Thursday, April 25, 2024
Will a smartwatch really keep you moving?
It works for Mickey Allen. “It makes me more aware of my activity level, and that makes me more active,” she said of her Apple watch.
The retired Granbury resident is secretary for Friends of Memorial Lane, a group of volunteers who plan and support events at Memorial Lane Park.
She’s also volunteered at Granbury Church of Christ, with the Royal Family Kid’s Camp and Christian Women’s Job Corps, now known as Forward Training Center of Hood County.
The watch was a Christmas gift from her kids, and there were some strings attached. She had to promise that she “would really use it.”
Allen stays active for her general well-being, and also to help with pain and stiffness from osteoarthritis. The common form of arthritis brings inflammation and the eventual loss of cartilage in the joints.
“I can’t be stagnant or sitting very long, or it’s really difficult to get up,” she explained.
Allen set the watch to remind her to stand, or get up, 12 times a day. “It definitely keeps me off my bottom,” she said with a laugh.
Not only has she increased her activity level throughout the day, she’s lost 6 pounds.
The watch, like a variety of similar devices, keeps track of her steps, her movement, heart rate, calories burned, exercise levels and more. Sometimes it tells her to breath deeply.
“I like those reminders to take a deep breath,” she said.
Allen has a milestone birthday this year. She turns 70 in August. She and her husband, Jerry, have been Granbury residents since 1998. The two recently celebrated their 25th anniversary.
Their children include Donald Humphrey and his wife Carolina, of Pyuallup, Washington; Jeffry Humphrey of McKinney; Marc Humphrey of Granbury; and Jad Allen and his wife Yahaira of Houston.
Grandchildren include Logan, Brendon, Ali, Lane, Davis and Jude.
dschneider@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066, ext. 255
