The novel heart rate variability (HRV) metric is slowly gaining ground among professional sportspeople and regular amateur consumers. Indeed, it is a perfect non-invasive tool to intellectually enhance your regular exercise program or day-to-day routine with the help of sophisticated algorithms and advice grounded on them. As such, it feels perfectly logical that more and more people begin incorporating HRV into their lives.
What makes the entry point into the HRV a little bit higher than usual is that it requires two crucial elements to function. First, you need a heart rate variability monitor to gather actual cardiovascular data from your body. The second requirement, you need a specific piece of software (also considered an app that measures stress) that can interpret this data into full-blown HRV numbers and, if possible, give the corresponding recommendations on, for example, how to increase heart rate based on it.
Both of these things have an enormous presence on the market, and it is easy for a novice to get lost and confused among the thousands of heart rate variability devices and health tracker apps offered. Yet, consequently, I find it reasonable to assume that it is important to make a correct choice of appliances in order to have the most accurate cardiovascular readings gathered, the most precise HRV values calculated and the most conclusive advice given.
Thus, it is necessary to try at least to structure the information regarding the variety of monitors and apps to make consumer’s choices more manageable. Therefore, let’s take a closer look at it.
The software and the hardware
The choice of software is an easier one. Surprisingly, the different apps are often more or less the same on the back-end, so what really matters is the front-end – user interface. Ergo, the app that came up with the most user-friendly design wins. In this regard, the renowned Welltory emerges victorious. Its user-friendliness leaves the competitors in shambles, and you should definitely give it a try first, especially if you are not that fluent in software per se yet.
The options to collect cardiovascular metrics are, in fact, hierarchy, with the convenience being related inversely to the accuracy. Let’s take a look, and starting with the most convenient and least accurate to vice versa.
Smartphone photoplethysmography
The smartphone PPG (photoplethysmography) is a relatively simple optical technique designed to detect the blood volume changes in the microvasculature of the soft tissues. The camera detects the difference in the color saturation of the tissues and then extrapolates it into heart rhythm (more saturated color means more blood in the microvasculature means heartbeat just happened).
This method is popularized with the influx of health tracking apps that give the possibility to assess the HRV in such a way. Naturally, smartphone PPG is infinitely convenient due to eliminating the obligation to buy standalone devices and demanding nothing but a smartphone, which literally everyone nowadays owns.
For such a convenience, a user pays a hefty toll of accuracy. For starters, every smartphone has its camera quality which drastically decreases in budget models. Additionally, many variables affect PPG’s efficacy: frames per second of the camera recording, the overall brightness and ambient light levels, finger placement, and movement.
Therefore, it would be unwise to constantly use PPG technology for your heart rate readings, especially if you can manage to upgrade to a standalone device. There is, however, a rational scenario of use for the smartphone PPG: it is a perfect proof-of-concept for those that have only just begun laying their path to the HRV practical use. You can check out whether you like the technology or not without investing any liquidity.
Optical heart rate trackers
The optical heart rate trackers are either arm-based standalone or integrated into fitness or smartwatches such as Apple Watch. Stress apps analyze their readings regardless, but the brief written distinction wouldn’t hurt, would it?
Watch-based HR trackers
Most smart and sports watches are equipped with an optical heart rate sensor located on the back. It is the most popular type of HR sensor, as it is essentially an additional option when buying a watch.
A LED and a photo element work in pairs to gather the heart readings: the first direct light into soft tissues; the latter records the amount of blood in the vessels. The more blood, the less reflected light, and vice versa. In this essence, the technology is close to the PPG.
The advantage of such a device is the convenience of wearing and round-the-clock constant heart rate monitoring. Furthermore, it is relatively accurate – but to the limit, of course. This limit is set due to several reasons. For example, there is a relatively small amount of soft tissue in the wrist joint area, the loosely fastened strap can cause the watch to move along the hand, and the sweat and dirt can distort the readings as well.
Arm-based optical HR trackers
Such trackers operate the same optical principle as the watch-based, yet are standalone and are attached to the arm or the forearm. They offer more accuracy due to being located in areas with a higher volume of soft tissue and higher vascularization. Unfortunately, the dedicated optical trackers are undeservedly unpopular.
Chest heart rate monitors
A usual chest HRM sensor detects the electrical activity of the myocardium to draw the heart rate. In this sense, it is a portable ECG machine. ECG technology offers unprecedented accuracy, being distorted by almost nothing.
On the other hand, the chest heart rate monitors are costly and mildly inconvenient – after all, you need to strap it around your chest and constantly clean it after each run as a form of maintenance.
Instead of the conclusion
All in all, it should now be an iota easier to choose what’s best for you individually. However, it’s always best to do your own research by analyzing and synthesizing the information scattered around the web. Good luck now on your path to a healthy lifestyle.