The Health Sensor That Gave Me the Most Practical Insights

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I’ve been testing and reviewing wearables and health sensors as The Medical Futurist for over a decade. I’ve tried literally everything that is on the market and even some that are not. I use a sleep tracker and a smartwatch every day and have quite an experience of analyzing the data obtained by these devices.

So it doesn’t happen often that I come across a technology or service that adds to the things I already do for my health. But Fusion Vital was one of them.

Before I even start: As always, I do not accept sponsorship for these reviews, I just ask for a device to test.

Why heart rate variation?

Fusion Vital uses the Firstbeat Life sensor, a clinically validated device that measures heart rate variability (HRV), stress, recovery, and physical activity, to provide individuals and organizations with a science-based snapshot of health and resilience. By analyzing the continuous physiological data collected by the sensor, Fusion Vital translates raw biometrics into actionable insights on stress load, recovery quality, sleep, and overall well-being.

This allows users, usually corporate teams and athletes, to understand how their daily routines, work patterns, and lifestyle choices affect long-term health, enabling personalized strategies for performance optimization and disease prevention.

HRV means the tiny fluctuations in the time intervals between consecutive heartbeats. These variations reflect the balance between the sympathetic (“fight-or-flight”) and parasympathetic (“rest-and-digest”) branches of the autonomic nervous system.

By continuously monitoring HRV along with heart rate, respiration rate, and movement, the sensor can distinguish between periods of stress, recovery, physical activity, and sleep. Advanced algorithms then interpret these signals to reveal how the body responds to daily demands, offering an objective view of physiological load and resilience.

The process

The measurement itself is simple and non-invasive: you attach two small disposable electrodes to your upper body. One just below the right collarbone and the other on the left side of the lower rib cage. The lightweight Firstbeat Life sensor then clips onto the electrodes. You have to wear this for 3-5 days. You can detach the sensor while having a shower, but the company sends a lot of disposable electrode patches. After 5 days, I had a bit of a rash under the electrodes’ locations, but nothing serious.

What do the results look like?

Here is a standard graph of one of the 5 days when I wore the device. Basically, red represents stress response, while green stands for recovery. The higher the graph, the bigger the response is. It’s OK if a work day seems red, if you can recover from it well enough during rest periods and sleep.

Now the catch

While I have experience with analyzing data from my wearables, HRV is different. So the most useful part of the service was having a one-hour consultation with an expert. I’ve learnt a lot of things, including new insights about my lifestyle.

After just one day of measurement, the system created a personal benchmark against my baseline.
Regarding exercise, consistency is more important than intensity: about 30 minutes of daily moderate activity is enough, even without a full workout or run scheduled for the day. I exercise about 3-5 times a week (running, gym, football and yoga). But I need to insert a quick moderate session on the rest days too.
Sleep quality was excellent and restorative, but late-night exercise or alcohol could reduce recovery.
The half hour before bedtime, usually spent reading, works as a “valve” for relaxation and winding down.
A high HRV indicated strong activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, supporting recovery. But the higher your resting heart rate is, the harder it is for HRV to go high too.
Spending a few minutes outdoors in the morning before starting to work can further boost recovery and readiness.
Recharge happens not only during rest but also at work, with frequent flow experiences while focusing on tasks.
Playing video games is fine, but it carries a “stress cost”; it should be balanced with decompressing activities like cooking, gardening, or physical movement.
While workdays are demanding, switching focus between tasks was shown to provide micro-recovery opportunities.

Some examples

This is how alcohol ruins sleep. HRV cannot go high until the resting heart rate goes down.

Conclusions

One sensor won’t revolutionize your healthy lifestyle journey, and you have to wear the electrodes for days, which might be a no-go for many, but the overall experience I had was excellent.

I learnt new insights about my lifestyle that I already extensively measure, and got tips I could start using from the next day.

I plan to do measurements once a year to see how my stress recovery changes.

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