From Tracking to Transformation: How Doctors Use Wearable Data in Clinical Practice

Wearable devices now ship in the hundreds of millions each year, and many people carry a tracker capable of monitoring their heart rate, sleep stages and regularity patterns, and daily step count. Fitness rings, smartwatches, and continuous glucose monitors generate vast streams of physiological data. At the same time, direct-to-consumer lab testing can allow people to order common panels without a traditional clinic visit. In Finland, MRI scans are now accessible by private imaging providers without a traditional doctor’s checkup prior. Health tracking, in other words, has never been more accessible. How doctors use wearable data in clinical practice — and what the evidence tells us. Let’s explore both real-world clinical experience and the research behind it.

Yet evidence suggests that data alone is usually insufficient to change behaviour at scale. A large umbrella review of systematic reviews found that wearable activity trackers significantly increased daily step counts and overall physical activity across diverse populationsef¹. Despite rapid adoption, the public-health impact of these tools depends on whether data is translated into sustained behaviour change and clinical action. The bottleneck is not a lack of data — it is a lack of meaningful context.

About the Author: Dr. Antti Rintanen is a licensed medical doctor from Finland and former world champion in Taekwon-Do, with a strong interest in translating medical knowledge into clear, practical guidance for everyday life. He writes at drantti.com, where he covers a wide range of topics from exercise physiology and biomechanics to preventive health, recovery, and evidence-based lifestyle medicine.

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I see this pattern frequently in my practice. Some of my patients collect a lot of data about themselves, but they don’t have the skills to interpret the data. Just as importantly, they lack the right tools to make the right interventions. For example, a patient whose device reports poor sleep quality or low heart rate variability starts to monitor the indicators more closely, gets stressed about sleeping and paradoxically can’t sleep, making the situation worse. The dynamics are analogous to a situation familiar to doctors where a patient goes to have himself/herself imaged without a professional’s indication for examination, which might lead to overtreatment and iatrogenics.

Understanding Personal Health Risk

Meaningful risk assessment draws on three distinct data streams: lifestyle and wearable data, clinical biomarkers, and family history. Each adds a different dimension and none is sufficient on its own.

Recent large-scale research has clarified what wearable data can contribute. In the NIH All of Us Research Programme, Master and colleagues linked Fitbit step-count data to electronic health records across 6,042 participants monitored over a median of 4.0 years, accumulating 5.9 million person-days of tracking. They found generally inverse associations between daily step count and incident chronic disease — with largely linear associations observed for obesity, sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and major depressive disorder, while diabetes and hypertension showed nonlinear relationships with risk plateaus at higher step counts⁴.

Biomarkers add the next layer. Cholesterol values, blood glucose, inflammatory markers, and blood pressure measurements translate behavioural patterns into measurable physiological risk. These measurement parameters are a standard part of general practice and are part of the routine test battery of almost every patient I evaluate. Their importance is supported by decades of population research. Recent evidence suggests that multimarker approaches may improve risk prediction beyond single biomarkers and help refine individual risk stratification, potentially supporting more personalised prevention strategies⁵. In my home country, Finland, cardiovascular mortality was once among the highest in the world, which prompted large national prevention efforts. Programmes such as the North Karelia Project⁶ and the FINRISK [10] studies demonstrated how systematic monitoring and reduction of these core risk factors can translate into substantial declines in cardiovascular mortality at the population level.

Family history is perhaps the most underused risk variable of all. A study drawing on Framingham Heart Study data found that parental history of cardiovascular disease raised offspring risk substantially — conferring approximately a 71% (HR 1.71, 95% CI 1.33–2.21)
higher hazard of future cardiovascular events⁷. Parental obesity and smoking history independently further elevated risk. Standard calculators such as SCORE2 [6] do not formally incorporate detailed family history as an input variable, creating a systematic blind spot that clinicians and patients must actively compensate for. In contrast, some national risk models — like the FINRISK⁸ calculator we use in Finland — do incorporate family history, highlighting its recognised importance in long-term risk assessment.

It is therefore important to understand the limitations of digital health data alone. It is only suitable as a complementary part of the whole, and does not replace the influence of biomarkers and family history in the comprehensive assessment of a patient’s risk profile.

» Wondering how cardiovascular risk is assessed in real life? Here’s a guide to the most common clinical risk calculators.

How Doctors Use Wearable Data: Turning Tracking Into Action

Understanding risk is only useful if it leads to action. This is ultimately how doctors use wearable data in practice — not as isolated numbers, but as part of a structured clinical framework. Personal data can help frame general wellbeing goals; a healthcare professional can decide whether any medical action is appropriate. Some wellness platforms, such as the Healsens smart health journal, help people organize their lifestyle information for general guidance and conversations with professionals. This is what I do together with my patients. We review their self-tracking information alongside personal background to set broad wellness goals they can discuss with their doctor.

There isn’t yet a common consumer-friendly way to summarize all these wellness signals into one simple score. The closest examples are traditional risk calculators such as FINRISK [10], which combine established clinical factors, but they do not incorporate continuous personal health data. As a result, risk assessment in practice still relies mainly on biomarkers and family history, while digital health data are interpreted separately. This is not because integration is impossible, but because personal health data are not yet sufficiently standardised or validated for use in population-level prediction models. 

Despite this, wearable data can still provide powerful clinical insight when interpreted appropriately. Within this framework, wearable data plays a specific role. Its value lies less in individual readings than in longitudinal patterns. Evidence from the All of Us programme illustrates this clearly: participants with higher daily step counts — the cohort’s median was 7,731 steps per day — showed lower incidence of several chronic conditions across follow-up [5], while irregular sleep patterns over time were associated with higher cardiometabolic and psychological risk profiles⁹. Neither finding would be detectable from a single measurement; their prognostic value lies in the pattern over time.

Digital wellness data can provide helpful context for lifestyle discussions and healthy habit planning. In the future, as digital health data become more standardised and validated, they may be incorporated into population-level risk models alongside traditional clinical factors. This could allow clinicians to estimate risk more precisely and tailor preventive plans with greater individual detail.

Learn more about our wellness tracking app on Google Play.

Collaboration Between Patients and Clinicians

As patients arrive with more data than ever before, the clinician’s role is shifting — and this shift clearly illustrates how doctors use wearable data: not as standalone diagnostics, but as contextual tools within preventive care. This is a structural change in the patient-clinician relationship, and it requires both sides to be prepared for it.

Research suggests that patient access to health information can support engagement and self-management. A systematic review found that access to electronic health records was associated with improved engagement and adherence, although usability barriers and implementation challenges limited benefits for some users  [7]. In practice, the clinical usefulness of digital health data still depends on how it is interpreted and applied.

In my practice, the patient comes for a regular check-up where biomarkers are measured. From these, we can often draw conclusions about risk factors, for example by using tools such as the FINRISK [10] calculator to estimate the patient’s risk of heart attack and stroke. Digital health data now adds another layer to this assessment. Patients often bring reports, tables, or graphs showing HRV, resting heart rate, sleep quality, activity levels, or step counts, which they present during the visit.

In the absence of formal risk models, we usually make a qualitative interpretation of this information and may set new goals, such as increasing daily steps. It is worth noting that some indicators should not necessarily be set as direct targets — for example, trying to “improve” sleep metrics too aggressively can sometimes worsen the situation through paradoxical effects.

