The Science Lab and Orthostatic Test: what they are and how to use them

The Science Lab is a new section in the Welltory app where users can be the first to try experimental features developed by our team of scientists.

The first feature available in the Science Lab is the Orthostatic Test. This tool helps assess your cardiovascular system’s condition, fitness level, and recovery after physical activity. Currently, the test is available only for iOS users with an Apple Watch.

To access the Science Lab, open the Menu (the three horizontal lines in the top left corner) and select Science Lab.

The Orthostatic Test analyzes heart rate changes when transitioning between lying and standing positions. It can help:

Test results are only available in the Science Lab section. They will not appear in your feed or Journal.

The Orthostatic Test involves three steps:

To take the first three tests, you must enter data and meet the prerequisites. The POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia symptoms) test is available with no additional requirements.

You can get a general idea of your fitness after the first test. But for a more accurate result, it is better to repeat the test 3–5 times.

To assess overall fitness, the Orthostatic Test should be done in the morning, before you drink coffee, exercise, or take a shower. You should have had a good night's sleep the previous night and be in good health. You should also avoid exercising the night before.

Before the test, we will offer a survey that takes into account all these requirements.

When you give your answers, we will either offer to take the test right away or offer to reschedule it for another day because your condition is not suitable for measurement today.

After the test, you will see a graph with the results. You should interpret them as follows:

The test can be performed on any day, regardless of the amount of sleep or physical activity you had the night before, to assess your training readiness. But it's essential to take the measurement after your main sleep (in most cases, this is a night's sleep) and before you have coffee, take a shower, or eat breakfast. You should also be healthy.

Your workout readiness level will be reflected in the app immediately after the measurement. It can range from low to absolute readiness.

The post-workout test allows you to assess whether the load was sufficient or insufficient to improve your form and whether it was not excessive.

To take this measurement, you need to do a morning Orthostatic Test after a good night's sleep, and the results should be between 0 and 22. Note that the exercise test should be started within 30–60 minutes after the end of physical activity.

Interpret the results of the measurement as follows:

This test helps check for potentially dangerous conditions and can be performed at any time, regardless of your current state.

If you are diagnosed with POTS, you can stand for just one minute during the second measurement and then lie down to complete the test.

If you see a value greater than 30 as a result, you most likely have postural orthostatic tachycardia symptoms.

In this graph, you will find two values obtained from the test: your heart rate lying down and standing up. You will also see the difference between the two and a breakdown of all these values.

When you take the How did your last workout impact you? test, you will see a bar graph with the morning Orthostatic Test data and the post-workout data, as well as a breakdown of the data.

The dots on the graph represent changes in heart rate after standing up during the test. For example, +3 means your heart rate increased by 3 beats per minute, while -3 means it decreased by 3 beats. Values above +30 may indicate Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).

A scale with numerical values shows how your heart responds to position changes, helping you evaluate overall fitness and health.

This graph indicates whether your body has recovered sufficiently and is ready for further physical activity.

If you see this message, please retake the measurements. In this case, it is important to follow all instructions so that the measurement is accurate, and we can analyze it.

In this case, you probably measured standing first and then lying down. This affected the data we got. Consistency is crucial for accurate analysis, so the test should be redone.

In this case, we cannot get data from Apple Health. Please open the app to synchronize your data quickly.

This happens when a server-side issue occurs. To restart the analysis process, please reopen the Apple Health app and click Look harder in the Welltory app.