Wearable activity trackers have come a long way in their relatively short existence. Today, these sleek accessories can track everything from step counts to sleep, calories to heart rate – all while matching your daily attire.

The devices have moved beyond the hardcore fitness training elite to a technology that helps people of all backgrounds develop healthier habits. Much of the reason why these devices work is that they simply make people more aware of what they’re doing throughout the day, which explains why many employers are opting to include them as part of their employee well-being programs.

Make Technology Work For You, Not Against You

One in six people own a wearable activity tracker, and one in three consumers say they want to buy one. It’s little surprise, then, that 13 million wearable activity-tracking devices are projected to be integrated into employee wellness programs by 2018, according to ABI Research.

These devices help develop healthy behaviors that affect all areas of well-being. Wondering how? We’ve compiled a few ways wearable activity trackers let you thrive:

• Trigger behaviors: One of the key components to effective behavior change is the ability to trigger an intended behavior, according to research conducted by Dr. B. J. Fogg, director of the Stanford Behavior Design Lab and Virgin Pulse Science Advisory Board member. From a blinking green light to encouraging messages, wearable activity trackers help you stay on track and remind you just how close you are to meeting your well-being goals.

• Boost motivation: Sometimes just stepping out the front door with a wearable activity tracker on is all it takes. People are 30 to 40 percent more likely to be active simply by wearing an activity-tracking device. And once you have the tools and resources to know when you meet a specific goal, the urge to end the day having completed it helps motivate you too.

• Engage socially: You can build stronger relationships with coworkers, family, and friends through wearables. Forty-one percent of employees say they’re motivated by friends to get healthy, according to a Virgin Pulse survey. As part of your well-being program, offer devices and challenges thatallow employees and their social circlesto compare activity and engagein some friendly competition.

• Improve sleep habits: Not catching enough shuteye can have serious implications. Even losing just 2 hours of sleep, on average, can double the risk of death. So being able to track your hours of sleep is a matter of life or death. OK, that’s a bit heavy. But wearable activity trackers do support tracking better sleep habits, bringing you into work rested, wide-eyed, and energetic each morning.

For better or for worse, many people today are connected to their devices 24/7. But you can make technology work for you, instead of the other way around, by including wearable activity tracking devices as part of a well-being program. Tap into your motivation and make it easy to track health progress, stay successful, and ultimately drive healthy behavior change.

Looking to learn more about the impact wearables can have on a well-being program? Listen to our on-demand webinar on how to take your program to the next level.