Wearable data proves what you thought: we're less active when it's cold
It's hard to fight nature. We mammals have an instinctual urge to hibernate when the mercury starts dropping, and thanks to activity trackers we have some data to prove that theory holds true (if we actually get that sleep is another story). By correlating pedometer stats culled from "hundreds of thousands" of Jawbone Up users with weather info from their respective areas, the outfit was able to discern that there's an ideal temperature range for physical activity. Because people typically have to get up and around during the work week, Jawbone instead focused its study on weekends. You know, when we have an actual choice of whether or not we're going to get off the couch.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, when it's between the low 60s and high 70s at 11 a.m. on a Saturday or Sunday, people are more apt to partake in physical activities. Colder or warmer than that? Not so much. That's according to Jawbone and the National Climatic Data Center, at least. As The Atlantic points out, however, this measure could be a bit skewed given the typical demographic that'd own an Up isn't exactly representative of the general population. How do you stack up, personally? Let us know in the comments.
[Image credit: Associated Press]
