The Garmin Connect HRV Status Predicted the Obvious – Acute Illness

I have been wearing a Garmin Fenix 6 Pro for at least two years. I gave up wearing a watch at some point in the late 1990’s I think. Getting a watch on my right wrist (I am left-handed) took a while to get used to again. But one of the most important features in the watch is the overnight HRV Status.

The Fenix 6 uses NIRS to measure HRV status when I am asleep. It uses this information to count the minutes I spend in DEEP, LIGHT, and REM Sleep. It also records my waking moments.

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I HAVE OBSESSED OVER MY SLEEP QUALITY AND QUANTITY FOR A DECADE

I first began to notice that I was a poor sleeper in my mid 30’s. Allen Lim, a famous coach and product developer, talked in an old CyclingNews, about employing the ZEO Sleep Coach with his athletes on Grand Tours. Apparently one of the top cyclists in this current era, Tadej Pogacar, has the ability to sleep deeper, longer, than his peers, and this reflects in his ability to perform in these epic races. Mikaela Shiffrin, the record-breaking skier, apparently has the ability to sleep TEN HOURS, and NAP between runs on the course! This HAS to yield a positive effect!

I studied my sleep with that ZEO Sleep Coach until it fell apart and the company went bankrupt. More recently, I purchased a MUSE S EEG sleep tracker to replace it. I LOVE the information it gives me, but I have had a terrible time INTERPRETING THE DATA INTO USEFUL APPLICATION. In other words, I still haven’t conquered good sleep, and now that I am older, it’s hampering my performance.

FINDING AN ANSWER

One of the foremost experts in HRV Analysis is Dr. Marco Altini. He created an app that measures HRV in the morning, and comes up with a score to help determine the best approach to training that day. Honestly, he’s not a big fan of the Garmin Connect HRV Status, but I respect his contribution to the base of knowledge.

Dr. Altini QUIT DRINKING ALCOHOL.

His overnight HRV Values improved, his sleep improved, his workouts improved, and his weight improved. EVERYTHING improved.

SO…… For Lent, I (mostly) gave up drinking alcohol.

Now, I’m not going to claim to be a ’12-stepper’. I am not ‘Sober’. I just quit drinking alcohol every night, and focused on exercise and sleep.  You know what? My HRV Status improved. As it improved, my workouts improved. As the workouts improved, the weight has begun to improve. For four weeks, I have been about 95% alcohol-free, and this has led to better everything. Combine that with about 96-112 ounces of water every day, and things are starting to happen.

Until last night.

HRV Status Indicates Illness

My wife and I ate dinner out, and we combined it with drinks. I had not had a drink in about 10 days. The new restaurant, combined with the alcohol, sent my overnight HRV Status from a Baseline of 26 to 31 milliseconds between beats, down to 18 milliseconds. I slept poorly, and got sick around 1am. I was sweating in the sheets. It was a mild case of food poisoning, along with alcohol overconsumption. Now, I will discuss Garmin’s ‘Sleep Score‘ in another post, but the overnight HRV Status put me in the ‘RED’ zone, and I begrudgingly canceled my workout with my clients on VQVelocity.com, and instead, loaded up a replay.

I RARELY get sick, and I NEVER cancel workouts, live or recorded. No, I was not hung over. I was sick, dehydrated, and fatigued. The hours before a workout are critical; and I did not get quality recovery.

The Garmin Connect HRV Status recorded, and accurately warned me, to hold off on exercise, and instead, to take it easy and recover. HOURS into my day, I got a reminder on my watch that, yes, my day of recovery had led to, well, a recovery. I’ll try for a good night’s rest tonight, and should be okay for exercise tomorrow.

It’s Not The Night Before That Counts – It’s ALL the Nights Before That.

There’s an older Sports Psychology book  by Dr. Charles Garfield. There’s an interview chapter that I believe is relevant. The athlete, who was a high jumper, said, “It’s not the night before that counts, but all the nights before that.” I think Garmin’s HRV Status chart is now providing one more visualization of that. A good workout, a good series of workouts, depends on holistic consistency. It depends on a good night’s rest. It depends on weeks of good nights of rest. An athlete’s hydration needs to be optimal. I’m returning to a state of minimal alcohol intake. Not only do I want a balanced HRV status, I want a higher overnight average, that shows a true state of rest. Waking up a million times between sunset and sunrise is NOT HEALTHY OR PRODUCTIVE.

I know there are experts who will disagree with the information that the Garmin Connect ecosystem is providing. There are definitely issues with wrist-mounted or finger-mounted datapoints. But this is what I, we, you, the reader have PAID FOR with your investment in Garmin Hardware. Vicariously, it’s the information we need to observe and alter from the Garmin SOFTWARE that also matters.

I want to stay within this ecosystem long-term, and see where it leads. There’s relevant, important information being provided. I just don’t think there has been a long-term review OF that information. Let’s see where all of these data indicators lead. I myself am pretty excited!

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