» Tired and overwhelmed? Check your allostatic load — the science of stress impact.

Conclusion: Moving From Monitoring to Prevention

The rapid growth of wearable technology and direct-to-consumer testing has given patients new access to information about their own health. This article shows that data alone does not improve outcomes. What matters is how that data is interpreted, integrated, and translated into action.

Biomarkers, family history, and lifestyle patterns each contribute different pieces of the risk puzzle, and none is sufficient on its own. Traditional risk models remain the backbone of preventive medicine, but digital health data can add an important — often more qualitative — layer when used appropriately.

In practice, the real transformation happens in the consultation room. When patients and clinicians interpret data together, numbers become context, context becomes decisions, and decisions become preventive action. As digital health data become more standardised and validated, their integration into clinical risk assessment may become more precise. In the future, we may see population-level risk calculators that also incorporate patients’ digital health data as part of a comprehensive, statistically validated assessment.

Health tracking is most useful when it helps people and their providers have better wellbeing conversations. It should be interpretable by health professionals so that we can set individualised goals, improve patients’ risk profiles, and ultimately support better health and quality of life. Ultimately, how doctors use wearable data will determine whether health tracking remains a consumer trend — or becomes a meaningful component of preventive medicine.

FURTHER READING

Source: ©️2019 Healsens B.V. All right reserved

Сообщение From Tracking to Transformation: How Doctors Use Wearable Data in Clinical Practice появились сначала на Healsens.

An online self-check can help you reflect on mood and well-being signals you may want to discuss with a professional. Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses in the world. It is estimated that there are 350 million people worldwide who have some form of depression⁹. In the United States, 16 million people had a depressive episode in the past year. Moreover, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. But how to understand that a person has depression? These questionnaires are commonly used for personal insight and to support conversations with clinicians about mood. Such, for example, as PHQ-9. In general, screening and assessment tools for depression and anxiety include questions about mental health symptoms.

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If several of these feelings persist, consider speaking with a healthcare professional for an evaluation. In addition, try the questionnaire to gauge how your current mood feels to you and decide if you want professional support.

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Online Depression Screening

Use the quick self-check to reflect on how you’re feeling today; only a professional can assess or diagnose conditions. These checklists are designed to help you tune into your emotional state and support a broader wellness conversation with yourself or trusted advisors. This self-check highlights how you’re feeling; only clinicians can determine whether symptoms meet diagnostic criteria.

» Feeling lost in emotions? Discover the science behind the Mood Diary.

The PHQ-9 Evidence Appraisal

The PHQ-9 was initially developed by Kroenke et al (2001), as a subset of 9 questions from the full PHQ. It had previously been derived and studied in a cohort of 6,000 patients¹⁰. The PHQ-9-style reflection is presented for personal insight so you can notice patterns in your wellbeing; it is offered purely as a self-reflection prompt rather than a clinical assessment. Criterion validity was also assessed in a sample of 580 patients. self-administration takes 5–7 min.

Beck’s Depression Inventory Online Test Evidence Appraisal

The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) is currently one of the most widely used measures for assessing depression¹¹. The questionnaire was developed from clinical observations of attitudes and symptoms occurring frequently in depressed psychiatric patients and infrequently in non-depressed psychiatric patients¹². The questionnaire is commonly self-administered although initially designed to be administered by trained interviewers. Self-administration takes 5–10 min.

These questionnaires can help you notice patterns in your feelings over time to discuss with a clinician if you choose.

Pros and Cons of Depression Screening

Above all, еhere is not thought to be any significant harm associated with screening for depression and anxiety. However, some people worry that screening and assessment tools may lead to incorrect diagnoses. Therefore, it is important to remember that screening tools only detect symptoms of depression or anxiety.

At the same time, screening tools can detect most, but not all, cases of possible depression and anxiety. We already talked about connection between our minds and our bodies. So, the main advantage of screening tools is that they are quick and easy. And it’s true for its use and interpreting. A limitation is that they simplify complex experiences and impose artificial symptom thresholds.

It is important to remember that screening tools only detect symptoms of depression or anxiety. Diagnosis of depressive or anxiety disorder requires deeper assessments.

FURTHER READING

Source: ©️2019 Healsens B.V. All right reserved

Сообщение Online Depression Screening появились сначала на Healsens.

A mood diary can be much more than a chart of “good” or “bad” days. When built on a mindful and science-based approach, it becomes a tool for understanding yourself on a deeper level. The right kind of mood diary helps you stay aware of how stress shows up in your day-to-day feelings — while uncovering the habits and factors that sustain your wellbeing.

Let’s explore the three essential traits that make a mood diary truly effective: helping you develop emotional intelligence, recognize emotional patterns, and build resilience against stress.

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Another issue with this quick approach is that people who tend to think in extremes (“everything is great” or “everything is terrible”) will see a distorted emotional picture in their mood diary. Over time, many of them give up tracking altogether because they can’t see the value. To move beyond such superficial evaluation, it’s better to record your mood by choosing specific emotions rather than faces. Why is an emotion-based mood diary more effective?

Imagine trying to describe your “normal” day with a single smiley. You’d probably pick a happy face. But in emotional terms — does “normal” mean calm and peaceful? Or curious and joyful? Maybe it’s closer to tiredness, or even a hint of anxiety?

When you start identifying and naming emotions, you naturally tune in to your body — noticing whether you feel tension, lightness, relaxation, or a subtle tremor. This is what true emotional awareness means: connecting your feelings with your bodily sensations.

It’s also important to notice not only the dominant emotion but the quieter, background ones.

That’s why a good mood diary should not only help you name your emotions but also mark their intensity. That’s when it becomes a tool for genuine self-discovery — giving you personal insights you can choose to share in well-being conversations¹³.

Why Healsens?

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Harness technology to extend your healthspan: biomarkers, risk assessment, and personalized recommendations—all in one place.

Download Healsens and take control of your health today.

An emotion journal works as:

– a tool for self-reflection, helping you externalize your experiences, look at them from a distance, and begin an honest dialogue with yourself;
– a way that can help you become more aware when stress may be building up;
– a practice of emotional acceptance, helping you notice and process emotions instead of suppressing them, so you feel steadier through tough moments;
– a path to holistic awareness, where over time, your entries stop being just notes of pain or quick judgments and start reflecting the full complexity of your emotional world.

Psychologists call this the development of emotional literacy — the first step toward inner resilience.

» Tired and overwhelmed? Check your allostatic load — the science of stress impact.

2. Energy — The Key to Understanding the Depth of Emotions

Mood is not just about emotions — it’s also about the energy with which those emotions are felt. Anxiety with high energy feels like inner agitation, restlessness, or the urge to act. But anxiety with low energy feels very different — it’s exhaustion, helplessness, or quiet panic when strength is fading.

The same applies to joy: with high energy it becomes excitement and inspiration, while with low energy it transforms into calm contentment.

That’s why it’s so important that your mood diary doesn’t only capture emotions but also helps you notice how energized you are at any given moment. This awareness can support everyday stress management and balance.

When anxiety arises with high energy, your sympathetic nervous system switches to full alert.
Your body perceives the situation as a threat:

– cortisol levels rise,
– adrenaline and insulin flood the bloodstream,
– heart rate accelerates, muscles tighten, the body is ready to fight or flee.

