We are pleased to announce that as of March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor has been introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

What do you think of Garmin's all day stress tracking?

NorthCascades
NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I just noticed that the feature came to my Fenix. I think it's been in the vivo series for months. A lot of people in here use Garmin stuff, anybody have any thoughts on this?

Replies

  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    I don't have it on my first gen VA but have the 3 on pre-order (next week, beside myself) and will be interested to see what it says about anxious old me.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    The number goes up when I'm in a meeting or driving in traffic, down when I'm sitting at my desk or home with a book or a cat. It can't measure while you're moving.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    What does it say is used as a measurement for the stress? Is it just heart rate? Heart rate spikes over short periods? SPO2?
  • chrismellor01
    chrismellor01 Posts: 77 Member
    I get a stress indication from mine - but - I don't know if I am stressed and it's picking things up I don't know about or what...

    I personally like having a tight deadline and the stress that it puts me under - I see that as positive stress - it makes me achieve...

    So - should this be counted or not?

    For the rest of the Garmin Viviosmart3 thing - I love it - HR is (for me) one of one match with my Polar chest strap. Step counter is great and I like that I get notifications. Very happy but honestly not convinced with the stress.

    That said - the sleep monitor function I think is also pretty accurate.
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    I just saw it for the first time this morning (was it always there or did it come via a software update?). Not sure what to make of it. I'm not entirely sure what the information means or what I can/should do about it.

    It says my average stress level is slightly below 50 (which I think means I'm good), but there have been some pretty big swings on a daily basis. Oddly enough, I don't think I felt any more or less stress on any of those days.

    On the plus side, my VO2max increased this morning! I know it's really only because we finally got some good fall air around my parts but still, it's nice to be told that my fitness level is equal to that of someone half my age.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    leggup wrote: »
    What does it say is used as a measurement for the stress? Is it just heart rate? Heart rate spikes over short periods? SPO2?

    HRV, the variations in timing between individual heart beats. Entirely different thing than pulse rate.

    The software is made by First Beat, Garmin just licenses it for some of their devices.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    DX2JX2 wrote: »
    I just saw it for the first time this morning (was it always there or did it come via a software update?). Not sure what to make of it. I'm not entirely sure what the information means or what I can/should do about it.

    It says my average stress level is slightly below 50 (which I think means I'm good), but there have been some pretty big swings on a daily basis. Oddly enough, I don't think I felt any more or less stress on any of those days.

    On the plus side, my VO2max increased this morning! I know it's really only because we finally got some good fall air around my parts but still, it's nice to be told that my fitness level is equal to that of someone half my age.

    It's been in my watch for about a week, came down by software update. I only noticed in the mobile app.

    Mine is 20 to 25 sitting at my desk. It jumps up to 40+ in meetings, traffic, and when I think of everything I have to accomplish and how little time I've got.
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    I just noticed that you can add a widget to your watch for it, too. I don't think the real-time monitoring makes much sense though. I just watched it fluctuate from 25 to 58 while doing nothing but sitting at my desk.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    I saw a general explanation of what it indicates but for the life of me don't remember where it was and fully what it said. I think there's a sweet spot, some stress is good for you (though I don't know how having low stress levels all the time can be bad? Maybe it means exercise is a positive stress you want some of?) and that's what it's giving you. Maybe it will tell me in the bumf I'll get with my new watch.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    It would probably make me more stressed out seeing how stressed out I am...
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    I find it intriguing that when I'm wearing my HRM (during a run) when my same fancy Garmin is using the HRV info from that HRM to guesstimate my VO2Max and lactate threshold, those data points are excluded from the all day stress thing in favor of just the OHR?

    I have monitored my HRV for a couple of years now as a measure of general body stress and I've never once had it be wrong. Meaning when it tells me I'm fatiued/recovering, even when I feel fine, my workout says I'm fatigued/recovering (and vice versa). It's been an invaluable tool for me to maximize my efforts around when my body is ready (or not) to work. I've only seen this for a few days now (I have a Fenix 5s) and I find it interesting but nowhere near enough data points yet to understand what it means for me or how I'm going to apply this data in a meaningful way.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    So I'm reading about this. Here's a short interview talking about the usefulness, it isn't very concrete, but it's interesting.

    https://www.firstbeat.com/en/blog/all-day-stress-added-to-garmin-forerunner-935-and-fenix-5-whats-it-all-about/

    And here's a quick blurb from their site:

    What is it?

    All-day stress monitoring reveals the presence and intensity of stress and recovery reactions as the exist in your body as physiological phenomena. This means that you can quickly see how much of your day is spent experiencing stress and how successful your body was in offsetting those stressful moments with adequate recovery. Stress is an important and unavoidable part of life, so the goal is not to eliminate it but to establish the healthy balance between stress and rest that is essential to personal well-being.

    Key Benefits:

    Discover how your body responds to life’s challenges
    Identify key moments of stress and rest throughout the day
    Guide health and lifestyle decisions based on scientific insight
    Work towards balance for enhanced personal well-being
This discussion has been closed.

Categories