Four 'get-to-know-yourself' healthy tools

On September 27, a talk from TED@Cannes 2010 by Gary Wolf, a cofounder of the quantified self movement and Wired Magazine contributing editor, was posted online. In his talk "The Quantified Self," Wolf details how self-awareness tools can lead to healthier outcomes.

Wolf begins his five-minute presentation by highlighting the trend to monitor oneself with "mobile apps and always-on gadgets to track and analyze your body, mood, diet, spending - just about everything in daily life you can measure - in gloriously geeky detail."

Here are some tools to help you become more self-aware:

- FitBit: a small clip-on tracker that monitors your fitness and sleep patterns ($99/€74) http://www.fitbit.com/

- Nike +: monitors heart rate data, calorie burn, pace and distance of runs and other workouts. ($29/€21.50) http://www.apple.com/ipod/nike/

- ZEO: a sleep coach that monitors your sleep data and offers "changes" to improve sleeping habits. ($199-299/€148-222) http://www.myzeo.com/

- Asthmapolis: monitors asthma events with GPS tracker embedded in an inhaler and synchronizes with a mobile diary to help users manage their own asthma with health professionals. Product is currently undergoing pilot studies and should be released before 2011. http://asthmapolis.com/  

Wolf added, "The self is just our operation center, our consciousness, our moral compass. So, if we want to act more effectively in the world, we have to get to know ourselves better."

See the TED@Cannes talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/gary_wolf_the_quantified_self.html