Intuitive living is the latest wellness trend – meet the new tech making it work
Wellness culture can be overwhelming, but a more fluid approach is emerging. Smart devices such as the Huawei Watch Fit 5 perfectly embody this shift in direction – whether you’re regularly sleep tracking or just occasionally using data to support your lifestyle
When it comes to the world of health and wellness, it’s easy to suffer from information overwhelm. We’ve never had more access to data, research and expertise which, while valuable, isn’t always applicable to our own lives. What’s more, few of us have time to spend hours sifting through content to devise a personalised health routine, let alone work out if a “routine” is necessary at all.
All this information and expectation can come at a cost: emotional strain, guilt and confusion about where to turn. Health and fitness then start to feel like abstract milestones that we’re blindly chasing rather than important components of our lives.
So in a world where our plans, priorities and interests are constantly evolving, developing the ability to live fluidly and to better tune in to our bodies and minds feels more valuable than ever.
In some areas, the gap between “health” and our contemporary lifestyles is starting to narrow. Smart devices have evolved from clunky accessories reserved for the disciplined athletic elite, to everyday companions for modern living. The new Huawei Watch Fit 5 series embodies a more fluid, perceptive approach to fitness that seems to be emerging as the antithesis to “lock-in” culture and extreme regimens that have flooded social media over recent years.
A smartwatch that works alongside you
Aesthetically, there’s a colourway to suit every vibe. The Fit 5 Pro comes in orange, white and black while the Fit 5 is available in silver, purple, white, black and green. Style-wise, there are options to stand out or blend in. But these watches aren’t here to steal your valuable attention. Nor will they be loud and pushy about what you should be doing. The Watch Fit 5 series works alongside you to support and enable.
A standout feature is undoubtedly the contactless payment support via Curve Pay. On-the-fly purchases become both practical and seamless – because why scramble through pockets for your phone when your wallet can live on your wrist.
While your focus is elsewhere, the Watch Fit 5 remains proactive. The 10-day battery life means you can strap it to your wrist and move on with your day (or week), leaving it to monitor your wellbeing in the background. Cardio tracking keeps tabs on your heart health, detecting irregularities and flagging if there’s anything you need to know. Huawei’s latest generation of smartwatches also come with enhanced sleep tracking, offering an overview of your recovery levels and insight into when you’re best placed to tackle a long-distance run or advanced pilates class without putting yourself at risk of injury or illness.
Intuitive wellness is not about ignoring the breadth of information at our fingertips, but about editing our exposure to the noise. “Taking an intuitive approach to health and wellness is ultimately about allowing yourself to connect to what you really need as an individual, rather than changing parts of yourself to follow a regime that may not be suitable for you,” says Amber Fieldgate, a psychotherapist registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. “An intuitive approach asks you to take responsibility for yourself in a meaningful way. It also challenges you to check in and connect with yourself by asking: ‘What do I really need right now? What is best for me right now?’”
Using data to support your lifestyle
In the past, living life intuitively was typically interpreted as “trusting your gut”. Now, it’s more about identifying trusted tools and information sources and using that data to work out what you need, rather than letting alerts dictate your every move. That’s where something like Huawei’s TruSense System can become your best friend. This next-gen tech will monitor crucial health components such as blood oxygen, stress, heart rate and sleep with 15% better accuracy than previous models. Sure, the intricacy of some of this data isn’t going to be an everyday necessity for many of us, but knowing it’s there ready to explore only makes fluid living easier: the insights are there for you to examine on your own terms.
“Things like your sleep, heart rate and recovery can highlight how ready your body actually is to train,” says personal trainer Aimee Victoria Long. “Instead of relying purely on guesswork, you have something to guide your decisions. The key is using that information to support how you feel, not override it, so it becomes a tool that helps you tune in.”
The importance of sleep tracking
Chartered physiotherapist and sleep expert Sammy Margo emphasises that sleep is an invaluable part of recovery, and making sure you feel your best throughout the day. “Deep sleep (also known as slow-wave sleep) is vital for physical recovery, immune function, and memory consolidation. Aim for 13-23% of your total sleep time in deep sleep,” she says. If you’re getting eight hours a night, that works out at roughly one to two hours. “REM sleep is where emotional processing, creativity, and long-term memory occur. You should aim for 20-25% of total sleep time in REM, approximately one and a half to two hours per night.”
“Tracking your sleep with a wearable gives you a clear picture of how much of each stage you are actually getting,” Margo adds. And for those days when you need to take some extra time out in the day, the watch’s nap tracking feature is super handy. It can identify short periods of sleep and incorporate them into your broader sleep score and recovery data. These moments can get lost in the big picture of what your body needs and where you are mentally, but being able to review your naps allows you to decide what type of daytime rest helps you feel your best: if napping for too long leaves you feeling groggy, for example, you can make a change.
Excercise when it feels right
And when the motivation to get moving does strike? Whatever kind of exercise you feel like doing, the Huawei Watch Fit 5 series has you covered with more than 100 different workouts available. The new cycling mode has enhanced metrics, automatically detecting when you’re in the saddle. Trail running enthusiasts can get segment-based navigation and elevation trends on the go. The Pro model, meanwhile, has in-depth support for other activities, such as golf, so you can get the information you need to perform at your best right on your wrist. Ultimately, there’s no need to stick to a certain type of workout or subscribe to one way of moving: with this smartwatch, you can do whatever feels right.
The emphasis on flexibility releases us from the “all or nothing” mindset. It also makes wellness more engaging. The Mini-Workout assistant built into the Huawei Watch Fit 5 series makes embracing this flexibility simple. The fact that this assistant takes the form of a virtual panda (undoubtedly the cutest PT known to remind anyone to do a few stretches) only adds a cute, nonchalant appeal to personal fitness. Whether you’re feeling sluggish after an afternoon sitting at a desk, are holding tension in your back after a stressful day, or want to shake off nervous energy before an important meeting, you’ll find short, guided exercises lasting from 30 seconds to a few minutes available on your wrist. The panda assistant can even offer exercise prompts based on your surroundings, so all you need to focus on is what your body needs in the moment.
Technology gets a bad rap for stealing our attention, but the Huawei Watch Fit 5 series demonstrates that so much of it comes down to design. Living intuitively doesn’t need to be a complicated lifestyle shift, and the right smart devices can make that step even easier.
The HUAWEI WATCH FIT 5 Series is compatible with both iOS and Android and is available from the Huawei Store for £249.99 (WATCH FIT 5 Pro) and £159.99 (WATCH FIT 5). Until 21 June, Readers of the Guardian can claim £40 off the HUAWEI Fit 5 with the code AGUARDIAN40 and £50 off the HUAWEI Fit 5 Pro with code AGUARDIAN50, alongside a free watch strap and Huawei Scale 3.