Device and browser requirements — HRV training at home and in consultations
Our training relies on the exact timing between each of your heartbeats, not just your heart rate. Most fitness wearables only report heart rate, so they won’t work for this. The sensors below send the beat-to-beat data the programme depends on.
Recommended sensor
Polar H10 chest strap
Our recommended and preferred device. It records an ECG signal from the chest, which gives true beat-to-beat (R-R) timing. This is the same class of data used in research, and it’s what we verify the platform against.
If a chest strap doesn’t suit you
Polar Verity Sense (optical armband). Not everyone is comfortable wearing a chest strap, so this is our alternative. It reads your pulse optically at the upper arm rather than the electrical signal at the chest, so it is less sensitive than the H10 and its beat-to-beat timing is a little noisier. It still sends its readings to the NeuroZen app, which watches and wrist bands do not. If you can wear the H10, choose the H10.
Why we ask for the Polar H10
The H10 reads the electrical signal of each heartbeat at the chest, the way an ECG does, and reports the exact time from one beat to the next. That beat-to-beat timing is the signal the training runs on. It is the strap used in published heart rate variability research, and it is the one we verify the platform against, so your readings mean the same thing in the room as they do at home.
Other chest straps may transmit the same data, but we have not verified them against our own equipment. If you already own one, tell us at enquiry and we will look at it with you before your first session.
What will not work
Watches and wrist bands — Apple Watch, Fitbit, Oura, WHOOP and Garmin watches. These read blood flow at the wrist with a light sensor, then smooth and average it before reporting a number. They will show you a pulse, but they do not send the beat-to-beat timing a browser can read, so there is no training signal to work with.
Browser — just as important as the sensor
The platform connects to your sensor through the browser using Web Bluetooth.
Works
- Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge on Windows, Mac, ChromeOS or Android
Doesn’t work
- Safari (any device)
- Firefox
iPhone and iPad: Safari cannot connect to Bluetooth sensors. Install the free Bluefy browser from the App Store and log in to the platform through Bluefy, not Safari.
App Store link: https://apps.apple.com/app/id1492822055
Before your first telehealth session
Stuck? Reply to your welcome email or call the clinic and we’ll sort it before your session.