Everything we do affects our wellbeing in one way or another. Experiments will help you keep track of what’s happening to your body when you perform various activities: a breathing practice, focused work, or a relaxing bath. Take heart rate variability measurements before and after such an activity, and get a message describing your body’s changes. We’ll help you use this information to learn more about your body and what makes you feel better.
How do I conduct experiments?
1. Take a measurement before you start the activity.
2. After you’ve finished your activity, tap the plus sign in the top right corner of the feed and choose a tag to log your action. It might represent an activity (contrast shower, breathing practice, hike), a situation (such as a conflict or chat), or other experience (such as rainy weather or hunger).
3. Once you’ve added a tag, go ahead and take the second measurement within three hours of your first measurement. If you’ve finished a workout, it’d be best to measure once your post-exercise heart rate has gone down.
4. After the second measurement, we’ll show you a report on what has changed.
If you have an Apple Watch, you can measure your heart rate variability at any time by using the Breathe/Mindfulness app — no need to wait for an automatic measurement. Learn more here.
What can I experiment with?
All sorts of workouts, including strength training and cardio. Note that right after the activity, your results may not look the best. This is because your body needs some time to recover and rebuild its energy reserves. For now, you’ll need to enter a workout tag manually as experiments won’t work with automatically created workout tags.
Relaxation activities: a bath, breathing practice, reading session — experiments will help you learn whether they help you lower your stress.
You aren’t limited to measurements that only describe the effects of positive activities. Have a hunch that those meetings are draining you? Take a measurement prior to the meeting, log it with a tag, and take a post-meeting measurement — see if your suspicions are correct.
How do I get the most reliable results?
Take a measurement right before and right after the activity to exclude other factors. In the case of a workout or strenuous activity, it’d be best to wait until your post-activity heart rate comes down to normal prior to taking your follow-up measurement.
Experiment with one activity at a time: while you may use multiple tags at once, note that it won’t be possible to discern the effects of multiple activities.
And, of course, be sure to stay calm and still during the measurement: higher quality measurements mean better results!