In this state, your body doesn’t need meditation or calming techniques — it needs to release the stored energy. Movement is the best medicine: walking, exercise, deep breathing with long exhales, or any physical activity that helps discharge tension.

But anxiety with low energy is another story. Here, the sympathetic system is drained — cortisol may stay elevated or, conversely, drop too low, while the nervous system shifts into energy-saving mode. You might still feel anxious, but without the strength to act — as if everything has slowed down and your thoughts remain restless, yet you can’t bring yourself to move.
This is your body’s biological signal: your resources are running out.

In this case, physical exertion will only worsen the fatigue. What you need instead is restoration:
gentle breathing practices, meditations such as Kirtan Kriya, supportive social contact, rest, restorative sleep, and nourishing food that replenishes your energy.

Key takeaway:
By tracking how your energy level changes throughout the day, week, or month, you can begin to see when you feel most active and when you’re depleted — and learn to choose the right self-regulation practices.

This kind of awareness, supported by a well-designed mood diary, helps you notice when you’re running low, manage everyday stress more mindfully, and choose restorative habits before fatigue builds.

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3. Turning Observations into a System: The Two-Dimensional Mood Diary Model

Once you’ve learned to recognize and name your emotions (see chapter 1) and to sense your energy level (chapter 2), it’s time to take the next step — to bring structure to your reflections.

The simplest way to start is with a handwritten mood diary. You can use a printed list of emotions — for example, from psychological scales — and record what you feel each day along with your current level of energy. This helps you build awareness and start noticing emotional patterns.

However, the most effective way to track your emotional states is by using a digital mood diary. Modern tools — like the Healsens mood diary or other advanced mood diary apps — are based on two-dimensional models of mood that allow you to assess your emotional state in two key dimensions:

– Valence — how pleasant or unpleasant your emotion feels.
– Energy (Arousal) — how activated or drained you are at the moment.

This structure follows psychologist James Russell’s Circumplex Model of Affect, which demonstrates that emotions cannot simply be classified as “good” or “bad.” What truly matters is how they are experienced.

When you start using a mood diary built on this two-dimensional model, you create your own personal emotional map. Every emotion — from calm satisfaction to anxious excitement — can be placed within this emotional space. By tracking your mood in a mood diary, you can visualize not only peaks and lows but also patterns that repeat over time.

Such insights make your mood diary more than a log of feelings — it becomes a structured system for understanding your emotional life and the subtle dynamics that shape it. With regular use, a mood diary helps transform self-observation into emotional literacy — the foundation of mental stability and resilience.

When you use a mood diary built on this two-dimensional model, you start noticing:
– where your mood tends to stay on the emotional map;
– how much your emotional state fluctuates;
– when you truly rest — and when you simply “switch off.”

Over time, these points form a trajectory of your mood — a line that shows how your emotional state moves through different phases. For some people, the path is smooth and centered in one area; for others, it swings widely across the full range of emotions.
Studies show that these trajectories reflect not only your current wellbeing but also deep personality traits and coping patterns.

A well-designed mood diary helps you see how your emotional and physical states interact, and where the limits of your inner resources truly lie.

Why it matters:
– It helps you distinguish between fatigue and apathy, anxiety and overstimulation, sadness and recovery.
– It reveals when your energy begins to drop, allowing you to adjust your rhythm before burnout sets in.
– It transforms self-observation from merely describing emotions into an active tool for managing your state and understanding your emotional patterns.

By tracking your feelings in a mood diary, you build a bridge between awareness and action — learning not just to record emotions, but to interpret them, respond to them, and ultimately live with greater balance and self-understanding.

» Wondering why you should calculate your biological age? These 5 reasons will convince you to do it now.

How to Use the Mood Diary in Healsens

In Healsens, the mood diary is part of a holistic view of your health. Each time you record your emotional state on the valence and energy scale, you’re not just tracking your mood — you’re mapping the connection between your body and mind.

You can view mood alongside everyday factors like sleep, activity, and habits.
Together, they create a single, unified picture that shows how emotional changes are linked to your lifestyle and physiological state.

You’ll receive bite-size wellness tips designed for general relaxation and self-care. These can include breathing and meditation practices, movement, aromatherapy, and other scientifically supported self-regulation methods.

If you’d like to explore how using a mood diary can help you manage your emotional state and restore your energy, read our next article.

For now, install the Healsens app — after a short questionnaire, you’ll get a personalized wellness plan with lifestyle tips.

And you can make your very first mood diary entry today. Exciting, isn’t it?

FURTHER READING

Source: ©2019 Healsens B.V. All right reserved

Сообщение 3 Traits Every Mood Diary Should Have появились сначала на Healsens.

More and more people are choosing an AI health app not only to track steps or blood pressure, but also to gain a deeper understanding of their overall health. Today, we’re introducing an update to Healsens that redefines what such services can offer. Healsens AI helps you organize your personal health notes and surfaces general wellness insights rooted in public research, so you can better prepare for conversations with clinicians or mentors about overall balance. It helps you understand your condition in depth, monitor health trends, identify connections between symptoms and test results, and suggest practical wellness ideas you can consider and review with your healthcare professional.

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What Makes It Unique?

The Healsens AI health app is not just another GPT-style chat. Healsens AI offers educational insights summarized from publicly available studies for general well-being. It uses information from a curated library of medical studies and clinical evidence, ensuring you won’t receive recommendations that lack a solid scientific foundation.

Healsens AI actively analyzes and integrates the health data you enter into the app, reviewing it with you during your conversation. This means the answers you receive are highly personalized and directly relevant to your specific situation.

Reason 2. Tracking Emotions — Taking Mental Health to the Next Level

Mental health is an integral part of overall well-being. In the Healsens AI health app, you can track your emotions using the Thayer’s two-dimensional mood model, which takes into account both mood and energy level.

This helps you to:

• identify patterns and triggers,
• choose interventions that match your current state,
• increase self-awareness and manage stress more effectively.

Why is this important?
A positive mood is linked to better heart function, a stronger immune system, and balanced hormone levels¹⁴. Emotional awareness is associated with improved sleep, higher physical activity, reduced stress, and the ability to make more thoughtful decisions.

Why Healsens?

Healsens — a Smart Approach to Longevity

Healsens uses your self-entered data to provide general longevity-oriented wellness insights and habit ideas.

Download Healsens and take control of your health today.

How It Works in Healsens AI

Healsens AI reflects on your mood entries alongside lifestyle notes, then shares personalized reflections and wellness ideas so you can explore them with trusted support.

You can ask questions like:

• “Why do I feel anxious for no reason?”
• “How can I tell the difference between burnout and fatigue?”
• “What will help me sleep better if I wake up feeling anxious?”

And you’ll receive a personalized, clinically backed answer.

Emotional well-being is a key part of prevention. With the AI health app Healsens, you can not only recognize your feelings but also get real support to help you manage them effectively.

» Tired and overwhelmed? Check your allostatic load — the science of stress impact.

Reason 3. Biological Age — Now with In-Depth Analysis and AI Insights

We surface an educational biological-age estimate to spark healthy habit conversations and help you reflect on long-term vitality.

PhenoAge is based on nine key clinical biomarkers, including inflammation, metabolism, kidney and liver function, and immune health. Unlike simple formulas, this model was specifically designed to predict risks of mortality, chronic diseases, and functional decline.

