Fitbit Devices Could Predict the Flu

It's hard to know when anyone is about to be hit with the flu. Most of the time you hear people say wash your hands often, cover your mouth when you cough, sneeze into your arm, and so many more.

According to WILX, a new study determined that Fitbit devices may be able to help health officials stop the flu from spreading.

Researchers reviewed de-identified data, which the company's privacy policy allows it to use for research, from users wearing Fitbits and found that they were able to do real time flu prediction at the state level.

Researchers also tracked deviations in heart rate and sleep patterns, which tend to change when a person has the flu and compared that data to flu like illness rates reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This marks the first time heart rate trackers and sleep data have been used to predict the flu or any infectious disease in real time.

Twenty percent of children under five and approximately 7% of working adults get the flu each year.