Digital Transformation, Wearable Technology, and Physician Wellbeing

by Julie L. Wei, MD •

Wearables and Physician Wellbeing

I recently asked Dr. Krane, who’s an assistant professor in the division of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at Oregon Health and Science University, to share her experience using wearable technology.

JW: How did you first get interested in wearable technology specifically for physician wellbeing purposes?

NK: I was initially very interested in sleep optimization and mentioned this to my former fellowship director, Clinton Humphrey, MD, who clued me in on Whoop. I began wearing Whoop in 2020 primarily to delve deeper into my sleep quality and efficiency, eventually utilizing the wearable to track the impact of changes to my day-to-day practices, such as alcohol consumption, the timing of meals, and sleep schedule consistency. Eventually, I coupled the data from Whoop with the data from a continuous glucose monitor to understand the impact of glucose stability on my sleep. I quickly realized that the two are interrelated in multiple ways and made actionable changes using these devices to optimize my metabolic health, sleep quality, and recovery. (I am an investor in Levels, which is a company that uses continuous glucose monitoring to optimize metabolic health. I have no financial involvement with Whoop.)

JW: What technology do you personally wear now on daily basis? What have you tried in the past?

NK: I wear a Whoop band to track my sleep and recovery. Every three to four months I might place a continuous glucose monitor to get back on track in terms of accountability and health optimization. I no longer feel the need to utilize the glucose monitor on a consistent basis as the learnings from wearing one consistently for at least six months have helped me make long-term impactful changes to my diet and eating patterns. I do think that “digital detoxes” are important, so when it feels right, I ditch all wearable technology and take a break. I think this is important for overall mental wellbeing.

JW: What has been the greatest impact to you since using wearable technology? What surprised you?

NK: I think the interconnectedness between diet and sleep quality was surprising to me. This includes the timing of meals, the composition of meals, and the impact of glucose stability on my sleep quality. I think I also recognized very quickly how detrimental the intake of alcohol was to my sleep no matter the amount, and, because of this, I no longer drink alcohol during the week.