One of the weaknesses of the wearable industry is the lack of meaningful insights despite all the data collected and the easy access to machine learning and data science. The end-user is on their own and is often overwhelmed or misinformed.
Below are my personal thoughts on what metrics individuals should focus on. Please reach out if you have any questions or want to know why I focus on any given metric.
Sleep
There is a modern-day misconception about the importance of sleep. We’ve convinced
ourselves that anything else is more productive and frequently hear the expression “you can
sleep when you’re dead.”
Recently, though, sleep science has been gathering steam and proving what should have
been intuitive all along–our bodies didn’t evolve to waste time. Sleep is central to your
health and performance. Although we remember little from our time asleep, our brains are
firing and our bodies are actively repairing. Your brain consolidates memories and removes
toxins while you sleep, while your body stokes your immune system and regulates your
metabolism.
This movement is starting to have a social impact, and people are waking up to the
importance of investing in sleep. If you want to take better care of yourself, start by making
your sleep a priority.
The research is clear that adults should get 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. This range of
sleep hours is based on years of research and is the standard set by the National Sleep
Foundation. It’s been determined that chronic sleep deprivation can lead to accidents,
dramatically increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, and lead to weight gain, to name a
few.
Another important aspect of sleep that can help one maintain optimal health and
performance is sleep consistency. Ensuring consistency in your bed and wake times can
make a world of difference. For example, going to bed early and waking up early during
workdays can help improve productivity throughout the week.
Some users will often wake up tired despite sleeping the appropriate number of hours. This
is typically due to restless sleep.
Sleep Disturbances caused by wake-ups, get-ups, and restless time during your sleep can
have a big impact on your sleep quality and daytime cognitive performance.
Restless sleep is less restorative than uninterrupted sleep and it's usually the cause of
daytime sleepiness.
Disturbances can be caused by various factors, such as stress, noise, partners, pets, or
different foods. To improve your chances of getting restful sleep, have a look at the tips
below:
● Optimize your sleep environment by making sure your mattress is comfortable and
your bedroom is cool (~ 65 ℉/18 ℃), quiet, and dark.
● Avoid spicy, heavy meals, and alcohol close to bedtime.
● Avoid caffeine prior to bedtime and late in the afternoons.
● While regular physical activity can make your sleep more restful, try to avoid
exercising at least 1-2 hrs before your normal bedtime.
● Help your brain and body to wind down by disconnecting from bright screens and
dimming bright lights 1-2 hrs before going to sleep.
Recovery
From a circadian biology perspective, your day begins when you go to sleep each evening.
Sleep allows the human body to recover from the physical and mental demands of the day.
Some of the top metrics related to recovery are:
Resting Heart Rate (RHR) - This metric captures the number of times your heart beats per minute while at rest. An abnormally high or low resting heart rate may
mean you’re overly stressed and not getting enough rest, or perhaps your immune system
is fighting something.
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) - As popular as the metaphor may be, a healthy heart doesn’t beat as regularly as a
metronome—it changes its rhythm with each beat. This constant variation in milliseconds
between your heartbeats is known as your heart rate variability (HRV).
Some situations increase variation (high HRV), while others cause the intervals between
beats to remain constant (low HRV).
You may be unaware of these subtle variations, but they reflect your heart’s ability to
respond to different situations. HRV can react to stress and/or illness before resting heart
rate (RHR), which makes it one of your body’s most powerful signals—providing useful
insights into your stress levels, recovery status, and general well-being.
As a rule of thumb:
● High HRV is associated with rest-and-digest, general fitness, and good
recovery
● Low HRV is associated with fight-or-flight, stress, illness, or overtraining
While individual days may be lower after high-intensity exercise, a night out, or a stressful day, if your recent HRV is on
par with or better than your average, it’s a sign of good recovery. Monitoring HRV trends shows whether you are adapting or not to the “load” you are exposed to. This
load could be new medications or treatment plans, or an increase in training load.
Body Temperature - Body temperature is a key signal, as your body constantly generates and sheds heat to
hover around your ideal temperature. This metric can act as a warning, signaling cold or broader health development like
hormonal fluctuations. Very few wearables track this wearable. One exception is the
Oura Ring which monitors your skin temperature while you sleep. This form of measurement is very close to your core temperature only while you are sleeping. You can also use one of the many digital thermometers to check your temperature right after you get out of bed.
Respiratory Rate - This metric measures the number of breaths you take per minute and is typically measured
while at rest. Average respiratory rates for adults at rest range from 12-16 breaths per
minute. Respiratory rates that trend
above a user’s baseline by a non-trivial amount can indicate impending illness or stress.
Movement
Sitting is considered by many to be the new smoking due to the rising evidence that
prolonged sitting can contribute to a range of diseases and conditions including:
● Cardiovascular disease
● Type 2 Diabetes
● Certain cancers
● Anxiety and depression
● Obesity
● Lower skeletal muscle mass
● Elevated blood pressure
● Higher cholesterol
The human body performs better with regular movement throughout the day. Even standing
up once every hour and stretching or doing a few jumping jacks can bring enormous health benefits.
The bottom line is:
● Make sleep a priority and be protective of the two to three hours before sleep, making sure you avoid exercise, eating, alcohol, and other forms of stress.
● Monitor your recovery to make sure you are adapting to all forms of stress and use recovery to gauge the effectiveness of lifestyle changes.
● Make sure you move throughout the day
Until next time,
Chuck