With Healsens AI, you can do more than just learn your biological age — you can understand exactly what contributes to it.

What does the AI do?
It summarizes how your tracked metrics relate to a wellness age estimate and suggests general healthy routines.

• which ones reduce it — meaning you’re on the right track,
• and which ones accelerate aging, even if your overall age is lower than your chronological age.

Why is this important?
Even if your biological age is lower than your actual age, not all biomarkers may be contributing positively. Now you can dive into the calculations, see which biomarkers are increasing or decreasing your biological age, detect early-stage changes, and take targeted steps to lower it further by improving your longevity-related biomarkers.

With Healsens AI, you can ask:

• “Why is my biological age lower than my actual age, but my albumin is far from optimal?”
• “Which biomarker has the biggest impact on accelerating aging?”
• “What can I do to improve my inflammation markers?”

The AI doesn’t just give you answers — it connects biomarkers with your symptoms, supplements, and lifestyle, then suggests areas for improvement. This transforms the abstract concept of “body age” into a real, actionable longevity strategy.

» Wondering why you should calculate your biological age? These 5 reasons will convince you to do it now.

How to Get Started with Healsens AI

Download the Healsens AI health app complete the registration, and launch Healsens AI. As your medical information builds up, you’ll be able to:

• discuss the results of your latest check-up,
• review wellness tips in the app and note questions to discuss with your doctor,
• gain deeper insights into your risk assessments with Healsens’ medical calculators,
• access mood-tracking and general well-being resources to support everyday emotional balance,
• track select wellness indicators you choose to monitor over time,
• better integrate practices and techniques to improve your well-being.

With the Healsens AI health app you can understand your health on a deeper level and manage it proactively. All that’s left is to download AI health app or update the app — and start a new era in taking charge of your health!

FURTHER READING

Source: ©2019 Healsens B.V. All right reserved

Сообщение AI health app: 3 reasons to choose Healsens появились сначала на Healsens.

Vitamin B12 deficiency is a serious health concern that can affect multiple systems in the body. Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, plays a crucial role in maintaining nervous system function, supporting red blood cell formation, and preserving cognitive health. When left unaddressed, a deficiency in this vital nutrient can lead to anemia, neurological impairments, and even dementia.

One of the key consequences of vitamin B12 deficiency is the accumulation of two harmful substances: methylmalonic acid (MMA) and homocysteine. Elevated MMA disrupts mitochondrial function—the energy-producing centers of cells—resulting in fatigue, impaired cellular performance, and neurological symptoms such as weakness, numbness, poor coordination, and cognitive decline. At the same time, increased homocysteine levels have been strongly linked to a higher risk of cognitive dysfunction, depression, dementia, and cardiovascular disease.

This article has not yet been reviewed. The most recent update was made on May 18, 2025.

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Vitamin B12 Deficiency – A Common but Overlooked Cause of Anemia

Vitamin B12 deficiency is a frequent and often underestimated cause of anemia. Contributing factors include:

• low intake of animal-based protein, particularly in vegans¹⁸.
• past surgeries involving the stomach or ileum¹⁹.
• autoimmune gastritis or age-related gastric mucosal atrophy.
• age-related absorption issues, especially in older adults²⁰.
• long-term use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs).

In vegans, the deficiency can be especially deceptive — high levels of folic acid in the diet may mask vitamin B12 deficiency without lowering hemoglobin levels. However, the risk of neurological damage remains high despite normal blood counts.

Impact on the Brain and Mental Health

Vitamin B12 plays a key role in the metabolism of neurotransmitters, including dopamine. When B12 is deficient, the activity of dopamine receptors in the brain may decrease, directly affecting cognitive function and mood. Some therapeutic approaches to depression and dementia aim to stimulate these receptors²¹²².

Low vitamin B12 levels have been linked to:

• depression
• anxiety
• memory decline
• irritability
• and over time — an increased risk of dementia and even premature death.

Why Healsens?

Healsens — a Smart Approach to Longevity

Use technology to stay informed about your general wellbeing with lifestyle tips gathered in one place.

Download Healsens and take control of your health today.

» Tired and overwhelmed? Check your allostatic load — the science of stress impact.

Which Foods Contain Vitamin B12?

Vitamin B12 is not synthesized by plants and is found only in animal-derived foods:

• liver and kidneys
• red meat
• fish (especially mackerel, salmon, and tuna)
• seafood (oysters, mussels)
• eggs
• dairy products (cheese, yogurt, milk)

For vegans, it is essential to fortify the diet or take vitamin B12 supplements in the form of methylcobalamin or cyanocobalamin.

Why Should You Track Your Vitamin B12 Levels?

Vitamin B12 deficiency can silently progress over several years, causing hidden damage to your body. It affects not only your energy levels but also brain function, vascular health, bone density, and mental well-being. That’s why it’s important not just to do a yearly blood test, but to understand which biomarkers to track and how to interpret them in the context of your overall health.

A low B12 level in your blood doesn’t always confirm a deficiency — and normal values don’t always rule it out. In cases of subclinical deficiency, your total B12 might appear normal, while an elevated level of methylmalonic acid (MMA) reveals a functional deficiency at the cellular level.

Healsens is designed to help you keep a personal wellness journal and learn general trends. Use it to note your lab updates for later review, and rely on your healthcare professional for interpreting biomarkers, determining when further testing is needed, or drawing conclusions about energy and cognition.

The app helps you contextualize your wellness information with age and lifestyle factors.

Install the Healsens app to gain access to reliable tools for monitoring and supporting your health.

How to learn about vitamin B12 and track related wellness information with Healsens.

The most reliable way to detect a vitamin B12 deficiency is through a blood test measuring total vitamin B12. In some cases, it’s also recommended to check additional markers like methylmalonic acid (MMA) and homocysteine to rule out a hidden deficiency at the cellular level.

Living in the Netherlands, Belgium, or Germany? You can explore options for vitamin B12 lab services from partners via the Healsens app.

If you and your clinician decide testing is appropriate, arrange it through the lab or provider you normally use, then enter the anonymized results into Healsens so you can keep a wellness log and track any non-medical lifestyle insights the app offers.

FURTHER READING

Source: ©2019 Healsens B.V. All right reserved

Сообщение Vitamin B12 Deficiency: A Silent Driver of Mental Problems появились сначала на Healsens.

Cortisol function is one of the most debated yet essential regulatory processes in the human body. Often labeled the “stress hormone,” cortisol plays a far more nuanced and complex role.

It helps us wake up in the morning, orchestrates metabolism, modulates immune responses, and enables our adaptation to change — whether it’s physical exertion or emotional upheaval. Cortisol can act as a protector that strengthens the body’s resilience or as a silent disruptor when its levels fall out of balance.

Recent studies increasingly link chronically elevated cortisol levels to the development of non-communicable chronic diseases — from hypertension and diabetes to depression and cognitive decline. That’s why understanding cortisol function and keeping it in check is becoming essential for those who aim to take control of their health beyond just symptom relief.

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However, prolonged exposure to stressors can disrupt this delicate rhythm, leading to imbalances that may harm overall health. In its report “Mental health, resilience and inequalities” (Friedli, 2009), the World Health Organization (WHO) highlights how chronic, low-grade psychological stress activates neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, and immune systems. The report emphasizes the connection between prolonged cortisol production and the development of chronic conditions such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, metabolic disorders, and mental health disorders.

