BPM - Smartwatch wearers

[Count Steer]

Something in another thread got me wondering. Having bought a Garmin GPS watch recently I kept it on all the time to look at the sleep/stress things (it's all a bit of a novelty ).

My resting heart rate average is 51 but it really only gets down there when I'm asleep. Typically, sat reading etc it's about 68-70. I'd expect it to be a bit lower when lying flat - pumped height and all that.

Q? Does anyone else get the same day/night difference? What figure do you use for working out threshold levels for exercise?

(51 would generally be regarded as low - except for athletes. I'm not unfit...don't drink, don't smoke*, do swim and stuff but I wouldn't call myself an athlete ).

* What do you do? Subtle innuendos follow.

[weeksy]

my resting is low 40s.... my max is 184.... evening it's about 50 or so.

[Count Steer]

my resting is low 40s.... my max is 184.... evening it's about 50 or so.

Low 40s? Wow.

I do wonder about using the night-time readings as a basis for thresholds. Before smartwatches nobody really measured the resting rate at night so they were calculated on day-time 'at rest' rates. I suspect sleeping rates are consistently lower so smartwatches probably apply lower thresholds for moderate/vigorous activity intensity....unless they've factored it in.

[MrLongbeard]

Sleeping 45 - 50
Resting 65
Sitting around chatting / watching TV < 75
Maxes out @ 150 when exercising

[Mr Moofo]

My resting can be in the upper 40s, but now is round 50 -52. I am not sure how they actually judge or calculate "resting". Nominally during the day is is maybe 60?

Maxing - about a year ago I could hit a very Weeksyesque 178 - but now 158

[Horse]

my resting is low 40s....

On a first aid course, someone with resting HR of 44 was advised to wear a medical ID tag or similar as - if you're unconscious and can't explain - emergency medics might identify it as a problem and treat accordingly.

[Slenver]

My resting is apparently low 50s and maxes about 170 mostly. I don't wear a watch at night.

What I find interesting is that my resting rate was always quite high from my teens onward. Admittedly I didn't have an Apple Watch in 1990, but I don't think I ever saw less than about 77 whenever I measured it. I drank and smoked far too much and never did any exercise, mind you, though was never overweight, and I do do exercise now and don't smoke, but it seems a pretty big drop in resting rate. Doesn't it slow with age too though?

[Count Steer]

my resting is low 40s....

On a first aid course, someone with resting HR of 44 was advised to wear a medical ID tag or similar as - if you're unconscious and can't explain - emergency medics might identify it as a problem and treat accordingly.

Yup. Bradycardia might be a reason.

'Bradycardia is a heart rate that's too slow. What's considered too slow can depend on your age and physical condition. Elderly people, for example, are more prone to bradycardia. In general, for adults, a resting heart rate of fewer than 60 beats per minute (BPM) qualifies as bradycardia.'

[Crosshair]

Best place to pin HR zones is off of your threshold HR which is the average HR for the last 20mins of a 30min all out effort.

That said, Stephen Seller likes to look at HRReserve which is Max-Min (So Weeksy would have a HRR of 140).

I don't use a device other than when cycling but my RHR is about 48 and my Max still (infrequently now) 200. So a HRR of 152.

Using the Seiler method to work out when you switch from 'endurance/fat burning' exercise to the slippery slope of carbs/lactate, you take 60% of HRR. So for me, that would be 139bpm (60% of 152 + the original 48 RHR).

That's a useful ceiling for endurance rides and actually gives me more flexibility than riding to my power meter (I can blip up a hill with some extra watts before my HR "notices").

[2xtwins]

Thanks for starting this thread @Count Steer .

It's a conversation I've had with @Tricky quite recently as I bought his spare Garmin from him and he also gave me his old rowing machine, as I was about to buy one on ebay to attempt to get a better level of fitness as I'd lost a bit of focus.

Up until about 6 months ago I was using my son's Concept 2 Bikeerg (he lent it to his partner so I no longer have the use of it) with a chest strap and now use the Garmin.

