Overview
Heart rate zones should match how you feel during different activities.
Update your zones if they feel wrong or if your baseline has changed.
You can recalculate your zones using recent data or adjust them manually in Pacing settings.
If you'd like our Member Support team to help, just get in touch in the app.
Heart rate zones can take some fine-tuning to get right. Don't worry if your zones ever need updating or personalizing. You know your body best, and our Member Support team is always here to help with any adjustments.
Your heart rate zones should match how you feel during an activity
To determine if your heart rate zones are reflective, check how you feel during different activities and if this matches your heart rate zones. For example:
You will usually be in the Rest zone for rest and recovery, sleeping and lying down, or doing relaxation exercises.
Your Activity zone is for day-to-day activities. These activities are different for each person but may include watching TV, cooking, working at your desk, or gentle movement.
Your Exertion zone captures activities that are more difficult to perform for extended periods. These activities raise your heart rate, and you may feel like your body is working harder than usual. Depending on your condition, these could include showering, cleaning the house, climbing stairs, or a brisk or uphill walk. Without effective pacing, these activities can worsen symptoms or trigger a crash.
Reflective heart rate zones are not about comparing them with other people, but listening to your body's signals and acknowledging if they fall outside of this guidance.
Similar activities might fall into different heart rate zones
It's important to consider context around your zones and why activities might show up slightly differently each day. For example:
If you're sitting and doing some mindfulness or a breathing exercise, you could be in Rest, whereas sitting and reading an exciting book could put you into Activity.
If you're watching a relaxing show you could dip into Rest. If you're watching a horror movie you could enter Activity or even Exertion at times!
Casual walking might record as Activity, but if you're in a rush somewhere, or carrying more things than usual, this could record as Exertion.
For some members, mental and emotional exertion also increases their heart rate. If you're having a stressful day, this might show up in your heart rate graph! For example, activities that usually record as Activity may instead record as Exertion.
Your zones should allow for these ups and downs. They're a guide to compare against, not a rigid rule.
Update your zones if they stop matching how you feel during an activity
You shouldn't recalculate your zones often, but you might want to do so for a few common reasons:
Your first 4 days didn't reflect your usual baseline. For example, you were in a crash, flare-up, or an unusually active period during the "Getting to know you" process.
You've started or stopped a medication that affects your heart rate. This can shift your resting heart rate, so your zones may no longer match how activities actually feel.
Your health has changed since you first set up your zones. As your condition changes, how you feel doing different activities can change too.
You've rejoined Visible after a break. Now that you have more recent data, you'll want to check whether your old heart rate zones still work well for you.
Your zones don't match your level of activity. For example, harder activities aren't showing as Exertion.
If you feel your zones need updating, you can recalculate them using more recent heart rate data. And if the suggested zones aren't quite right, you can also adjust them manually.
Recalculate your heart rate zones using recent data in Pacing settings
You can find your current Activity and Exertion zone thresholds in your Pacing settings. To update them using recent data that better reflects how you feel now:
Go to the Profile page
Go to Pacing settings
Go to Heart rate zones, and make sure Auto-generated zones is selected
Tap Update based on my latest data
Manually adjust your heart rate zones in Pacing settings if you prefer more control
You can also manually set your Activity and Exertion zone thresholds in Pacing settings:
Go to the Profile page
Go to Pacing settings
Go to Heart rate zones, and tap Set manually
Adjust your Activity and Exertion zones. We recommend adjusting by 5bpm at a time until you find the right zones.
Tap Save
Give it at least 2-3 full days to gather enough data to review your new zones before making any further changes. Gradual adjustments based on consistent data are more effective.
Member Support can guide you on adjusting your heart rate zones
Our Member Support team is happy to review your heart rate zones with you. Please get in touch with the Member Support team through the Profile section of the app and let us know that you need help adjusting your zones.
Help Member Support understand your needs when getting in touch
When you reach out, it helps to share relevant context about your life or illness so we can understand your needs and make better recommendations.
Since we don't have access to your tracked data, we also need to see:
A screenshot of your heart rate zones.
A screenshot of two days of recent heart rate data. Please tag a few activities where you were resting, active, or exerting yourself.
A member of our team will review your data and get back to you with guidance on adjustments.
Visit your Pacing settings to screenshot your heart rate zones
Go to the Profile page
Go to Pacing settings
Go to Heart rate zones
Screenshot your current heart rate zones.
Visit the Heart Rate page to screenshot your recent heart rate data
On the Today screen, tap on your live heart rate.
On the Heart Rate page, zoom out to show the whole day and screenshot the page.
How to take a screenshot on your phone
For iPhone users:
With Face ID (no Home button): Press the Side (power) button and the Volume Up button at the same time.
With Home button: Press the Home button and the Side (power) button at the same time.
For Android users:
Press the Power and Volume Down buttons at the same time.
You can then upload your screenshot using the + icon next to the message box in the in-app support messenger.