In the past 10 years the way we have digitized our lives has accelerated at a rapid pace. With the rise of smart phones and devices such as the Apple iPod Touch, we have instant access to every aspect of our lives 24/7. We don’t go 15 minutes without checking our email, the weather, or the news.

So why not check up on ourselves as well?

The increasing popularity of personal metrics is making self check ups every day or hour or 15 minutes more and more of a possibility. So what are personal metrics? Personal metrics is the data collected from digitally tracking your weight loss, sleep cycles, moods, or almost any physical aspect of yourself through the use of apps.

As a Wired article from 2008 noted:

We can live longer and better by applying, on a personal scale, the same quantitative mindset that powers Google and medical research. Call it Living by Numbers—the ability to gather and analyze data about yourself, setting up a feedback loop that we can use to upgrade our lives, from better health to better habits to better performance.

Here are some of our favorite apps for tracking our personal metrics.

Nike+ for iPod Nano, Touch, and iPhone
It tracks your speed, distance, and calories burned, actually translate that data so you can see your progress through an interactive chart.

Calorie Tracker from Livestrong.com
It allows users to input their daily exercise and food intake to create a digital diary that helps them reach their weight loss and fitness goals.

Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock
It will track your sleep cycle including deep sleep and dreaming and all you have to do is put it under your pillow and go to dreamland!

Choice By Choice
This is a great app to track your life goals, from getting a new job to running a marathon. By inputing all your goals and then noting when you make strides towards or away from them, Choice By Choice keeps your total life goals tracked.