Heart Rate Zones are an effective way of measuring your exertion levels when pacing. Your heart rate is closely related to your level of exertion.
What are Visible's Heart Rate Zones?
Rest Zone ⚪
This shows as white in your heart rate chart.
This is where your heart rate is low, your body is typically still, and rest and recovery happens. When in this zone, you will accumulate no PacePoints. This should include activities like sleeping, or resting while lying down.
Activity Zone 🔵
This shows as blue in your heart rate chart.
This is where you start using up energy, and accumulate PacePoints. When you're feeling balanced, this should include your day-to-day activities. This should also include more sedentary activities or "active rest", such as sitting down, watching TV or working at a desk.
Exertion zone 🔴
This shows up as red in your heart rate chart.
Your more strenuous tasks will show as exertion. Examples for some of our members can include showering, taking the stairs or cleaning, but you will learn what these tasks are for you.
Exertion generates PacePoints at 4x the rate of the Activity Zone. You should try not to stay in this zone for an extended period of time, as this could worsen your symptoms or trigger a "crash" or "flare up". However, Exertion is unavoidable and so you shouldn't be afraid to go into it now and again.
More Effort, More PacePoints.
Did you know you earn PacePoints faster depending on how high your heart rate is within a zone — not just which zone you're in.
For example, if you go for two walks in the Activity Zone, one averaging 90 bpm and the other 80 bpm, you’ll earn more PacePoints from the 90 bpm walk, even though both were technically in the same zone.
How are my Heart Rate Zones calculated?
After your first 4 days of wearing your armband, you are provided with “auto-generated” zones. These are an estimate of the Heart Rate Zones most suitable to you, calculated by an algorithm.
The Heart Rate Zones algorithm was created based on anonymous data from thousands of Visible members. It considers factors like your age, functional capacity, and the heart rate data you have collected so far.
The algorithm does not consider factors like your gender, your disability status, or your illness. Based on our data, these factors are less relevant when estimating the right Heart Rate Zones for you.
Why are Heart Rate Zones important in pacing?
For many people living with energy-limiting illness, too much exertion can cause a delayed worsening of symptoms. This is frequently referred to as Post Exertional Malaise (PEM).
Heart Rate Zones help you understand how much you are exerting yourself so that you can find the optimal balance of activity and rest, and aim to reduce the chances of symptom flare-ups or 'crashes'.
For more information on the science of Heart Rate Monitored pacing and PEM, see our article on What is Heart Rate Monitored Pacing.
What if my Heart Rate Zones don't feel right?
Your estimated auto-generated Heart Rate Zones are a good starting point when you start using Visible, but you may need to tweak them to best suit your personal pacing. You can manually update your Heart Rate Zones in your Pacing Settings. Learn how to adjust your zones here: How to manage your Heart Rate Zones.
What should I consider when manually adjusting my zones?
Your Heart Rate Zones are most accurate when they align with your perceived activity levels. You should analyse and adapt your zones based on whether or not you feel you are in ‘rest’, ‘activity’ or ‘exerting’.
To help with this process, we would recommend using Activity Tags to:
Tag some examples of activities where you are confident you were exerting, and adjust your exertion zone to ensure this period is reflected as exertion.
Tag some examples of activities where you are confident you were resting, and adjust your rest zone to ensure this period is reflected as rest.
It's worth noting that spending a large part of your day in the Activity zone is to be expected. Unless you are completely resting, then you will spend most of the day in this zone. Exertion should include activities that, if you do them for a sustained period, can trigger a ‘crash’ or symptom flare up.
Adapting your zones can be a process of trial and error. If you require some guidance please don't hesitate to reach out to a member of the team via the Profile screen.
I have POTS or take medication that impacts my heart rate, how should I manage my zones?
A number of our members have POTS or take medication that impacts their heart rate. Whilst it might take more adjusting in the initial stages many of them are using Visible very effectively.
If you need assistance in adjusting your zones, please gather your first 4 days of data, then reach out to Member Support for help via the Profile screen. Our team will look over your existing data and figure out if any adjustments need to be made.
If you have POTS, you may get more notifications than usual while gathering your first 4 days of data, so you might want to turn off your notifications. To do this, go to your Profile screen, select Pacing settings, and then select Pacing notifications.