Being aware of stress and lifestyle patterns can encourage earlier conversations with healthcare professionals.

Cortisol Function and Chronic Disease: Putting the Puzzle Together

Stroke

Stroke is one of the most severe and sudden threats to our health. Elevated cortisol levels, triggered by stress, have been identified as a significant factor associated with stroke risk. Elements such as high cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, blood sugar imbalances, and hypertension are often part of this picture — and stress may amplify them. Prolonged psychological stress can also increase blood clotting, making the blood more viscous and thus raising the risk of a stroke.

Recent studies have shed light on the link between cortisol function and stroke severity. High cortisol levels not only negatively affect the brain but also interfere with its ability to recover after a stroke.

Why Healsens?

Healsens — a Smart Approach to Longevity

Healsens offers wellness insights and general tips to help you reflect on your lifestyle and goals.

Download Healsens and take control of your health today.

Interestingly, low cortisol levels may also pose a risk. Research shows that individuals with insufficient cortisol production — often due to adrenal insufficiency — may experience higher mortality following a stroke. Up to one-third of stroke survivors suffer from post-stroke depression, and more than half report persistent anxiety even ten years after the event²³. Yet, these findings open new perspectives for addressing the emotional and physiological aftermath of stroke.

» Tired and overwhelmed? Check your allostatic load — the science of stress impact.

Cardiovascular Disease

Research confirms that prolonged periods of stress and elevated cortisol levels have a profound impact on heart health. Chronic exposure to high cortisol can lead to increased levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar, blood pressure, and visceral fat accumulation. Dekker et al. (2008) observed that elevated total cortisol is associated with a higher frequency of plaque buildup in the carotid arteries — a key indicator of atherosclerosis. A growing body of evidence also links cortisol with inflammatory processes that contribute to cardiovascular damage.

Learning about stress and heart health can inspire healthier daily choices alongside medical care you may receive.

Metabolic Disease / Type 2 Diabetes

Metabolic disorders, particularly type 2 diabetes, are now among the most widespread burdens of modern life. Unhealthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyles contribute to their rise — along with visceral obesity. Several studies also point to the significant role of stress²⁴. Researchers have shown that chronic stress impairs regulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, leading to insulin resistance²⁵ and fat accumulation around internal organs. These changes can also trigger inflammatory responses that worsen metabolic health.

Inflammation and Autoimmune Disease

Prolonged elevation of cortisol alters both inflammatory and immune responses. High circulating cortisol interacts with immune cell receptors and promotes the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines²⁶. This process contributes to systemic inflammation, immune suppression, and adverse metabolic outcomes.

Inflammation is also being closely studied in the context of cognitive disorders. The Alzheimer’s Association is exploring how chronic stress and cortisol exposure affect the immune system and the potential development of Alzheimer’s disease. While the mechanisms remain complex, active research is underway to better understand the link between cortisol function, long-term stress, and neurodegeneration, with the goal of identifying new therapeutic options.

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How to Use Cortisol Function Insights to Take Action

Your cortisol level on its own reveals little without the proper context. What truly matters is how it correlates with other biomarkers, how it reflects your adaptive capacity, and how vulnerable your body is to the long-term effects of stress.

In the Healsens app, you can:

• Explore educational charts about cortisol and DHEA-S to learn how these hormones relate to everyday stress and recovery.
• Reflect on stress patterns over time using lifestyle check-ins that highlight areas for self-care.
• Try a stress self-reflection quiz to spark ideas for rest and balance.

These tools help you reflect on stress-related patterns so you can identify lifestyle habits that support general resilience without implying modulation of cortisol itself.

Download Healsens to access wellness tracking tools and general lifestyle tips.

Low and High Cortisol: When Cortisol Function Signals Deeper Health Issues

Low Cortisol

Both elevated and reduced cortisol levels can signal chronic dysfunction. Measuring cortisol in serum may assist in diagnosing adrenal insufficiency — a condition where the adrenal glands fail to produce enough hormones necessary for the body’s normal function. This deficiency can manifest in symptoms ranging from vague fatigue to life-threatening adrenal crisis. Often, diminished adrenal function remains hidden until the body is exposed to stress or illness.

Diagnosing adrenal insufficiency is complex, and a single test is rarely conclusive. When primary adrenal insufficiency is suspected, physicians typically evaluate serum cortisol, ACTH, renin, aldosterone, and perform additional biochemical testing.

In older adults, adrenal insufficiency is often secondary, meaning it is caused by another underlying condition that disrupts hormone production. Common lab findings in chronic primary adrenal insufficiency include anemia, hyponatremia (low blood sodium), and hyperkalemia (high potassium levels).

High Cortisol

Chronically elevated cortisol levels can disrupt multiple physiological systems. For instance, high cortisol slows digestion and promotes fat accumulation, particularly around the abdomen. It also affects physical performance:

• High cortisol can suppress testosterone production. Combined with cortisol’s muscle-degrading effect, this can impair muscle growth and recovery — a key concern for those training or recovering from injury.
• Elevated cortisol interferes with deep sleep. Normally, cortisol rises in the morning to help the body wake up. But persistently high cortisol can disturb circadian rhythms, impairing the ability to enter deep, restorative sleep — contributing to chronic fatigue.
• Cortisol suppresses the immune system — a topic we explore in more detail further on.

One of the most well-known conditions of chronic cortisol excess is hypercortisolism, also known as Cushing’s syndrome (CS). This condition presents with a wide range of symptoms, making diagnosis difficult and often delayed. Healthcare providers sometimes use salivary cortisol at different times for clinical investigations; talk with your doctor about appropriate testing.

» Feeling lost in emotions? Discover the science behind the Mood Diary.

How to Check Your Cortisol Level?

If you and your clinician choose to test cortisol function, morning samples are commonly used; here we share general education on why timing can matter.

If you’re interested in understanding your stress resilience, it is advisable to check DHEA-S levels alongside cortisol. Reading about cortisol and DHEA-S can give general insight into how the body responds to stress.

In some regions you can find partner labs through the app; consult your healthcare professional for any medical testing.

Here’s how to order the test:

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Health check-ups may help you stay proactive about healthy aging habits.

Many people underestimate the importance of a carefully selected set of biomarkers in their health check-up. Missing an essential biomarker can mean losing the chance to detect a condition early, while unnecessary tests can lead to wasted money and confusion in results.

Healsens has developed a smarter approach to health check-ups. We don’t just create test panels based on age and gender. We take into account your lifestyle, health, and individual risk factors.

For adults, we’ve designed the Vitality Health Check, a package of 21 key biomarkers. This carefully curated set offers a broad snapshot of wellness indicators related to lifestyle and aging. Some of these biomarkers naturally change with age, and keeping these markers within generally healthy ranges may support overall wellness as you age.

Below, we’ll walk you through the tests included in this package and explain why they are essential. This will help you understand how the Vitality Health Check supports your wellness journey and serves as a structured first step toward informed lifestyle choices.

