Details
Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
WHOOP calculates your heart rate variability during the first five minutes of your last slow-wave sleep stage each night, the time when you’re in your deepest period of sleep. HRV is widely accepted as a measure of the body’s ability to handle strain and stress.
Sleep Stages
WHOOP quantifies your sleep cycles and stages of sleep including your deep sleep and REM sleep cycles.
Strain
Strain is measurement of cardiovascular exertion for individual workouts and entire days. WHOOP now has a tool that will take into account your sleep and recovery to determine an optimal level of strain each day.
Personalized Data
WHOOP is using algorithms to calculate enormous amounts of data. This allows WHOOP to get to know your baselines intimately so it can advise when your body is best able to handle stress and strain.
How It Works
WHOOP measures blood flow using a technology called Photoplethysmography (PPG). The hemoglobin in blood absorbs a particular light wavelength and the light that isn’t absorbed is reflected back. By observing the differences in light, WHOOP is able to calculate your heart rate and heart rate variability.
Convenience
The WHOOP band is waterproof and can be worn at all times, even when charging. There are no notifications, watches, emails, or anything else on the band; which in a world of distraction is greatly appreciated.
What Are People Saying About Whoop
I’ve worn a Whoop band for years, and the data it’s provided me has been very meaningful and impactful, particularly related to HRV. HRV is one of the most important metrics a person can track to understand their body’s ability to take on stress. It will affect performance in business and decision making as well physical exercise.
Members of the Exclusivia team have been using Whoop for years. Today it’s common to see them on professional golfers and athletes.
Whoop has the best data and analytics we’ve seen in a wearable. Most other wearables give you snapshots of your health, but Whoop allows a person to understand trends and history in their own bodies. They do charge a monthly fee for the membership, which is different then other health wearables. But this membership structure probably allows them to innovate and improve the way their data is presented to the customer. The emphasis on recovery and Heart Rate Variability is very important metric that is often overlooked in the health space.
I’ve been a Whoop user for years. I’m obsessed with my fitness, so having this data easy and accessible makes a huge difference for me. I’m very impressed with the accuracy of how the HRV measurement know when I’m not sleeping well, not eating well, or overtraining (which is something I have been known to do).