Millions of people worldwide use smart rings and fitness trackers to monitor their sleep, workouts, heart rate, and body temperature. At the World Cup, this technology is being utilized by athletes to fine-tune recovery, manage fatigue, and unlock performance gains.

Wearable Devices Used by Athletes

Players have been spotted training and competing with commercial devices such as sweat patches, WHOOPs, Oura Rings, and performance vests. These devices track various health metrics, including sleep, strain, stress, and heart rate.

For example, the Brazilian national team used a high-tech “sticker” that measures sweat to generate personalized hydration insights. The Gx Sweat Patch sticks to the body and works by measuring sweat rate, fluid loss, sodium concentration, and sodium loss.

Benefits of Wearable Technology

The data collected from these devices can help athletes identify trends and intervene when their sleep or recovery is suffering. This information can be used to change behaviors and get back on track. However, for elite athletes, commercial wearables are often used in tandem with other monitoring systems, such as clinical examinations and blood and urine tests.

Many professional soccer players have been using commercial wearables long before the World Cup. The data set produced by these devices is likely more than enough for casual athletes, but it is only one small piece of the puzzle used by athletes at the highest levels.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.