Physical and mental settlement and reconstruction in the post-epidemic era: the application of wearable devices

We have gone through a three-year health crisis, and what we need most now is physical and mental settlement and reconstruction. Wearables are great aids. This article outlines ten concepts that anyone must know. Take Garmin, which I’m most familiar with, as an example, but the concepts are generic.

Smart wearables have come a long way in the past decade. Modern heart rate sensors can not only measure heart rate, but also measure heart rate variability (in the past, so-called autonomic nerve detectors were required to measure). In the early days, only high-end sports watches could estimate the maximum oxygen uptake, and now Garmin can provide this data even entry-level wristbands.

You don’t get healthier just because you monitor your health every day. You have to know why you measure what, and how to use that data to train yourself. Remember, health comes from training, not monitoring or maintenance.

This article is also a very rough guide to the use of modern wearable devices. If you want to wear it, you need to use it, and if you want to use it, you need to know these things. To buy, you must at least know what you are buying. Although Garmin is used as an example, it is not an industry match.

If you need to learn more, please check the information and do your homework by yourself. Links to previous articles I have written on these topics will be attached.

Heart Rate Variability (HRV)

Heart rate variability is the change in the heart beat interval (RR interval to be precise). The more relaxed the body (parasympathetic dominance), the greater the heart rate variability. The more nervous (sympathetic nervous system), the smaller the heart rate variability. The watch may not give you this number directly, but the stress index and breathing rate are calculated based on heart rate variability.

Mindfulness Breathing

Mindful breathing comes from Zen and yoga. Simply put, it is to slow down your breathing, get rid of distracting thoughts, and focus on the present moment. Scientific research has found that mindful breathing can indeed regulate autonomic nerves and reduce stress. Great results in a few minutes. The Garmin device provides guided training for three breathing techniques: Box, Isometric, and 4-7-8.

• An Introductory Guide to Mindful Breathing for Garmin Smartwatch Users
• Concentrated Breathing for the Real World: Garmin’s Guide to Mindful Breathing
• Exercise and mindfulness are the best sleep aids

Body Age

How do you know whether your physical fitness is better or worse than that of people of the same age? Garmin’s Body Age 2.0 is estimated by the number of days and hours of high-intensity exercise, resting heart rate, body weight (or body fat percentage), roughly including physical fitness and body composition.

Resting Heart Rate (RHR)

Resting heart rate is the heart rate at complete rest, in a state of rest. It is especially necessary to wear it from bedtime to just waking up, and your watch will automatically estimate it. This is a very basic indicator of fitness and health. When you exercise for a period of time, your cardiovascular fitness improves and your resting heart rate gradually decreases.

Maximum Heart Rate (MHR)

There are individual differences in how many beats per minute the heart can beat. Generally, people can first use “220 – age” to estimate. For an accurate estimate, use high-intensity exercise to measure. Maximum heart rate decreases with age. Maximum heart rate is not a fitness indicator by itself, but you need it to estimate heart rate reserve.

Heart Rate Reserve (HRR)

The maximum heart rate minus the resting heart rate is the reserve heart rate, the range in which your heart rate can vary. Estimating heart rate zones using heart rate reserve percentages is more accurate than percentage maximum heart rate. The watch defaults to a percentage of your maximum heart rate, but you can change the setting.

Heart Rate Zones

A heart rate reserve of 50% or more is effective exercise. It is divided into five intervals between 50% and 100%. The energy system used in each interval is different, so it needs to be trained. In general, training hours are inversely proportional to intensity. The lower the intensity, the more hours, and the higher the intensity, the fewer hours. Don’t shy away from high intensity. People of any age need high-intensity exercise to promote health.

• Older people still need moderate to high-intensity exercise
• Garmin Daily Training Tips: Your Running Coach on the Go

Maximum oxygen uptake (VO₂Max)

VO2max is the maximum amount of oxygen that the human body can take in per kilogram of body weight per minute. It is a comprehensive indicator of the body’s aerobic fitness. What used to have to be measured in a laboratory can now be estimated in many wearable devices. People who actively train have higher VO2max than those who don’t. The upper limit of VO2 max for adults degrades year by year. But as long as you continue to maintain high-intensity training, you can continue to approach that upper limit.

Intensity Minutes

In addition to training at various intensities, how much time per week do you need to exercise to promote health? If you want to actively promote your health, the World Health Organization recommends aiming for at least 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise. Garmin’s hot blood time is automatically weighted by intensity, for example, for 50 minutes of high-intensity exercise, the hot blood time is 100.

build a habit

To promote physical and mental health, it is necessary to establish health-promoting habits: exercise well, eat well, and sleep well. If you can generalize the habit of “wearing a mask, washing your hands frequently, and maintaining social distance” during the new life of epidemic prevention to the establishment of new exercise, diet, and sleep disciplines, then that is the best value that the three-year epidemic has brought to you.

• Seven years of continuous exercise: health is the balance between movement and stillness, training and life
• To regain the dominance of life, start from the establishment of discipline
• How Someone Who Doesn’t Exercise at All Starts Exercising
• Eight Principles for Successful Eating Discipline