AI Integration with Wellness

Wellness is a central focus for individuals who aim to manage stress, maintain their health, and improve their overall well-being daily. It can be very time-consuming and complicated to track your milestones and your own wellness stats, but now there are easier ways with technology. Systems can track fitness, monitor sleep, log meals, and measure everything from heart rate to blood sugar. Popular technological products, such as the Fitbit, Apple Watch, and Oura Ring, collect vast amounts of data every day. Apps like MyFitnessPal, Strava, and Peloton track workouts and your diet. Mental health apps offer meditation, mood tracking, and ways to connect with therapists. You look at it in the morning, notice something, and then forget about it. There is no real connection between all these different pieces of information.

No clear insights about what it means or what you should actually do differently. That is where artificial intelligence fits in. AI could take all that scattered health information and turn it into recommendations that actually help people reach their wellness goals. Instead of manually logging every meal or wondering why you are not losing weight even though you work out regularly, AI could look at your patterns and suggest changes based on what works for your specific body. It could predict when you are heading toward burnout or getting sick before it happens. It can connect your sleep data with your exercise and nutrition to show you how they interact with each other. The technology exists to do this, but we have only just begun to utilize it. Privacy concerns, a lack of integration between apps and devices, and the difficulty of building AI systems that actually work have slowed progress. Still, the wellness industry is starting to catch up. Creators and large companies are developing smart tools with the help of technology that offer personalized coaching, predict potential health issues, and provide real-time support. Mental health apps are utilizing AI to detect changes in mood or behavior that may signal a crisis. Fitness apps are creating workout plans that adjust according to your progress. The main question is whether these tools will truly be lasting and effective.

Curated Resources:

Resource 1:

Barnett, J. (2024, May 28). Exploring the untapped potential of AI in wellness. Medium. https://medium.com/@redheadjessica/exploring-the-untapped-potential-of-ai-in-wellness-081f975cd822

Type: Personal essay

Resource Explanation: Jessica Barnett shares her experience utilizing AI tools to create a personalized nutrition and fitness plan, and discusses why she believes the wellness industry is not leveraging AI to its full potential. I chose this resource because it comes from someone who has actually tried using AI for wellness and hit the same frustrations many people face. She points out that tools like ChatGPT can help you create a plan, but after that, everything becomes manual. You still have to log every meal in MyFitnessPal one ingredient at a time, which gets old fast. Most people stop doing it after a few weeks. Barnett also discusses how much health data we generate without ever utilizing it in any meaningful way. Fitness trackers, smart scales, period tracking apps, and blood work from doctor visits: all of that information exists, but it never connects to anything else. Her capstone project, FitGenius, envisions an AI app that consolidates all your health data and provides real-time coaching that evolves as you make progress. What makes this resource valuable is that it shows both what AI could do and where it falls short right now. The technology has the potential to do much more than it currently does, but building systems that actually work and keep people engaged is more complex than it may seem. Barnett also brings up an important fact: 95% of diets fail within a few years, and over 70% of Americans are currently overweight or classified as obese. The tools we have now clearly are not working. AI might offer a better way forward, but it can solve the problems that make people give up on traditional diet and fitness programs.

Resource 2:

Global Wellness Institute. (2024, March 26). 2024 trends: AI initiative. https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/global-wellness-institute-blog/2024/03/26/2024-ai-initiative-trends-2/

Type: Trend analysis

Resource Explanation: This report from the Global Wellness Institute examines five major trends and patterns in the application of artificial intelligence and smart technological tools in wellness, encompassing a range of areas from wearable devices to hotels and biotechnology. I selected this resource because it covers a wide range of applications and shows how AI is already changing the wellness industry in ways most people probably do not realize. The first trend focuses on personal health management. Devices like the Alter mirror now offer in-home coaching tailored to your genetics and provide real-time feedback on your exercise form. Oura rings are connecting with continuous glucose monitors to link sleep data with metabolic health. Whoop uses ChatGPT to create personalized training plans. The second trend looks at hyper-personalization in hotels and spas. AI systems can track when your flight gets delayed and predict that you will arrive stressed, then automatically offer spa treatments or relaxation options when you check in. The third trend covers AI in biotechnology and medicine, where machine learning is speeding up drug discovery and helping doctors read medical images. The fourth trend is about operational efficiency. It explains how artificial intelligence is automating data entry and helping with customer satisfaction. The last trend is the most significant and controversial issue of technology, which is the ethical standpoint. The World Health Organization has established a set of principles for the use of AI systems in healthcare, emphasizing transparency and fairness. What I value about this report is that it does not just promote AI; it also highlights the potential drawbacks of AI. It acknowledges the ethical concerns and stresses the importance of building systems that are inclusive, sustainable, and designed to support human decision-making rather than replace it. The report also shows that AI in wellness goes beyond fitness apps. It is affecting everything from how hotels operate to how new medicines get developed.

