Quite some time has already passed since the global release of the Welltory app (it can be downloaded in both the App Store and Play Market for free), and during this time it has managed to become the popular subject of reviews by leading thematic (medical and technology) resources, as well as gain corresponding popularity among the target audience, while tightly occupying the niche of technomedicine. The application has become so popular because it allows you to assess your well-being and condition through the pulse, which itself could be measured even using a smartphone camera. It sounds unbelievable and magical – so let’s disassemble it and figure it out. 

Welltory’s brief history 

The Welltory app for iOS and Android is being developed by the company of the same name, and it all started in 2016 – the ideological inspirer of the project was Alexander Lyskovsky, who worked for Alawar Entertainment for a long time. According to Alexander himself, after 35 years he began to feel worse, so there was a need to understand his health – and at the same time answer popular questions: how to improve well-being, how to experience less stress, how to be able to have a small but efficient sleep, and so on. 

Since the link between the organism’s status and the influence of external factors is confirmed by a body of scientific research, it was decided to create a specific mobile application that would allow the user to quickly diagnose the current state of the body. The application, in theory, should solve several problems at once: measurements can be taken at any time, in any condition, and quantity, without wasting time and money on expensive diagnostics. 

The miracle of Heart Rate Variability

But another question arises – is there such a method that will allow, at today’s hectic life speeds, to obtain correct data about the user’s body, draw some conclusions, give recommendations, yet concurrently without requiring sizable time investment? The answer turned out to be positive and very elegant – what allows you to do everything mentioned above is a novel metric of Heart rate variability. And the available technologies (more precisely, the camera of your smartphone) allow you to read heart rate variability with relatively high accuracy, without resorting to special devices like fitness watches or chest heart trackers. 

What is Heart rate variability exactly? 

Heart rate variability is not the heart rate itself, but the interval between the start of one heart cycle and the start of the next. Interestingly enough, this interval can change between each cycle – be longer or shorter, and programs and devices that measure HRV analyze these changes and then draw conclusions about the general physiological state of the patient. Moreover, the HRV value depends on the respiratory rate and can assess the current state of the body – whether it is excited or calm, well-rested. HRV is currently actively studied in the medical community, and a plethora of papers regarding this topic can be found in any scientific index search tool. 

How Welltory uses Heart rate variability 

Welltory took heart rate variability measurement as a basis and implemented it into the application, and made it as simple and accessible as possible. For the program to assess your condition, it is enough to put your finger on the camera of your smartphone, wait a couple of minutes, and answer a few questions about the current condition and the factors that influenced it. After a little analysis, the application will give you information about what state you are in, how much energy you have, and what your stress level is. 

Everything is done in a minimalistic way, very accessible and intuitive, and for each indicator there is a small explanation – why the application provides such data. Moreover, Welltory recommends what type of work to do, what to do in order not to aggravate the process of burnout and recharge. And all this is available completely free of charge. Information can be displayed in graphs, and you will see the changes in your body thanks to the neat and precise design language. 

In addition, the company provides several free courses to help you better understand the method of assessing your condition, as well as several tests to test your knowledge. There are plenty of lectures here, but, unfortunately, not all of them are in the public domain – there are those locked behind a paywall. Still, Welltory is not only a cool and convenient tool that allows you to track the physiological state of your body but also a useful aggregator of lectures on a healthy lifestyle.

The paid benefits 

However, for those who want to check themselves on an ongoing basis and more thoroughly, it is recommended to switch to the PRO version. There are more than enough pros here: full access to all measurements, search for relationships between physiological processes, even more graphs and indicators, as well as the ability to consult with technical support. The company employs experts in the field of HRV, as well as doctors and consultants who can track each user personally, monitor their performance, and make concise recommendations. 

Conclusions

Although the application looks very cool from the outside and has good ratings (as well as rave reviews from users all over the Internet), skepticism still remains. It is because not many users understand medicine and all its intricacies, and should therefore either willingly trust the experts(which has recently become a tough pill to swallow nowadays), or continue with the skepticism. 

And it’s rational to choose the first option, after all. Perhaps your health will not always match the indicators, but the application always and immediately warns you – even if you feel fine, this does not mean that the body is not under stress right now. And the tips on what to do to restore the spent energy are very useful. By the way, the application can predict a cold –not always accurately, indeed, but any deviation from the norm should be perceived, first of all, by you. And graphs with data are also given for a reason – react to measurements and take the corresponding action, on the details of which you will be guided by Welltory.