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An atmosphere of feeling of anticipation. Apparent is the cold breath coming from my fellow runners as they perform the "about to run" shuffle on the start line.

A quick twitch of the hips.

I'm participating in my local 5km community parkrun and I'm serious. The countdown begins...

Wait a second. I have to start my device. So does the guy next to me.

The person waiting expresses impatience. I'm not moving until… done! GPS ready, I'm off.

In the mele, it's difficult to find a wrist without a fitness tracker on it. And it's not just us participants who use them.

It's a booming, multi-billion pound sector. Companies like Samsung Galaxy dominate, all offering an wide array of diverse versions to suit a range of lifestyles. Based on how high tech the device you go for, costs can range from a hundred pounds to thousands of pounds.

"I find it infuriating, it's impossible to switch off."

"It provides solace… It feels like a supporter encouraging me."

"Please don't notify me about a bad night's sleep."

A handful of the responses I've had from like-minded tracker enthusiasts when I inquire what they feel about theirs.

The Monitoring Conundrum

My feelings on my own device? Right now, annoying. It's indicating I'm not hitting my target, causing me to question whether the foliage along my route are interfering with my GPS connection.

A vast number of us attach these compact gadgets onto our arms and keep them on all day and night, apparently unconcerned with the fact they're perpetually tracking us.

Long past are the days when we depended on them exclusively to give us an estimation of our pedometer reading. Today, they can analyse our sleep quality, heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), our recovery score.

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

But are they able to do what they say they do? And are the statistics we obsess over a accurate representation of our actual health? Do they boost our overall health, or do the avalanche of metrics and cheerleading alerts just contribute to our everyday anxiety?

Addiction or Aid?

"I find myself getting a a little fixated with mine," one user confesses.

While she values how her device monitors her workouts, she finds some of its other capabilities "daunting" at times - a feeling first discovered during a significant period.

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

"I am caring for a six-month old, it's unnecessary for me to be notified I'm tired," she says. "I'm acutely aware perfectly well."

Why doesn't she just stop wearing it?

"I suppose I could, I suppose, but I'm in this complicated dynamic with it," she says. "I love it for its workout tracking, I just wonder whether the myriad other functions it can now do is maybe too much for me."

Inside the Device

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

They typically project minute LED lights onto your skin which can detect blood flow, recording your pulse rate. Higher-end devices analyse changes in the bioimpedance that runs through the skin to gauge your stress levels.

A Fine Balance

One expert says that for most people for smartwatches, it's a "delicate equilibrium" - while the ever-evolving tech could actually prevent illness, "detecting disease before we feel unwell", it could also turn us the tracked into the "worried well".

He points out that some of the latest wearables can perform tests like medical-grade monitoring, which constantly monitor how normal the heart is. They can notify if someone is experiencing an irregular rhythm, where there is erratic impulses in the heart causing an uneven pulse.

This does not automatically signal someone is about to have a cardiac event, but it can give an early warning they might be more vulnerable of a heart problem in the future.

But how to make sense of these readings is complicated. The expert concerns that as further capabilities are introduced, people may find it hard to fully comprehend their data.

"I have some doubts that having the capacity to monitor so many things is such a beneficial thing," he says.

A clinical psychologist specialising in patient behaviour agrees. Research into the influence of wearable tech on a specific group of individuals with health issues suggested a significant portion of those who were given devices to monitor their heart health experienced greater stress and were "more inclined to use healthcare resources".

She noted a pattern with her patients - they noticed a concerning reading on their watch. They felt anxious. Their heart rate rose. They got even more concerned. They checked again, and their anxiety went up again.

"Upon viewing data about ourselves that we lack context for then, of course, we are going to want to know more," the psychologist says. "We look, we re-check - it becomes a feedback loop."