Resource 3:

National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.). Technology and the future of mental health treatment. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/technology-and-the-future-of-mental-health-treatment

Type: Government resource

Resource Explanation: This guide from the National Institute of Mental Health explains how technology, particularly AI, is being utilized to enhance mental health treatment and highlights concerns that people should be aware of. I included this resource because mental health is a significant aspect of overall wellness, and AI is making therapy and support more accessible to people who might not otherwise receive help. The guide covers different types of mental health apps: self-management tools that help people track moods and manage stress, cognitive remediation apps that help improve thinking skills, skill training apps that teach coping strategies, and passive symptom tracking apps that use smartphone sensors to detect changes in behavior that might signal a mental health crisis. Convenience is the primary reason these apps are highly popular. People can access support anytime, anywhere, without needing to schedule an appointment or leave their house. That matters for people in remote areas or people who feel uncomfortable seeking traditional therapy. The apps also offer anonymity, which can make it easier for people to ask for help. But the guide does not ignore the downsides. Most mental health apps have not been tested in rigorous clinical trials, so there is no way to know if they actually work. There are no industry standards for evaluating quality, making it difficult to determine which apps to trust. Privacy is another concern because these apps collect sensitive personal information. A disadvantage that the guide mentions is that some apps promise more than what they deliver, which brings disappointment to people and makes it harder for them to seek the correct treatment. What makes this resource valuable is that it comes from a trusted government source and offers practical guidance on selecting a mental health app. Overall, the author emphasizes that AI should support human decision-making, rather than replace mental health professionals, even if it means less convenience or higher costs. The goal is to utilize technology to extend therapy, provide ongoing monitoring, and offer support between sessions, not to replace the human connection that is central to effective mental health care.

Summary Paragraph:

These three resources show that AI has real potential to improve wellness, but the technology is still in the early stages and comes with severe limitations. Jessica Barnett's essay highlights the frustration of having access to tons of health data that never gets used in any meaningful way. Fitness trackers, nutrition apps, and medical records all exist in separate silos, and most people lack the time or knowledge to connect the dots themselves. AI could solve that problem by pulling together data from multiple sources and giving personalized recommendations, but most wellness apps are not doing that yet. The ones that try often fail to keep people engaged because logging meals and tracking workouts manually is tedious. At times, the technology feels more like a burden than a help. The Global Wellness Institute report shows that AI is already being used in more sophisticated ways in certain parts of the wellness industry. Hotels are using AI to predict guest needs and personalize experiences. Devices that we carry with us every day are connecting with health tools to provide more comprehensive insights. Biotechnology companies are using machine learning to speed up drug discovery. But the report also stresses the importance of ethics. The creation of these systems must be created to support human decision-making rather than replace it. They also need to be inclusive and accessible to everyone, not just people who can afford expensive devices and premium app subscriptions. The NIMH guide emphasizes that AI can enhance the accessibility and convenience of mental health support, but it also cautions that most apps have not undergone rigorous testing and that there are currently no established standards for evaluating their quality. People need to be cautious about which apps they trust and understand that smart tools that use artificial intelligence only complement traditional therapy, not replace it. Overall, what ties these resources together is recognizing that AI has the potential to transform wellness, but only if it is built thoughtfully and ethically. Technology can gather data, predict problems, and provide personalized help faster than any human. But the human judgment, empathy, and connection that are essential to wellness can not be replaced. The wellness industry is still figuring out how to use AI effectively. Some companies are building tools that genuinely help people, while others are just adding to the noise with apps that overpromise and underdeliver. If we want to continue the support from these tools, we must understand the integration, keep people engaged, protect privacy, and recognize that wellness is not just about tracking numbers.

Have you ever found AI effective for your wellness?

• Yes
• No
• Tried it but did not work