Last Christmas, my thoughtful mother gave me a gift that changed my life: Fitbit Flex.

Fitbit Flex syncs via bluetooth to your mobile device.

Fitbit Flex is a wristband tracker that counts your steps and syncs the data to your smartphone or in my case, my iPad mini. The goal, as stated in Fitbit’s website is to encourage people to lead healthier, more active lives. I was all in, happily tracking 10,000 steps a day. Walking became part of my lunch break and after work routine. It feels great. In addition, the step counter can also monitor your sleep. I’ve used other sleep apps which require putting my mobile device on my mattress which becomes cumbersome. The Fitbit is simpler since I’m already wearing the wristband. All I do is press a button on my mobile device. A sleep log is recorded every night. It charts your deep and light sleep in a graph and “grades” your quality of sleep. Last night I scored a 93% sleep efficiency. Not too bad.The real benefit of Fitbit is that using it makes “sleep” and “exercise” priorities in my life. I make a conscious effort to walk every day and make sure I get a good sleep at night. Besides having the feeling of accomplishment, Fitbit also keeps track of your Fitbit friends, which can spark a “little” friendly competition.

I like to keep one eye on how far behind my coworkers are.

But, hey it isn’t about winning. It’s about good health and how every little bit counts. Anything that makes me healthier, makes me happier. Do you wear a Fitbit? How has it helped you?               Written by Terri Dux, copywriter/graphic artist for C. S. Wo & Sons, parent company of SlumberWorld.