What if you could break up with all the stressors in your life—down-to-the-wire a.m. commutes, last-minute work turnarounds, and overflowing DVR included? There’s a new way to make it happen, because there’s an app for that.
Just as you can log your weekly runs to hit that under-a-ten-minute mile, you can do the same thing for stress. Vital Scout by VivaLNK helps you track your body’s stressors over a 24-hour period, so you can identify what’s making your stress levels spike—and finally do something about it.
It’s basically a total package wellness monitor (it adheres directly onto your skin) that tracks stress as well as recovery, sleep quality, and activity levels. And that’s huge news for your wellness.
“With this data, you can understand how activities impact stress and recovery, and therefore gain better control of your wellbeing,” says Sam Liu, VP of Marketing at VivaLNK. Your stress patterns will literally clue you in on what’s good for you (ahem, when they dip after Saturday-morning yoga) versus what you might need to cut out (lengthy work stretches without a break).
Scroll down to find out why stress tracking is the new fitness tracking—and how the Vital Scout works.
How Vital Scout works
As you go about your day, the futuristic-looking wellness tracker sticks to your chest and tracks your stress/recovery, heart/respiratory rates, fitness activity, and sleep situation. You can wear it comfortably for three days between charges—yup, it’s built to withstand your post-gym showers.
From there, the wellness tracker captures super granular data that ultimately gives you a bird’s eye view of your routine, which can lead to some surprising eureka moments (more on that later). “Virtually all activities from physical to mental will result in some physiological change to the heart,” Liu says. “Vital Scout uses a high-grade ECG sensor to capture heart rhythm, and an accelerometer to capture motion.”
You can see your all of your daily results laid out in a readable graph on the Vital Scout mobile app, which allows you to see exactly when certain behaviors triggered a shift. “With Vital Scout, you’ll be more aware of your daily habits and mindful of how your lifestyle choices affect your health,” Liu explains.
How it can help you actually chill out
Increasingly, we’re all cramming more into our days—and nudging off tiredness, tense shoulders, and anxious thoughts. But in the name of getting things done, are you ignoring signs of oncoming burnout?
Vital Scout helps avoid that. “Stress is a normal occurrence but prolonged high intensity stress can be harmful,” Liu says. “Detailed data views and historical trends enable you to better understand and address stress in order to promote well-being.”
You already know the physical and mental 180 you experience after chasing endorphins in spin class, reading poolside, and cuddling with your pet—ah, dream day—but you might not be aware of the smaller things that boost your sense of calm.
“Everyone knows that exercise can reduce stress, but slight adjustments such as taking a bath or shower, stepping away from the computer for 15 minutes to calm the mind, or a better relationship with co-workers can also have significant impacts,” Liu says. “With Vital Scout, you can also see the effects of all those activities for a comprehensive view.” Bring on the puppy cuddles.
To help you get on the stress-free train, take 15 percent off a Vital Scout Wellness Monitor with code #LIVEWELL2018.
In partnership with Vital Scout by VivaLNK
Photos: Vital Scout by VivaLNK
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