Beth Skwarecki

Pittsburgh

Senior Health Editor at Lifehacker

Moved to bluesky: https://t.co/8U5SFTDoUb 510 lb Dinnie lift. She/her

Articles

The Government Has a New Vaccine Advisory Panel, and I’m Concerned About What They Might Do Next Week

1 week ago | lifehacker.com | Beth Skwarecki |Gina Trapani |Jordan Calhoun

The Centers for Disease Control used to have a vaccine advisory panel made of well-respected experts. This panel, the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (or ACIP), would meet to vote on which vaccines should be recommended by the government. An affirmative vote from ACIP means insurance companies have to cover that vaccine.
The Withings Scanwatch 2 Is a Smartwatch That Doesn’t Look Like One

1 week ago | au.lifehacker.com | Beth Skwarecki

Comfort and appearanceWhen I’m reviewing watches, I’ll spend my workday with that week's test subjects on my wrist(s). But when I’m off the clock, I’ll grab whichever watch from the stable feels most appropriate for the occasion or goes with my outfit. And I found myself gravitating toward the Scanwatch anytime I was dressing in something nicer than sweats. It looks nice. It’s unobtrusive.
Garmin’s Sleep Band Is Real After All

1 week ago | lifehacker.com | Beth Skwarecki |Gina Trapani |Jordan Calhoun

When I wrote yesterday about three different Whoop-like bands rumored to be coming soon, I didn’t know how close we were to one of them actually launching. Today, Garmin’s Index sleep monitor is officially listed on their website, retailing for $169.99 and shipping in five to eight weeks. What kind of device is the Index? The Index is an armband, meant to be worn around the bicep while you sleep. It can track your heart rate like a smartwatch does, but it has no screen.
Three Whoop Band Competitors Are Coming, but I Doubt They'll Be Able to Compete With Whoop's App

1 week ago | au.lifehacker.com | Beth Skwarecki

If you love the idea of tracking your health and fitness with a screenless band but don’t want to pony up for a Whoop subscription, you'll soon have more options. Maybe. Probably: Three different Whoop-likes have popped up in the past few weeks, but I'm still murky on the details of what they'll offer, and none of them are (yet) available for sale to the general public. In order from most to least likely to be real products you can buy, they're coming from Polar, Amazfit, and Garmin.
Which Is Better: An Apple Watch vs. a Garmin

2 weeks ago | lifehacker.com | Beth Skwarecki

What Garmin does bestGarmin got its start as a GPS company and entered the running watch business when it realized it could strap one of its brick-sized units to a person’s arm. (I had one of these units in the 2000s—it was huge, but man was it revolutionary to have your pace display on your wrist in real time.) Over time, that morphed into the standard watch format we’re all familiar with, small enough to wear to bed for sleep tracking and to keep on throughout the day to tell the time.
These Are the Only Two Ways to Actually Keep Mosquitoes Away

2 weeks ago | au.lifehacker.com | Beth Skwarecki

We hate mosquitoes, and so companies make a lot of anti-mosquito things: candles, wristbands, chemical and herbal sprays—even electronic devices. But if you want to keep mosquitoes off your bare skin this summer, you really just need two things: bug spray and a fan. The many alternatives either don’t work, or aren’t worth your time. Citronella candles aren’t significantly more effective than regular candles, which, as you might guess, don’t do much to ward off mosquitoes.
Garmin Just Announced Its Answer to the Apple Watch Ultra

2 weeks ago | au.lifehacker.com | Beth Skwarecki

Garmin dropped a new watch today, a square-bodied Venu X1 that retails for $799.99 and will be available to order starting June 18. Garmin told me by email that it is “not a successor to Venu 3/3S,” which to me hints that there may still be a Venu 4 coming soon. The Venu line, if you’re not familiar, contains Garmin’s most smartwatch-y watches. The Venu 3 and its smaller version (the 3S) can do voice calls and use a phone assistant like Siri, and it can take ECG readings.
I Got My VO2Max Tested in a Lab to See Which of These Nine Fitness Devices Was Most Accurate

2 weeks ago | au.lifehacker.com | Beth Skwarecki

I have, at my disposal, at least nine different devices that can estimate my cardio fitness. They all put it in terms of a number scientists call VO2max. But the only way to find your actual VO2max is to get a test done in a lab, so I knew what I had to do. From my results, I’ll tell you which devices gave me the best and worst readings—and what that means for my (and your) training going forward.
I Tried This DIY Mosquito Trap, and It Actually Works

2 weeks ago | au.lifehacker.com | Beth Skwarecki

I’ve previously shared the Good News about mosquito dunks, which stop mosquitoes from being able to breed in standing water. For the third year running, I am using dunks to create what’s sometimes called a “mosquito bucket of doom,” a trap that entices mosquitoes to breed in standing water that you have (muahahaha) poisoned against them.
Why I Always Wear a Sun Shirt During a Summer Run

2 weeks ago | au.lifehacker.com | Beth Skwarecki

I'm on my second summer of running in a long-sleeved sun shirt—yes, even in the hottest weather. Especially in the hottest weather. I now enjoy my summer runs a lot more, and I spend a lot less money on sunscreen. I even managed to snag a Rabbit UPF Deflector hoodie before they sold out this year, and it's even better than the Amazon sun shirts I started with. If you're not entirely sold on wearing long sleeves in the heat, know that at first I wasn't either.