Before giving the figures I should say that, as some of you will know, just over 2 years ago I had heart surgery as I had an episode and my heart now operates at less than full efficiency - probably at 75-80% my consultant estimated when I was signed off last year.

I am on a beta-blocker and another blood pressure drug, together with aspirin and a statin, and will be for life, I'm told.

So....the figures - Garmin is saying I am at 51 bpm sitting here and this goes as low as 42/43 overnight. I generally exercise to 125 bpm with occasional HIIT-type spurts to 145. Medics are happy with this and, for contrast, for the 6 months post heart attack I had to keep to 112max.

I am 62 years old, measure my oxygen sats and blood pressure fairly regularly - the meds are designed to keep me to max 120/80 and I was 108/64 this morning.

Hope I haven't derailed the thread but it's interesting to hear what level other, ostensibly healthy, peeps are exercising at and how you all measure it.

Thanks again.

Kev

[MrLongbeard]

interesting to hear what level other, ostensibly healthy, peeps are exercising at

You can safely ignore my post above then.
I'm healthier than I was but I sure as shit ain't healthy

[Count Steer]

Hi Kev, do you ever monitor blood O2 overnight at 42/43 bpm? I had a play with the blood O2 monitor on my Garmin but it's really temperamental. Keeps telling me to be still. (Have a proper one but it doesn't log. I sometimes wonder if I get sleep apnoeia so contemplated using the Garmin but it's a waste of time if it's not accurate).

(I did do the BP and blood O2 regularly at one time after a bit of a lungs/blood/X-ray shadow event but mainly it's monitoring 'er indoors fibrillation these days).

I don't pay much attention to the readings when exercising - mainly hiking up and down hills - just look at them after. Although, having said that, I'll slow going up hills if the BPM gets high just to pace myself a bit, so I do check it. Also noted that my recovery rate ain't what it used to be (then again, what is? )

I tried using it for swimming but it stopped reading the pulse once water got under it. Nice to know my Swolf score is pretty fair though.

Overall I'm pleased I bought my Garmin - which was really for the GPS coordinates rather than anything else. As a rough guide I think they're pretty good but all these low resting rates seem a bit we can't all be Olympic athletes! Hence my Q? about low sleeping BPMs cf typical daytime resting rate. Also, according to mine I'm a stress monkey during the day and get little, if any deep sleep at night. I'll take both of those with a pinch of salt.

[2xtwins]

Hi Kev, do you ever monitor blood O2 overnight at 42/43 bpm

As a rough guide I think they're pretty good but all these low resting rates seem a bit we can't all be Olympic athletes! Hence my Q? about low sleeping BPMs cf typical daytime resting rate. Also, according to mine I'm a stress monkey during the day and get little, if any deep sleep at night. I'll take both of those with a pinch of salt.

Re the blood sats, no, I only ever check during the day and that's with a finger oximeter like was used on me in the hospital.

It also measures heart rate and is consistent with the Garmin and with my Omron BP machine so I've no reason to doubt the night-time figures.

As implied, the reason my figures are low can be directly related to my meds - part of my heart is dead so it wouldn't cope with a high blood pressure reading...

Kev

[Count Steer]

Hi Kev, do you ever monitor blood O2 overnight at 42/43 bpm

As a rough guide I think they're pretty good but all these low resting rates seem a bit we can't all be Olympic athletes! Hence my Q? about low sleeping BPMs cf typical daytime resting rate. Also, according to mine I'm a stress monkey during the day and get little, if any deep sleep at night. I'll take both of those with a pinch of salt.

Re the blood sats, no, I only ever check during the day and that's with a finger oximeter like was used on me in the hospital.

It also measures heart rate and is consistent with the Garmin and with my Omron BP machine so I've no reason to doubt the night-time figures.

As implied, the reason my figures are low can be directly related to my meds - part of my heart is dead so it wouldn't cope with a high blood pressure reading...

Kev

I'll have to do a compare with the Garmin and the pulse oximeter....hang on....

Pulse rate - same, blood O2 was 3% down on first reading on the watch but after 3 readings they're both 98% so, I suppose, variation within stated % accuracy. Left it a few mins and did it again. 95/98 so the watch tends lower and 95 is getting sketchy.

