If you’ve been on the fence about buying an Apple Watch, this might just make up your mind.

A study on 400 000 adults who use the Apple Watch and its fitness tracker feature has just been wrapped up, which is the largest ever to focus on behavioural technology.

Behavioural technology in this sense refers to the ways that technology can be used to encourage and facilitate positive behaviour.

In the case of the Apple Watch, participants with an Apple Watch made monthly payments depending on their activity levels – with nothing at all to pay if monthly exercise targets were achieved, reports The Telegraph.

The watches measure activity and keep track of activity and personal goals.

Here’s a summary of the study findings courtesy of PR Newswire:

• Participants using Apple Watch saw an average 34% sustained increase in activity – 4.8 extra days of activity per month – across the United Kingdom, United States and South Africa.
• Activity increased across the full spectrum of Vitality participants, regardless of health status, age or gender.
• “At-risk” participants with a high Body Mass Index [BMI], although less likely to take up the benefit, showed greater improvements in activity than other groups, with increases in activity of 200% in the United States, 160% in the United Kingdom, and 109% in South Africa.

• South Africa saw the largest increase in high-intensity activity days of 71%, followed by the United States at 52%, and 37% in the United Kingdom.
• With these sustained increases in activity, Vitality estimates that within a year, participants with Active Rewards with Apple Watch achieved numerous health benefits, including improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol, and cardiorespiratory fitness along with lowered healthcare costs.

The overall findings suggest that the incentive-driven behavioural technology featured in the Apple Watch, when used correctly, has the potential to add two years to your life.

Two extra years – not at all shabby.

Check out the incredible features on the new Apple Watch Series 4, which is so advanced that you can use it to take your own echocardiogram:

Considering the health benefits of the Apple Watch, it’s a pretty cool way to get ahead of your new year’s resolutions.

To get started on increasing your lifespan, or the lifespan of a loved one by two years, head on over to Digicape, South Africa’s largest independent Apple retailer, who stock an impressive range of Apple Watch Series 4 with designs to suit any style.

You can order online, or stop in at one of their stores to get the full customer experience from a trained professional.

[source:telegraph&prnewswire]