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This package helps to:
✦ Observe glycation patterns so you can stay mindful of long-term energy balance and aging-related markers.
✦ Highlight heart-health related lifestyle factors to consider with your clinician.
✦ Determine levels of vitamins D and B12, as deficiencies are associated with fatigue, low mood, and poor concentration.
✦ Give context about thyroid-related wellness markers that you can review with a professional.
✦ Get a sense of general inflammation-related wellness markers.
✦ This package helps you observe kidney- and liver-related biomarkers to understand daily wellness patterns across your body.
✦ Analyze iron stores and hemoglobin (HgB) to identify anemia, which can cause fatigue and shortness of breath.

Heart Health

Total Cholesterol: Reflects the balance of lipoproteins and triglycerides in the blood. Optimal levels are essential for maintaining heart health.

LDL Cholesterol: Low-density lipoproteins (LDL), often referred to as “bad” cholesterol, can lead to the formation of arterial plaques when elevated over extended periods, especially in combination with inflammation. This contributes to the deterioration of cardiovascular health.

HDL Cholesterol: High-density lipoproteins (HDL), commonly known as “good” cholesterol, play a crucial role in maintaining heart health. These lipoproteins remove excess LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream and transport it to the liver for processing and elimination. Optimal HDL levels help prevent plaque buildup in blood vessels, reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases and supporting healthy circulation.

Triglycerides: The body creates triglycerides to store excess energy (calories). They are vital for energy metabolism, acting as a reserve for times of energy shortage. However, excessively high triglyceride levels in the blood may indicate metabolic imbalances and are linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases.

» Learn more about cholesterol levels and whether additional tests might be needed.

Inflammation and Immunity

High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hsCRP): This marker measures overall inflammation throughout the body. When hsCRP levels are optimal, inflammation is minimal, indicating a healthier state.

Lymphocytes: This biomarker measures a specific type of white blood cell. Lymphocyte levels reflect the body’s ability to effectively respond to infections, inflammation, and other stressors. It is also used to assess biological age, as optimal lymphocyte ranges are associated with robust health and a lower risk of chronic diseases. Deviations from normal levels may indicate immune imbalances or chronic stress.

Monocytes: These are a type of white blood cell that play a role in the body’s response to infections. They engulf and destroy foreign substances and retain a memory of these invaders, enabling the immune system to respond more effectively in the future.

Basophils: Another type of white blood cell, basophils are typically activated during allergic reactions. They are usually present in very low quantities in the body.

Neutrophils: The most abundant type of white blood cell, neutrophils are the first line of defense during an immune response, actively fighting infections.

White Blood Cell Count (WBC): This biomarker measures the overall level of white blood cells in the body, which is an indicator of systemic inflammation. An optimal WBC range signifies a strong immune system and better overall health.

Metabolism

Glucose: This biomarker measures fasting blood sugar levels, serving as the primary energy source for the body’s cells. However, in metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance or diabetes, tissues may struggle to utilize glucose efficiently, leading to an excess in the bloodstream. This condition is often accompanied by symptoms like chronic fatigue, poor concentration, and an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. Optimal glucose levels are essential for maintaining overall health, longevity, stable blood pressure, and weight control.

Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c): HbA1c reflects the average blood glucose levels over the past 90–120 days. When glucose isn’t used for immediate energy, it binds to hemoglobin within red blood cells. Optimized HbA1c levels are associated with improved longevity and a reduced risk of chronic conditions.

Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT): ALT is an enzyme primarily found in the liver but also present in other tissues, such as skeletal muscles. It plays a crucial role in converting glucose reserves into energy. Elevated ALT levels in the blood may indicate damage to liver or muscle cells.

Cognitive Function and Energy

Vitamin B12: This essential vitamin aids in the production of red blood cells, converts food into energy, and supports DNA synthesis. Optimal B12 levels enhance memory, learning, and overall cognitive performance.

Vitamin D: A vital regulator of calcium and phosphorus absorption, vitamin D is crucial for maintaining healthy bones and teeth. It also supports immune defense, muscle strength, and cognitive function. Optimal levels of vitamin D are linked to better sleep quality, improved physical endurance, and support bones and overall vitality as part of a healthy lifestyle.

» How can you boost your vitamin D levels?

Endurance and Physical Health

Platelets: These blood cells play a key role in the immune response and blood clotting process. Optimized platelet levels are associated with lower inflammation throughout the body and better overall health.

Ferritin: This protein stores iron, which is essential for delivering oxygen to cells and tissues. Low ferritin levels can impair the body’s ability to transport oxygen efficiently and may indicate insufficient iron intake through diet.

Hemoglobin: Found in red blood cells, hemoglobin binds to oxygen and transports it from the lungs to the rest of the body. Optimal hemoglobin levels are linked to increased strength and aerobic performance.

Red Blood Cells (RBC): RBCs carry oxygen throughout the body, providing the energy needed for proper functioning. Maintaining a healthy RBC count is crucial for physical endurance and overall vitality.

Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV): This biomarker measures the average size of red blood cells. Both low and high MCV can result from deficiencies in iron or vitamin B12. Optimal levels ensure that red blood cells are in the best condition to perform their role effectively.

Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration (MCHC): MCHC measures the average amount of hemoglobin in a given volume of red blood cells. Low MCHC levels may indicate iron deficiency.

Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH): This biomarker evaluates the average amount of hemoglobin in individual red blood cells. Optimized MCH levels suggest adequate hemoglobin production.

Hematocrit: This measures the percentage of red blood cells in the bloodstream. Optimal hematocrit levels indicate that the body is receiving the oxygen it needs.

Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW): RDW measures variations in the size and volume of red blood cells. Optimized RDW levels are essential for peak athletic performance and efficient oxygen delivery.

Kidney and Liver Function

Creatine Kinase (CK): Creatine kinase is an enzyme involved in energy production within muscle cells. It plays a vital role in regenerating ATP, the molecule that powers muscle contractions during the first seconds of physical activity. Elevated CK levels in the blood may indicate muscle fiber damage caused by intense exercise or injury. Optimal CK levels suggest healthy muscle tissue and proper adaptation to physical stress.

CKDEPI: This calculation assesses the glomerular filtration rate (GFR), a critical indicator of kidney function. Since kidney function naturally declines with age, CKDEPI is an essential biomarker for detecting early changes. It is also closely associated with kidney health trends to monitor over time.

Albumin: Albumin is a protein produced by the liver that transports various molecules, including hormones like testosterone, throughout the body. Its levels also reflect overall nutritional status and the function of the kidneys and liver. Low albumin levels may indicate inflammation, liver disease, or inadequate dietary protein intake, while optimal levels signify good overall health and organ function.

How Healsens Supports Your Well-Being

The “Vitality Health Check” by Healsens gives you structured insight into your wellbeing so you can stay informed about lifestyle impacts and trends in your numbers. Designed for those who value proactive care, this comprehensive check-up uncovers critical insights about your health even before symptoms arise. By ordering the package through the Healsens app or our trusted partners, you gain access to cutting-edge technology that summarizes your uploaded numbers and offers general wellness tips to discuss with your doctor. Whether you’re in the Netherlands, Belgium, or Germany, Healsens makes preventive health simple, accessible, and tailored to your unique needs.

Get Your Blood Tests Done in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany

If you are interested in checking your hs-CRP level, you can easily purchase the Vitality Health Check package from Healsens.

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Сообщение Vitality Health Check: 21 Key Biomarkers for Health and Longevity появились сначала на Healsens.

