The average Brit now tracks four aspects of their daily lives, from sleep and fibre intake to how many glasses of water they drink, according to new research. A poll of 2,000 adults found that 70% believe the sense of achievement from hitting targets and maintaining streaks motivates them to improve.
Generational Differences in Tracking
Gen Z and Millennials tracked the most aspects of their lives, an average of five, compared to Boomers, who tracked fewer than three on average. Steps, workouts and sleep were the metrics most tracked daily, but people are now monitoring newer measures such as body battery, respiration rate, fibre and even dopamine management.
Rise in Health Monitoring
The research also found a significant increase in tracking over the past few years. This includes a 72% increase in the number of people monitoring daily step counts, a 108% increase in monitoring sleep duration, a 65% increase in tracking water intake and a 44% increase in tracking fibre intake. In fact, the only metric people are recording less of now compared to five years ago is weight, which saw a three% decrease.
Motivations and Lifestyle Changes
Overall, the main motivations for monitoring aspects of their lives were improving health (48%), managing weight (30%) and tracking progress (30%). Meanwhile, 43% have changed aspects of their lifestyle as a result of tracking their data, including walking more (51%), drinking more water (49%) and exercising more (45%).
According to the research, carried out through OnePoll, the average person walks 7,135 steps a day, sleeps six-and-a-half hours a night and drinks 1.2 litres of water. While people eat 21 grams of fibre and 58.5 grams of protein. When it comes to diet, sugar (34%), protein (32%) and fibre (27%) are the nutrients people pay the most attention to.
The research was commissioned by Naked Smoothies, which is hosting their Naked Fi-BAR pop-up, London’s first fibre bar, on Saturday 24th October, handing out free drinks and prizes while educating the public on fibre.
GP Dr Emily Jackman said: "It’s really encouraging to see younger generations taking such an interest in their health and wellbeing. Rather than relying on guesswork, they’re using data to better understand their habits and make informed decisions about their lifestyle, which can be useful in helping recognise where small improvements can make a meaningful difference."
Liz Ashdown, spokesperson for Naked Smoothies and creator of the Fibre Machine drink, added: "These findings show just how invested people have become in understanding their health, with trends like fibremaxxing taking centre stage. More people recognise the benefits of fibre and are on the lookout for simple delicious ways to boost their daily intake particularly when we’re all living such busy lives."
