The amount of information that’s been digitized in our electronic medical records (EMRs) is staggering. While your initial reaction might be to worry about Big Brother invading your privacy, there are many benefits that outweigh concerns about government snooping.

EMRs Improve Healthcare Records Accessibility, Accuracy and Portability

Patients can easily keep their entire medical team – including their primary care physician, specialists and concerned family members – updated as they battle life-threatening medical conditions. And when it comes time to change physicians, transferring patient data is done with the click of a mouse.

Your Smartwatch Can Update Your Doctor with Lifesaving Daily Tracking

And then there are all the areas of our life that we don’t hassle our doctors with; like our nutritional choices, exercise habits and sleep hygiene. There are numerous mobile health apps that allow patients to automatically track their lifestyle and identify opportunities for improvement. All of this data is collected on the servers of the vendors you purchase health tech from. And it can be compiled an imported as supplemental information for your physician to review with you during your next checkup.

Better ZZZ’s Thanks to Exhaustive Research and Better Healthcare Data Collection

The average person spends 25 years sleeping over the course of their lifetime. That’s a lot of time spent recharging your batteries. And getting a solid eight hours of rest at night is important for your health; it’s been linked to cognitive function and motor skills. Not to mention, your coworkers will enjoy working with the less cranky version of you a lot more. There are sleep trackers that can help you measure the quality and quantity of your sleep – something that used to require a formal sleep study at a medical facility. If you’re concerned about how well you’re sleeping, Tuft & Needle mattress is a quick and easy step towards better sleep hygiene. According to Tuft and Needle, there are three key areas you should pay attention to when shopping for a quality mattress to recharge for your most demanding days:

1. Find a mattress that minimizes pressure points. These can cause discomfort which leads to tossing and turning.
2. Look for a mattress material that is thick and strategically reinforced. Thin mattresses are not comfortable for long periods as they begin to lose their ability to provide support throughout the night.
3. Find a mattress that keeps you cool. Many mattresses act as insulators, which reflect and trap body heat. Blankets are for staying warm. A comfortable mattress is a cool mattress.

With the popularity of wearables skyrocketing, the information available to sleep scientists is growing exponentially every day. As this information is made available, sleep industry experts can create better products that improve the quality and duration of our sleep – leading to a richer, more fulfilling life. When this data is presented to healthcare professionals, within the context of your EMR, you can harness data-driven health solutions to improve your quality of life. It’s not magic. It’s data. And it’s coming to a medical check-up near you.