Platelets, or thrombocytes, are crucial blood components produced in the bone marrow, play a pivotal role in blood clotting and serve as vital inflammatory and immune mediators. Platelet count is one of many wellness signals; if you notice unusual lab values, use them to spark a conversation about overall cardiovascular health during your next check-in. Some studies explore possible associations between platelet counts and future health outcomes; only a healthcare professional can evaluate personal cancer risk. The risk was especially increased if thrombocytosis was detected at least twice in 6 months. Keeping blood markers within ranges recommended by your doctor is part of overall health monitoring. So, what does it signify when a routine blood analysis reveals an elevation in platelet levels?

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Additional symptoms of a blood clot include confusion or changes in speech, migraines, seizures, discomfort in the upper body (such as in one or both arms, back, neck, jaw, or abdomen), shortness of breath coupled with nausea, weakness, chest pain, and complications during pregnancy. Additionally, an enlarged spleen could also be present.

Factors that may increase your risk of developing a blood clot include older age, a history of previous blooDiscover Blood Test Insights in Healsens Appd clots, smoking, and other underlying health conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

What can lead to a high platelet count?

Scheduling routine wellness labs when you are not fasting helps avoid temporary fluctuations in platelet counts; aim for a relaxed, non-fasting day for consistency. Additionally, an increase in platelet levels can also be a response to stress, injury, or physical activity.

Platelet levels respond to a range of lifestyle and health factors; the list of reasons that can cause an increase in platelets includes²⁷. Routine nutrition and medication reviews with your provider can help keep those markers aligned with your broader wellness goals.

• Infections (acute bacterial and viral infections/chronic infections such as tuberculosis)
• Inflammation
• Functional and surgical asplenia
• Bleeding/iron deficiency
• Medications – aztreonam, ceftazidime, ibuprofen, adrenaline, glucocorticoids.
• Rheumatoid arthritis, IBD (inflammatory bowel disease), sarcoidosis
• Hemolysis
• Metastatic cancer/lymphoma
• Allergic reactions

» Discover everything about what your cholesterol results mean.

Primary thrombocytosis

However, elevated levels of platelets can be caused by a disruption in platelet production by bone marrow precursor cells. This condition is known as primary thrombocytosis. Some people explore gentle lifestyle tweaks after talking with their doctor, so keeping a log of how you feel and what you eat can support those discussions. Platelets have a lifespan of 7-10 days. After taking an aspirin tablet, platelets lose their ability to aggregate and form clots for the entire duration of their existence—around 7-10 days.

For individuals at high risk—typically older individuals (over 60 years old) with a history of previous thrombosis—Doctors may choose different approaches based on personal history, and only they can decide on suitable care.

Natural ways to lower high platelet count

Some studies explore how certain foods may influence blood platelets; treat these as general nutrition insights rather than medical advice.

Flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum), sea buckthorn berries (Hippophae), and argan oil (Argania spinose) may also be beneficial in appropriate doses.

It should be noted that garlic and ginkgo may enhance the pharmacological action of aspirin. Therefore, caution should be exercised when using garlic/ginkgo concurrently with aspirin.

If you’re interested in routine wellness lab work, you can consult local providers or apps that facilitate general health check-ins.

You can use Healsens to track general wellness labs that you already have, helping you stay informed about trends in your routine biomarkers.

FURTHER READING

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Сообщение What Does A High Platelet Count Mean появились сначала на Healsens.

How to prevent job burnout starts with recognizing the early signs of chronic stress. Persistent anxiety, trouble sleeping, irritability — these are more than just symptoms of being tired. They’re signals that your body has been operating in overdrive for too long.

A new study by Moodle, conducted with Censuswide, shows that 66% of employees are experiencing signs of burnout in 2025. The reasons are clear: 24% say they have more work than time to complete it, and another 24% lack the resources or tools needed to do their jobs properly. Younger generations are especially affected — up to 81% of 18–24-year-olds and 83% of those aged 25–34 report being in a state of chronic stress. Modern science offers a way to assess the accumulated toll through the measurement of allostatic load — a measurable physiological strain caused by ongoing stress, even when no obvious symptoms are yet felt.

But what exactly happens in the body when stress becomes a way of life?

This article was last reviewed by Mai Saleh, Healsens, on January 22, 2023. This article was last modified on 21 January 22, 2023.

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Signs and Symptoms of High Allostatic Load

If you engage in a high-stress job or face prolonged personal challenges without relief, this can result in chronic allostatic load. When such a load lasts for years, we can talk about the cumulative effect of allostatic load. Allostatic load isn’t just about numbers on a lab report — it shows up in your daily life. Recognizing these signs is a critical step in understanding how to prevent job burnout and regaining control of your well-being:

• Fatigue — the feeling of being drained even after rest.
• Irritability — increased reactivity, anger, or persistent anxiety.
• Sleep disturbances — difficulty falling asleep, light sleep, or frequent awakenings.
• Digestive issues — bloating, cramps, or symptoms of irritable bowel.
• Weakened immunity — frequent colds or slow recovery from illnesses.
• Brain fog — trouble focusing, forgetfulness, or a sense of mental “slowness.”

When allostatic load becomes too high, the “window of tolerance” of your nervous system narrows. This means you may feel overwhelmed more quickly, experience emotional outbursts, or shut down and withdraw — all of which increase the risk of burnout.

Understanding these symptoms helps you identify when stress is no longer adaptive, but destructive — a key moment in learning how to prevent job burnout.

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How to assess your allostatic load

Allostatic load is a quantitative measure of the physiological burden caused by stress — and a powerful predictor of long-term health outcomes. It reflects the impact of stress on your body by tracking changes in hormone levels, inflammation, and metabolic function. These are the hidden processes we can’t feel directly — but we can detect them through blood tests.

To assess your allostatic load, you can use a specialized blood test package that includes the following markers:

Blood tests:

• Cortisol — the main stress hormone
• Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-s) — balances cortisol, a marker of resilience
• High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) — detects low-grade inflammation
• Triglycerides (TG) — reflect metabolic health
• Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) — regulates thyroid function
• Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) — indicates glucose stability over time
• Albumin — a marker of overall health and recovery capacity
• Total cholesterol — part of lipid metabolism assessment

Body measurements:

In addition to blood tests, it’s essential to consider body composition:

• Waist circumference — elevated values may signal visceral fat and increased metabolic risk
• Hip circumference — used to calculate the Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR), one of the most informative markers of fat distribution

These measurements can be done at home with a simple measuring tape — making them an accessible way to track how stress is affecting your body. Combined with blood data, they provide a clear, science-based snapshot of your current state and help guide your plan to prevent job burnout.

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Harness technology to extend your healthspan: biomarkers, risk assessment, and personalized recommendations—all in one place.

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How to Prevent Job Burnout by Measuring Your Allostatic Load

Using the Healsens App to Track Your Allostatic Load

To make it easier to collect and interpret your health data, you can use the Healsens app. It allows you to:

– Enter results from your blood tests and body measurements
– Automatically calculate your allostatic load using science-backed algorithms
– Receive personalized recommendations to reduce stress and improve your overall well-being

If your allostatic load is elevated, the results may help your healthcare provider reassess your current treatment plan or suggest additional diagnostics.

