Are you in the cult of the ‘quantified self’?

Depending on who you follow on Instagram, you might have noticed an obsession with tracking and monitoring habits and behaviours. People track their steps, their sleep, their drinks, their spending, their runs - even sharing your Wordle result could fall into this particular social media genre.

It’s not a new phenomenon. Socrates is said to have extolled the value of an ‘examined life’ 2,500 years ago. Slightly more recently, in 2007, journalist Gary Wolf coined the phrase ‘quantified self’. Since then, the category has exploded with habit-tracking apps and wearable technology designed to monitor everything from your heart rate to your deep sleep cycles.

In a new book, Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement, author James Vincent complains that people who track their habits 'boast about shaving minutes off their day through rigorous self-surveillance, or discovering through sophisticated analyses that – surprise! – good sleep and regular exercise improve their mood.’

He’s right, of course, we all know the benefits of sleep and exercise. But it’s still the case that too few of us get enough of either. And there is plenty of evidence to show that monitoring our behaviour helps us make better decisions. Why? It could be as simple as bringing awareness to something that you’re trying to make a regular habit.

The inescapable fact is that tracking works: from your mum’s pedometer that encourages her to take 10,000 steps a day, to the Streaks app, where you can choose a habit (anything from ‘floss teeth’ to ‘learn French’) and tick off the days that you’ve managed to do it. This is what happiness guru Gretchen Rubin calls the ‘don’t break the chain’ technique, and she sells a paper journal with actual gold star stickers if you prefer an analogue method to a digital one. In the same vein, James Clear’s bestselling Atomic Habits book has spawned the rather beautiful Clear Habit Journal.

As with everything, it’s not for everyone. If the very idea of a notification pinging to remind you to log what you’ve eaten stresses you out - don’t do it. Have the self-awareness to know when something is right for you. ‘In my long study of habits, I've been struck by the fact that no single tool works for everyone,’ says Rubin, ‘but some tools are very widely effective for many people.’ And this is one of those.

My favourite app for monitoring habits is not cool or particularly stylish, but I adore its simplicity. Deliciously Ella’s Feel Better allows me to track five elements of my life: sleep, water, movement, mindfulness and plant-based foods, which includes anything from fruit and veg to oats and nuts, but the challenge is to eat 30 different ones every week. As you can see from the screenshot above, I’m pretty good at eating well and drinking water, but really ought to do better at meditating and exercising.

So, yes, I’m a habit tracking addict. I even came close to buying an Oura ring, which monitors your sleep, movement and heart rate. It costs $399 (around £320) if you want the gold one, which I obviously do, and I have added it to my online basket several times, before firmly shutting my laptop and telling myself to stop being silly. I know that eight hours of sleep and lots of movement throughout the day are good for me, so what kind of mug needs a fancy ring to help them do it? Well, other than Jennifer Aniston, Prince Harry, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kim Kardashian (the latter two had an Instagram sleep-off last year). With its futuristic wellness technology, stylish design and A-list following, the Oura ring is absolute catnip for me. But the rational side of my brain, which is less influenced by Gwyneth, knows I don’t need one. And I had just about made peace with that until, last week, they went and launched a Gucci collab…

If next time you see me, I’m wearing an Oura ring, you’ll know two things: a) I’ve given in, and b) I’m overdrawn.

This week I’m…

Reading Mo Gawdat’s brilliant That Little Voice In Your Head

Taking the kids to see Matilda and sheepishly crying every time she hugs Miss Honey

Watching the riotous Everything I Know About Love, starting tomorrow on BBC One

Celebrating a year since intravenous chemo with hair that finally looks almost intentional