I understand that your average pulse is low for a reason (!). It's just that the rest of us appear to be Olympians if we take the night readings as average resting figure.

My about the Garmin accuracy are the 'stress' and 'sleep' measurements. As I understand it the 'stress' is short period pulse variation and the 'sleep' is a combination of pulse, pulse variability and accelerometer measurements. I may just be a twitchy sleeper. The 'stress' and 'sleep' feed into the 'Body Battery' - mines as flat as Weeksy's Vito!...current value 5/100 As I say, I'll take that reading with the pinch of salt.

I'll keep measuring and see if things change on cooler nights. (Scientist at heart...oi loiks experiments ).

[MingtheMerciless]

Sleeping 40-44, I work shifts and poor sleep compounded by my mothers and grandmothers genetics/insomnia means that this can be a bit variable.

Daytime resting 50-70.

Redline this year is about 182.

I’m 53 with a crap diet.

I use a polar watch for general HRM stuff but it’s rubbish when cycling so it gets coupled with a chest strap HR monitor.

My youngest brother when he was in his late 30’s was running marathons and longer in ridiculously quick times and went for a company medical, the Dr freaked out as his resting HR was mid to high 30’s but calmed down a bit when my brother explained why.

[G.P]

Interesting, I don't have a smart watch so I only ever see my HR when doing my BP on my Omron Monitor. Generally my pulse is between 60 and 70. Maybe the excitement of getting the BP numbers set it racing?

[Mr Moofo]

Just one word of warning - I think only an Apple Watch is good enough to be regarded as medically data sound. The Garmin HRM is all over the place - or at least mine is. The optical sensors don't seem to be that great. On minute I am at 141 bpm, next minute it will say 80.
Hence I have started to use an external monitor - directly to my iPhone. Not sure if it any more accurate - but it is more consistent.
As for O2 sensors - how do they measure that - I assume blood colour?? If so , how is it calibrated?

[Count Steer]

Just one word of warning - I think only an Apple Watch is good enough to be regarded as medically data sound. The Garmin HRM is all over the place - or at least mine is. The optical sensors don't seem to be that great. On minute I am at 141 bpm, next minute it will say 80.
Hence I have started to use an external monitor - directly to my iPhone. Not sure if it any more accurate - but it is more consistent.
As for O2 sensors - how do they measure that - I assume blood colour?? If so , how is it calibrated?

'Proper' fingertip pulse oximeters measure something happening to the light as it passes through the finger. Some sort of absorption at a particular frequency? Dunno but I do know the watch can't do the through thing! It must shine the light in and measure what comes back. My pulse oximeter came with all sorts of certification for medical use so I assume it was calibrated. It also has a valid 'life' and should be ditched after x years. It's pretty much the same as the one they used on me at the hospital apart from being wired. (I assume they don't want to keep changing batteries in a hospital situation).

PS The pulse measurement with the Garmin seems consistent on mine (I know that's not the same as correct or accurate but consistent it is. ).

[MrLongbeard]

Just one word of warning - I think only an Apple Watch is good enough to be regarded as medically data sound. The Garmin HRM is all over the place - or at least mine is. The optical sensors don't seem to be that great. On minute I am at 141 bpm, next minute it will say 80.
Hence I have started to use an external monitor - directly to my iPhone. Not sure if it any more accurate - but it is more consistent.
As for O2 sensors - how do they measure that - I assume blood colour?? If so , how is it calibrated?

My Samsung Watch 3 is FDA approved, and tallies comparably with my Scosche HRM (although that's arm worn not chest) so I'm happy it's accurate enough, I'll check it against my Omron3 when I next get pulled in by the GP and need to take a weeks worth of readings.

I'd assume smart watch Oximeters work the same as medical oximeters, by blood colour.

If you're getting dodgy readings on your watch make sure it's worn tightly and the sensor isn't blocked too much by hairs, I have to shave part of my arm for my Scosche to work else it bounces up and down all over the place.

[Skub]

I have to shave part of my arm for my Scosche to work else it bounces up and down all over the place.

You need a sasq-watch.