10 Ways Listening to Your Health Apps Can Backfire

Image for article titled 10 Ways Listening to Your Health Apps Can Backfire

Photo: GaudíLab (Shutterstock)

What is a good HRV reading? What is a good resting heart rate? What is a good VO2max? What is a good race pace?

I won’t call these numbers “meaningless”, because they do have some use. But they are not scores by which you should judge yourself as a person in the universe. Every number means something. in contextand it doesn’t mean much out of that context.

For example, if you currently run at a pace of 10 minutes per mile, it doesn’t matter if that’s “good.” You can train to run faster, if you wish. Or take HRV, which stands for heart rate variability? That’s a number that can be helpful in telling you if you’ve been under a lot of stress from training or from life; it’s not the kind of thing that can be meaningfully compared to others.

what to do instead: Ask yourself what really matters. A number on your screen doesn’t mean anything in real life, but maybe you’re improving something about your heart health or your ability to run races. Focus on those bottom line results, not your daily score.

.

  Bakersfield City Council votes to add 2 mental health specialists for 9-1-1 calls

Leave a Comment