Flourish Health & Wellbeing eMag - Latest Edition - Flipbook - Page 11
nurse on your wrist! All this real 琀椀me
biofeedback is paying o昀昀: many users
report adop琀椀ng new healthy habits
based on their device’s insights, turning
data into posi琀椀ve ac琀椀on. For example,
if your smartwatch no琀椀ces your heart
rate soaring every Monday morning, it
might suggest a calming walk or guided
breathing. The beauty of wearables is
how seamlessly they 昀椀t into everyday
life – whether you’re an o昀케ce worker
tracking screen-琀椀me and posture or a
tradie keeping tabs on daily steps. They
simply make caring for your health feel
like second nature.
AI AS YOUR HEALTH COACH
If wearables are the eyes and ears,
ar琀椀昀椀cial intelligence is the brain
behind the opera琀椀on. AI-driven
health tools are working hand-inhand with those devices and apps to
provide personalised guidance. Many
Australians have already seen AI in
ac琀椀on in health – from smartphone
apps that analyse your sleep pa琀琀erns
to chatbots giving friendly nutri琀椀on
琀椀ps. Globally, people are warming up
to the idea with a posi琀椀ve a琀�tude
towards AI in healthcare. These smart
systems can si昀琀 through mountains of
data (your step count, heart rate, diet
logs, and more) and spot pa琀琀erns that
we’d miss. For instance, an AI health
app might no琀椀ce you’re always 琀椀red on
Wednesdays and link it to poor sleep
on Tuesdays, then suggest an earlier
bed琀椀me or a relaxa琀椀on exercise on
Tuesday nights. Some 昀椀tness wearables
even o昀昀er AI-powered coaching; one
popular 昀椀tness band introduced a
virtual coach using OpenAI’s GPT-4 to
give users custom 琀椀ps on improving
sleep or workouts. Think of it as Siri or
Alexa, but focused on your wellbeing
– a friendly digital coach that knows
when you’ve been stressed and
suggests a quick stretch, or praises you
for hi琀�ng your daily step goal. Even in
clinical se琀�ngs, AI is helping doctors by
quickly scanning X-rays or predic琀椀ng
health risks, but in day-to-day life it’s
more like a suppor琀椀ve friend keeping
you on track. The tone is never overly
clinical – just prac琀椀cal, encouraging
nudges that make healthy living easier
and more fun.
GENETIC TWEAKS
for a Healthier You
Not all breakthroughs are wearable or
visible – some are microscopic. Gene琀椀c
engineering is essen琀椀ally about edi琀椀ng
our DNA (the body’s blueprint) to 昀椀x
problems or even enhance health. If
that sounds like sci-昀椀, consider that
it’s already happening. Just this year,
doctors used a gene-edi琀椀ng technique