The app is available for download on Google Play and the App Store. It provides free access to core features, including the allostatic load calculation and tracking progress over time.

Ordering Blood Tests

All required tests for calculating your allostatic load can be ordered directly through the Healsens app in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. For users in other countries, it’s possible to upload your test results manually into the app after completing them at any certified lab.

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Insomnia is a common condition characterized by significant disruptions in functions and quality of life and can lead to mental and physical health issues. The main symptoms of insomnia include difficulty falling and staying asleep, along with frequent discomfort and impairment of daytime functioning. This condition affects about 10% of the population. If you’re curious about your sleep habits, keeping a simple diary can help you notice patterns and decide whether you want to share them with a coach or clinician.

This article is undergoing validation. The latest changes were made on November 20, 2023.

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The Role of a Simple Sleep Diary

A simple sleep diary can be an invaluable tool in understanding sleep patterns, recording sleep disruptions, and identifying potential triggers. It can help you notice your own sleep patterns and discuss them with a professional if you choose.

Insomnia isn’t merely a disturbance in nightly rest; it’s a complex condition that affects mental, physical, and social aspects of life. Utilizing a simple sleep diary, along with seeking professional guidance, can be pivotal in managing and addressing the challenges posed by insomnia.

Furthermore, insomnia affects our behavior: we might become hyperactive or impulsive due to the loss of emotional control. Aggressiveness, loss of motivation, and a propensity for errors can also be outcomes of insomnia.

However, one of the key aspects of insomnia is its impact on self-perception. Lack of sleep can lead to feelings of dissatisfaction or anxiety regarding one’s own sleep, adding to the cycle of negative consequences of this condition.

Diagnosing Insomnia

According to the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD-3) for diagnosing persistent insomnia aligned with DSM-5 criteria, symptoms must be present at least 3 days per week for a minimum of 3 months³¹. Short-term insomnia (ICSD-3) or episodic insomnia (DSM-5) shares the same criteria as chronic insomnia but lasts less than 3 months.

Tracking nights with sleep difficulties can give you a clearer personal picture to talk about with a clinician if needed.

Lastly, if sleep problems can be entirely explained by other conditions or disorders, they may not meet diagnostic criteria for insomnia. However, it’s essential to remember that insomnia can coexist with other mental disorders, and it’s not always the sole symptom as previously believed. Even if other disorders are the primary source, if insomnia is significant, medical practice should consider it as a separate, accompanying disorder necessitating its clinical intervention.

Current Sleep History

Analyzing the current sleep pattern plays a pivotal role in confirming the diagnosis and determining the best treatment for insomnia. This involves examining the sleep-wake schedule, sleep routines, nocturnal habits, and daytime activity. Let’s delve deeper into these aspects.

Providing the doctor with a detailed report on sleep onset, frequency of awakenings, wake-up times in the morning, and time spent out of bed is crucial. Wearable gadgets can log basic sleep trends, though they’re not the same as professional assessments. Nevertheless, for observing trends (whether you slept more compared to previous periods), these devices can be quite suitable.

Furthermore, it’s essential to inform the doctor about what happens when you can’t fall asleep or when you wake up. For instance, certain post-awakening habits, like snacking or watching TV, might negatively impact sleep quality. Engaging in such activities during wakefulness might not promote improved sleep and could create irregular wakefulness rhythms. Discussing these behaviors with the doctor is important as it provides crucial information for proper evaluation.

While the sleep-wake schedule is important, it’s not sufficient for a definitive diagnosis. The doctor also requires your subjective perception of sleep quality, hence the importance of maintaining a sleep diary for more accurate information. Let’s explore the necessary information for a proper assessment of sleep quality.

Sleep Diary

We’ve discussed how collecting data on the frequency of insomnia episodes plays a crucial role in diagnosing and treating this disorder. Keeping a personal sleep diary for two weeks can help you notice how bedtime routines affect how you feel and, if desired, share high-level trends with someone supporting your wellness journey. Occasionally, data on sedative and alcohol consumption are also important.

A good sleep diary should encompass the following parameters:

1. Time spent in bed.
2. Time taken to fall asleep.
3. Duration of sleep.
4. Number and duration of awakenings.
5. Final wake-up time.
6. Perceived sleep quality.
7. Comments.

While filling out a diary might seem laborious to some, some of these parameters can be effectively captured by smartwatches and trackers. This means that only a few additional parameters need to be added. A convenient approach could involve combining tracker data with personal observations. This way, you gather the most reliable information about sleep quality.

There are two reasons why relying solely on tracker data might be insufficient. If the aim is to provide information to the doctor, they probably won’t use raw data from smart devices for diagnosis. Firstly, it’s inconvenient. The volume of information is often presented graphically, making it unclear when insomnia episodes occurred and when they didn’t, a gap that is seldom filled in such trackers. Secondly, your doctor is likely to question the accuracy of your device’s sleep assessment. Data from limited studies suggest that some of these devices inaccurately reflect sleep structure. They tend to overestimate sleep duration in healthy sleepers and with greater error in patients with insomnia³². Hence, maintaining control over data collection is essential, verifying and correcting them when the representation becomes inaccurate. It’s beneficial to input processed and verified data into a sleep diary that would be convenient for your doctor to work with.

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How to Utilize a Simple Sleep Diary?

Let’s explore how technology can highlight sleep trends, support discussions with wellness partners, and track your personal progress. Firstly, it’s important to determine if sleep issues fall under the diagnosis of insomnia. As mentioned earlier, having at least 3 episodes of insomnia for a minimum of 3 months is necessary. You can note bad-sleep nights in the app to spot personal patterns. You can use the Healsens wellness card to note nights when sleep felt off and reflect on how those patterns change over time, without diagnostic labeling. This isn’t yet a sleep diary, so instead of daily data entries, simply noting the occurrence of insomnia is sufficient, which, of course, is a far less labor-intensive task and takes less than a minute of your time.

Although you’re likely aware of the importance of creating a conducive sleep environment, let’s reiterate that maintaining darkness, quietness, and coolness in the bedroom is crucial. It’s advisable not to go to bed if you don’t feel sleepy before bedtime. Additionally, waking up at the same time every morning for seven days a week and getting out of bed within 10-15 minutes after waking up is essential. Spending excessive time in bed is also crucial to avoid. Even though it might seem reasonable to catch a few extra winks, prolonged time in bed leads to a paradoxical effect – a conditioned arousal and fragmented sleep. The goal is to reduce time spent in bed.

This is where a sleep diary can come to the rescue. Search for a sleep diary, and after waking up, note how many hours you spent in bed and how much of that time you actually slept. For instance, if your diary shows that your total sleep time is 6 hours, and your time in bed is 9 hours (sleep time at 9:00 PM and waking time at 6:00 AM), then set a new sleep schedule to reduce time in bed. For example, you could set a bedtime of midnight and a waking time of 6:00 AM. If you’re using an app, you can set goals related to these sleep characteristics. This way, you’ll easily monitor how many times during that period you’ve achieved your set goal.

“Your notes can help you have a more informed conversation with your doctor.”

“Keep noting your sleep so you can see how your habits change over time.” This not only allows you to monitor progress but also provides crucial information for adjusting therapeutic measures in the future.

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Сообщение Unlocking Better Sleep: The Power Of A Simple Sleep Diary появились сначала на Healsens.