Stress Score Monitoring
Reasons for Measuring and Monitoring your Stress Score
- Too much stress for an extended period of time is bad for your health (fatigue, depression, fat gain, risk of injury,…)
- It is possible to see in which condition the body is
- It stops guessing. Can I do a hard workout or do I need more rest?
- Adjustments in training and lifestyle can be made (sleep, nutrition, work, training load,….)
- It is easy to do
In the following paragraphs we will see what is used to measure the stress score.
HRV Heart Rate Variability
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| Illustration of an Electrocardiogram |
HRV Measurement
For the HRV measurement I use the Garmin Forerunner 735XT and the HRM-Run heart rate monitor. With the build in optical heart rate monitor it is not possible to do the test. It is a 3 min test. You have to stand and if possible do the test always at the same time every day. As first thing in the morning, I do it directly after getting up . Actually the watch doesn’t show the HRV directly, but a calculated value from 1 (low stress) to 100 (very high stress).
Below you can see a complete test cycle.
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Stress Score Results
The graphic below shows my test results from the last two month (May and June 2018). The average is 70, which means high stress. The red trend line is going up. This means I am getting a little bit more stressed over this period. This is expected, because I started my 16 week training program for a half marathon in September (First Goal).
Summery
For me this test is part of my morning routine and a short meditation. It´s clear that a 3 min test is only a little peace of the whole picture, but it gives me an insight view into my body, which I can use to adjust my day and training. For example if I score over 90 (very high stress) I take a nap in my lunch break and take it easy on a scheduled run in the afternoon. You may suggest that it is possible to forget this test, listen to the body and make notes every day how you feel. That is totally possible. Sometimes, I can already predict how the results of the test will look like, especially when my body is really stressed (bad night, hard training the day before, etc.). I use it because I have the equipment, made it a habit and like to have measured values.
What can I do now with this information? In my case, a first step to reduce the average stress score would be, to sleep more than 7:30 hours per night. But this sounds easier that it actually is. We will see. Anyway I will continue to measure the stress score and post regular updates (every two month).
Just to clarify things. I’m not working for any of the above mentioned companies nor do I get any money or any other benefits from them. It’s all my own opinion. If this changes I will state it clearly. Thanks for reading.
