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There's a nervous excitement. Apparent is the frosty air emanating from my fellow runners as they perform the "pre-race" jiggle on the starting line.

A rapid movement of the hips.

I'm at my local weekly parkrun event and I'm focused. Three, two, one...

Oh, hang on. I have to sort my watch. So does the person next to me.

The person behind us tuts. I'm not moving until… there! GPS ready, away I go.

Amidst the crowd, it's challenging to see a wrist without a smartwatch on it. And this extends beyond us runners who use them.

We're witnessing a thriving, massive market. Companies like Samsung Galaxy lead the market, featuring an wide range of different versions to cater to a spectrum of needs. Depending on how high tech the model you select, price tags can range from an affordable sum to a small fortune.

"It makes me crazy, I'm unable to switch off."

"It provides solace… It acts as a friend encouraging me."

"I wish it wouldn't say about a restless night."

Just some of the comments people have shared from fellow smartwatch wearers when I inquire what they their opinion is on theirs.

A Sea of Statistics

My current opinion on my own device? Right now, irritating. It's reporting I'm off pace, causing me to question whether the overhead branches I'm passing under are blocking my satellite signal.

Millions of us fasten these compact gadgets onto our arms and keep them on constantly, seemingly unconcerned with the fact they're constantly monitoring us.

Gone are the days when we relied on them solely to give us an idea of our daily steps. Currently, they can measure our sleep patterns, heart rate, glucose levels, our recovery score.

It's difficult to find a health indicator they don't track.

But do they do what they say they do? And are the numbers we obsess over a true reflection of the truth? Do they improve our overall health, or do the avalanche of measurements and cheerleading alerts just add to our daily stresses?

A Love-Hate Relationship

"I become a bit obsessed with mine," an individual admits.

While she appreciates how her device monitors her workouts, she finds some of its other functions "excessive" at times - a feeling initially realised during a significant period.

Prior to discovering she could adjust the settings, her smartwatch kept telling her she was not being energetic enough. In a new phase, the watch insists her she's had a bad night's sleep.

"I've got a six-month old, it's unnecessary for me to be informed I've not slept," she says. "I'm acutely aware all too clearly."

Couldn't she just take it off?

"I could, perhaps, but I have this love-hate relationship with it," she continues. "I love it for its exercise data, but I'm unsure whether the myriad other functions it can now do is maybe too much for me."

The Technology Behind the Tracking

Different brands of smartwatch has its own unique way of tracking your bodily functions and processing your data, but the majority use sensors on the underside of the watch.

They commonly project minute LED lights onto your arm which can monitor blood flow, recording your BPM. Sophisticated devices analyse changes in the skin conductance that runs through the skin to get an idea of your stress levels.

A Fine Balance

One expert says that overall for smartwatches, it's a "fine balance" - while the ever-evolving tech could realistically aid early diagnosis, "spotting abnormalities before we feel unwell", it could also turn us the tracked into the "concerned but fine".

He points out that some of the latest wearables can perform tests like heart rhythm analysis, which regularly monitor how healthy the heart is. They can notify if someone is experiencing an irregular rhythm, where there is irregular electrical activity in the heart causing an irregular heartbeat.

This does not automatically signal someone is about to have a heart attack, but it can give an preliminary indication they might be more susceptible of a heart problem in the future.

But how to interpret these readings is complicated. The expert concerns that as more functions are incorporated, people may not be able 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 health researcher focusing on patient behaviour echoes this sentiment. Her work into the impact of wearable tech on a cohort of individuals with health issues suggested a minority of those who were given devices to monitor their heart health experienced greater stress and were "far more likely to use healthcare resources".

She noted a pattern with her patients - they saw a alarming metric on their watch. They grew concerned. Their heart rate rose. They got increasingly anxious. They looked a second time, and their reading increased again.

"Upon viewing stats about ourselves that we can't properly interpret then, naturally, we are going to seek clarification," the psychologist says. "We monitor, we re-check - it becomes a vicious cycle."