Summer is just around the corner and with it all the pleasures of the season. However, along with those long balmy days comes high heat and accompanying health concerns. Weather forecasters are already anticipating another summer of record-high temperatures, meaning that anyone hoping to make the most of the outdoors must take appropriate precautions to safeguard their well-being.
Whether participating in some al fresco yoga classes, playing baseball or enjoying any other outdoors activity, staying hydrated and keeping the body from overheating is essential. The alternative is to risk dehydration, heat exhaustion or, in serious cases, heatstroke.
Fortunately, cutting-edge IoT products that can help you keep fit in even the cruelest climates have hit the market.
One example is Halo’s H1, a wearable designed specifically for athletes, can precisely monitor and manage hydration by using sensors to analyze sweat at a cellular level. This device provides outdoor fitness enthusiasts with the perfect solution for preventing dehydration by alerting them in real time when they need to take a water break. In addition, the device aggregates data to provide analytics that users can draw on to optimize workouts. For team athletics, this data can even be sent in real time to coaching or training personnel to monitor every player simultaneously.
Taking the idea of wearable technology to another level, a University of California research team is developing temperature-sensitive clothing that will fluctuate with the wearers’ movements to keep their skin temperature at roughly 93 degrees. Project ATTACH (Adaptive Textiles Technology with Active Cooling and Heating), is the latest development from Professor Joseph Wang, the university’s director for the Center for Wearable Sensors. Embedded sensors allow users to better understand how to regulate their activities, e.g., by indicating which areas on their bodies are most susceptible to heat, leading to preventative measures for symptoms like cramping and fatigue.
Taking full advantage of the analytics these wearables provide has been made possible thanks to the rise of 4G LTE, enabling the transmission of real-time data from the wearables’ sensors mobile devices. With the Wide range of 4G LTE coverage, the devices can work seamlessly whether for a coach or trainer tracking their players across an open-air court, or for individual cyclists or long-distance runners on a 20-mile trek through the woods.
So, when digging the athletic gear out of the basement this summer, for safety’s sake, make sure to check out some of the latest wearables in order to enjoy the summer sun responsibly.