" - while the rapidly advancing tech could actually save lives, "identifying issues before we feel unwell", it could also turn us watch wearers into the "worried well".

He points out that newer wearables can perform tests like heart rhythm analysis, which continuously monitor how normal the heart is. They can notify if someone is experiencing a heart arrhythmia, where there is irregular impulses in the heart causing an irregular heartbeat.

This does not automatically signal someone is on the verge of a heart attack, but it can give an early warning they might be more susceptible of a blood clot in the long term.

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

"I remain sceptical that the ability to monitor so much data is such a good idea," he says.

A professor specialising in cardiology echoes this sentiment. Her work into the impact of wearable tech on a set of individuals with health issues suggested a minority of those who were given devices to monitor their condition experienced increased anxiety and were "more inclined to use medical services".

She observed a pattern with her patients - they saw a concerning reading on their watch. They felt anxious. Their BPM went up. They got increasingly anxious. They checked again, and their reading increased again.

"If we see data about ourselves that we lack context for then, naturally, we are going to seek clarification," the psychologist says. "We monitor, we check again - it becomes a feedback loop."