You may be wondering if women's sex hormones make such a big difference. The answer is yes. The physiological cycle you are in and whether you are perimenopausal or postmenopausal can cause differences in the following areas
Resting heart rate
Body temperature
Length of sleep stages
Quality of sleep
Energy levels
Mood
Metabolism
Exercise capacity
and more
IMPORTANT NOTE Hormonal traits are unique to each of us and exist on a spectrum. Anyone (female, intersex or otherwise) who experiences regular hormonal changes within the range of biological women will experience similar changes in their health data over time.
Qring is one of the wearable devices designed for women's health.
Accuracy and reliability are two of the most important factors women care about when it comes to their health data.
We think women deserve wearable health technology that takes into account your unique body composition and can decipher how that composition affects your health outcomes.
Below, we'll take a look at Qring's internal metrics.
Qring uses advanced sensors, user-recorded information, and sophisticated algorithms to track key health metrics and give you insight into your health. Let's take a look at some of the metrics Qring automatically collects for tracking.
Heart Rate
Lady meditating in nature wearing her health tracking ring
Heart rate is the number of times the heart beats per minute (BPM). A healthy range for the average adult woman is 78 to 82 beats per minute. (Comparatively, the average healthy range for men is between 70 and 72 BPM)3.
Of course, everyone's resting heart rate (RHR) has a different healthy range. People who exercise regularly have lower resting heart rates. Resting heart rate is also higher during pregnancy and during the ovulatory and luteal phases of menstruation.
This is why gender-specific wearable technology is so important. If these differences are not taken into account, a woman's average heart rate may be perceived as high when it's actually within a healthy range.
Qring measures heart rate:
Day/night - every five minutes while awake and while asleep
Qring passively samples and tracks your heart rate around the clock. It samples your heart rate periodically while you sleep and provides your average RHR when you wake up.
Heart Rate Variability
Heart rate variability (HRV) is the variation in time between heartbeats. HRV is often used to assess recovery (how quickly the heart rhythm returns to baseline after stress).
Let's assume you have completed a hard workout. During the workout, your heart rate speeds up and then returns to a normal heart rate over the next few minutes. A higher HRV means your heart recovers faster from the workout, which is considered a sign of good health.
Together, heart rate variability and heart rate can provide valuable insights to help you understand when you're feeling stressed and when you may need to prioritize rest and recovery.
Of course, "normal" heart rate variability is different for each of us. Therefore, Qring analyzes your biometrics to assess your unique baseline heart rate variability.
Blood Oxygen Level (SpO2)
SpO2 measures the amount of oxygen in the blood and is expressed as a percentage. An oxygen saturation level between 95%-100% is considered an indicator of good health.
An oxygen saturation level below 90% is called hypoxia. When hypoxia occurs, the body cannot get enough oxygenated blood to continue to maintain homeostasis. This can happen for a number of reasons, including poor lung or heart health. If your blood oxygen level is below 90%, you may need to contact your doctor for specialized treatment.
You can use Qring's "spot check" feature to track your blood oxygen levels in real time for up to 40 seconds, providing you with extremely accurate insights.
Sleep Quality
Woman resting in bed wearing sleep tracker women's smart ring
Sleep can be your greatest ally ...... It can also be your worst enemy. A good night's sleep gives your body time to rest, repair itself, rejuvenate, boost memory, increase energy, promote heart health and boost immunity, just to name a few.
But getting 7-8 hours of sleep doesn't necessarily mean you're getting quality sleep. Each sleep stage has its own unique processes that are critical to your overall health.
Qring is a powerful sleep tracker that provides a comprehensive view of your sleep health. It monitors
Sleep patterns
Sleep respiration rate
Time spent in each sleep stage
Qring also evaluates your other biometrics based on your sleep data, so you know when sleep is affecting your health. qring also sends you tips to improve your sleep habits, so you can sleep better.
An added bonus?Qring features a streamlined design that flexes during the night to accommodate the natural swelling that often occurs.
Breathing Rate
Respiratory rate refers to the duration and quality of breathing and is an important insight into lung health and blood circulation. High-quality gender-specific data is needed here because women have a higher baseline respiratory rate, smaller airways and different rib shapes compared to men.
Higher respiratory rates are associated with activation of our internal stress response system, lower heart rate variability, heart health problems, pneumonia and other adverse health outcomes.
Slow, deep breathing, on the other hand, increases heart rate variability and supports our rest and relaxation response.
Qring monitors your respiratory rate to establish your personal health baseline and measures it throughout the night.
Skin Temperature
Skin temperature is often overlooked but is a key indicator of health. Each morning, as part of your sleep analysis, you can view the average skin temperature change from the previous night. Skin temperature changes naturally as we go to sleep, which can reflect our blood circulation, general health, and menstrual cycle.
Currently, changes in skin temperature are not directly factored into ovulation estimates. However, we are working to add this feature in the future.
Qring Health & Wellness Tracker App - Upcoming Features: Skin Temperature Ovulation Prediction
Steps, Activity and Calories
Did you know that a modest increase in the number of steps taken per day is associated with increased longevity? A study of more than 16,000 older women found that women who averaged at least 4,400 steps per day had a lower mortality rate compared to women who averaged only 2,700 steps per day. The life-extending benefits increased gradually up to 7,500 steps per day and then leveled off.
Qring tracks your steps and active minutes with its accelerometer, supporting your health goals in every way.Qring tracks your steps and active minutes with its accelerometer, supporting your health goals in every way. It also tracks your heart rate based on your daily steps, giving you a detailed view of your fitness level and daily calorie burn.
User-recorded metrics
The metrics we've explored above are all passively collected, meaning you can measure, track and record them without lifting a finger. To further improve the relevance of your data, Qring also invites you to record metrics such as menstrual symptoms, mood, and exercise.
Exercise.
Women Who Jump Rope Using Women's Smart Rings to Track Their Health
Nourishing your body through muscle-strengthening exercise and heart-rate-raising sweating can have a big impact on both daily and long-term health. For example, regular exercise has been linked to improved mood, better general health and even better brain health10.
Qring allows you to track your workouts in real time. Simply start a workout on the app and Qring will track your heart rate, calories burned, steps taken and distance traveled. After your workout, you'll receive a detailed workout report that lets you identify areas for improvement, connect exercise to your health routine, and more.
Menstrual Symptoms and Period Records
It's surprising how much the menstrual cycle can affect health data. For example, did you know that throughout your menstrual cycle, different exercise strategies can benefit you greatly? Or that different hormone levels throughout your cycle affect the quality of your sleep?
You can record and track your cycles and symptoms with Qring, giving you a deeper understanding of how your menstrual cycle affects your other health conditions.
Qring utilizes the first day of your last menstrual period, your menstrual cycle, and your cycle length to display your fertility window, ovulation date, and menstrual period in a calendar format. By tracking your menstrual symptoms, you can identify menstrual patterns to help you better manage your health.
Mood and Energy
Few things make a day as good or as bad as mood and energy. You can have everything going your way, but if you have low energy and a bad mood, you're likely to say it was a bad day.
Our mood and energy levels are causal to all our other health indicators. They are both the end result of your health and contribute to other aspects of your health.
