It’s become clear that the Apple Watch’s core use case is around health and wellness. Welltory is an Apple Watch and iPhone app that uses Heart Rate Variability to track steps, energy and overall health levels.
| Product | Welltory |
| What is it | Health tracking app |
| Price | Free In-App Purchases 12mo Heart Rate Health Monitor: $109.99 1mo. Blood Pressure & Stress: $19.49 Heart rate monitor & self help: $19.49 AI health coach for 365 days: $159.99 Try All the Features: $79.99 Lifetime Premium: $499.99 |
Before I get into the app, it’s important to understand some of the science behind the app. And the main thing to focus on is heart rate variability.
What is Heart Rate Variability?
Welltory bases a lot of its insights on Heart Rate Variability (HRV). Usually, when we have our pulse measured, we simply count the beats per minute. Implicit in that measurement is an assumption that our heart beat is even. For example, when we have a heart rate of 60 beats per minute, we assume that means out heart beats once each second.
But there are natural, very tiny variations in our heart beat frequency that we can’t measure by simply counting the beats. Even when we are inactive, our pulse varies slightly. This variation in the frequency of heartbeats is HRV.
What does HRV tell us?
When we are in a relaxed state that is relatively free of stress, our HRV increases. It may seem counterintuitive but a higher HRV is usually a good thing. That’s because when we are in a heightened state of stress, our body’s automatic pilot (the autonomic nervous system) takes over and tries to regulate everything to a steady state. So, our HRV decreases.
When I talk about stress in this context, I don’t just mean heightened anxiety. I’m also talking about physiological stress such as over exercising or not sleeping well or enough. That’s important as Welltory looks at that data when making assessments as to your current state.
How does Welltory measure HRV?
Welltory can only collect HRV data from two sources:
- An Apple Watch through its heart rate monitor
- Your iPhone by using its camera
Although Welltory can connect to over 120 other data sources, it uses those to gain insights about your activity, diet, sleep and other activities. Welltory, itself, only measures HRV.
What does Welltory do with the data it collects and collates?
Welltory uses the HRV data and applies its own algorithms to bring you three key metrics:
- Stress
- Energy
- Health
Each metric is displayed as both a percentage and as a ‘traffic light with green meaning good, red being bad and yellow as in between.
The data is presented in a feed that also shows things such as exercise performance, sleep quality as well as tips and facts to help you make better health decisions.
One of the more interesting aspects of the advice Welltory gives is that it offers exercise, movement and stand goals that are based on your HRV scores rather than the fixed goals dictated by Apple’s rings. For example, my Apple ring goals are
- 800 calories of activity
- 30 minutes of exercise
- 12 hours were I stand for at least a minute
In contrast, Welltory suggested that my goals for today should be
- 758 calories of activity
- 21 minutes of exercise
- 10 hours were I stand for at least a three minutes (Welltory measures stand hours differently to Apple)
I assume this is because I went on several bike rides yesterday which resulted in what Welltory deems an excessive level of stress on my body. In contrast, as I’d been inactive the day before, the app told me I needed to move a little more and get some more intense exercise.
This is where Welltory can be valuable. By using hard data, it enables you to make better decisions about your activity levels and when you should rest more.
Interestingly, buried a little behind a couple of options I can find some other interesting data. Welltory maintains a health journal and uses my Apple Watch’s temperature sensor to tell my average temperature each day. It can even tell where I’ve been most productive if I give access to my location as well as environmental conditions.
The is as close as I;ve come to finding an app that connects tot he quantified self movement.
Comparing what Welltory says to other apps
There are a couple of other apps I started using before Welltory – Gentler Streak and SleepWatch.
When I compare what Gentler Streak tells me with Welltory, the data matches quite well. For example, Gentler Streak tells me I’m “pushing hard” at the moment. This fits in with Welltory that says my energy level is in the red zone.
SleepWatch is a very popular sleep tracking app. The data the two apps show is consistent. Both apps give a ‘sleep score’ which was high for both. The two apps using different scales with Welltory rating my sleep at 89% while SleepWatch gave me a score of 899 out of 1000.
Given the data between Welltory and the other apps has been consistent over several weeks, it’s likely I’ll ditch Gentler Streak and SleepWatch once my annual subs for those are due.
The Welltory Apple Watch app
The Welltory Apple Watch app displays the most recent set of measurements from the app. However, it only updates on the watch when you open the iPhone app. So, if I don’t open the app for a day or two, the watch displays old data.
I have Welltory displayed as a complication on the Modular Duo watch face. The other complication is Gentler Streak. As you can see, it’s advice is to rest which is not surprising given Welltory is telling me my energy level is low.
Would I recommend Welltory?
I have strong commitment to my health so I’m always on the look out for tools that can help me. Welltory is the first app I’ve found that takes a serious step towards giving me actionable insights I can actually use. It’s using data from my activities, Apple Watch and nutrition (via MyFitnessPal) to give me information I can use.
If you’re serious about your well-being and love looking at data, Welltory is a great app.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.