Although you might not realize this, your smartphone has one incredible feature that might be quite beneficial for you – with its back cameras and flash, you could measure your heart rate in a matter of seconds. What does this mean? Well, it means that there are apps available on the market that could measure your pulse, meaning that you could use it for monitoring your health.
But, how reliable are these apps? Do they work equally well on iOS and Android phones? Will they provide you with reliable data that you could use? Luckily for all individuals that are wondering the same things, the article below could provide you with the answers you’re looking for. Here is what you should know about these apps, as well as how to choose one:
Heart Monitoring Apps: Explained
Before we take a look at how accurate these apps are, as well as what to look for when choosing such an app, let’s look at the concept behind them. To monitor your pulse, these applications use a process that is referred to as “photoplethysmography”. What is it capable of doing? Well, each time your heart sends blood through your body, the small vessels in your skin expand. Hence, when your flash sends light to the skin, the camera is capable of capturing the hue changes that occur when your heart pumps blood.
So, Are These Apps Reliable?
Now, the very first thing that you should know is that you’ll need to be completely still if you want to take your heart rate with such apps. Why is this necessary? Well, such apps cannot continuously monitor your pulse as external monitors could, hence, if you want the results to be as accurate as possible when using your Android smartphone, you’ll have to drop everything that you’re doing and stand still for approximately 15 seconds until you can take your pulse.
There is a wide range of programs such as the Welltory app that will measure your heart rate variability, which suggests that you could use such apps for analyzing your entire system, including stress, the odds of you becoming ill, and so on. Additionally, it could mean the differences between your heartbeats in milliseconds, thus, it can provide you with more precise results. So, if you want to measure various things with your smartphone, you could choose to download a heart rate variability app. You can find out more about it at Welltory.com
Most smartphones will use their built-in cameras to allow their users to take their pulse, without needing to calculate anything. Hence, you should definitely opt for using such programs if you want to measure your pulse. Keep in mind, there is a wide range of apps available on the market that might require you to tap your fingers on your screen to take your pulse, while there are also others that’ll tell you how to count in order to take your heartbeat.
What to Look For in Such Apps?
Before we conclude this article, there are a few things worth mentioning about choosing and using such applications. Why is this important? Well, all of them are different, which is why you’ll have to know what to look for in order to choose one that’ll correctly and properly take your pulse. Hence, if you want to make sure that you opt to download an application that’ll suit your needs and provide you with reliable results, you should consider and do the following things:
- Firstly Make a List – before you opt for an app, the first thing that you should do is to make a list of the best HRV apps. By doing so, it’ll be easier for you to compare all of the features, and if something doesn’t suit your needs, you could scratch it off your list, until you are left with some of the best options out there.
- Ease of Use – another important thing that you should look for is how easy it is to use a particular app. Why is this important? Well, you’ll want to be able to read the text easily, it should be easy to navigate, and if you often exercise, it should have large numbers and text so that you can view the results, even if you’re, for example, running.
- The Max Heart Rate – if there is one thing that you should take away from this article, it’s the fact that you need to ensure that it can notify you when your pulse goes up. Apps such as Welltory.com can also notify you when your stress and anxiety levels are too high, hence, you should look for this feature so that you can take action to lower these levels.
- Can it Be Linked With Your PC? – If you want the app to should you additional data when you’re, for instance, exercising, you should check whether or not it can be connected to your PC or laptop. After all, some might not have this feature, and if you want to see the data on other devices, see if can be linked.
- Audio Alerts Are Important – almost every application available on the market will send you notifications if your heart rate goes up relatively quickly, but, audio alerts might be quite useful, especially if you suffer from cardiovascular illnesses, so, ensure that it offers audio alerts if you need it.
- Read The Reviews – last on our list is the fact that you must read the reviews. Now, of course, if there are more negative than positive reviews, you should scratch that app from the list you made, and by doing so, you could ensure that you opt for a suitable option for your needs.
Conclusion
As you were able to learn, heart monitoring apps for Android smartphones could be accurate, but, in order for you to ensure this, you’ll have to look for some specific features. This is one of the main reasons why you should look for the features we mentioned in the article above.
So, now that you know what these apps are and how to find one that’ll provide you with correct results, you shouldn’t lose any more time. Instead, you should start browsing for a heart monitoring app that’ll provide you with the statistics you need and that’ll be precise and correct.
