Disconnection Between Self-Reported Wellbeing and Heart Rate Variability from Wearables

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Physiology
• Wearable Technology

Background:

• Heart rate variability (HRV) is a biometric used to assess physiological readiness.
• Subjective self-reports are also used to gauge daily readiness.
• The correlation between subjective readiness and objective HRV requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between self-reported emotional and mental readiness and overnight resting heart rate variability (HRV).
• To determine if subjective feelings of stress, nervousness, or energy correlate with objective HRV measurements.

Main Methods:

• Utilized activity tracker data from 39 participants (21 males, 18 females) over three months.
• Collected data on HRV, resting heart rate, sleep metrics, and daily self-reported factors including stress, nervousness, and energy levels.
• Analyzed associations between self-reported feelings and overnight resting HRV.

Main Results:

• No significant association was found between self-reported stress or nervousness and HRV.
• A significant negative association was observed between feeling energized and HRV (p < 0.01).
• Participants reporting feeling energized had lower HRV compared to those not feeling energized.

Conclusions:

• Subjective feelings of readiness may not accurately reflect objective biometric data like HRV.
• Readiness scores and personalized health recommendations should consider potential discrepancies between subjective reports and HRV.
• Caution is advised when relying solely on HRV-based recommendations for health and wellness guidance.