I recently invested in the Visible App, starting off with the free version first, but found it so helpful, I made the plunge and signed up to the subscription. This includes a Polar Heart Rate monitor and arm strap, to accurately measure heart rate throughout the day. If you are unsure if it is right for you, they have a useful quiz on their website to work out whether Visible is right for you.
I am in no way affiliated with Visible, and this is just my personal experience so far. I found it through adverts and at first was sceptical but after researching, and finding it is designed mostly for those with ME/CFS and Long Covid, as someone with ME/CFS and fibromyalgia, I have found it immensely helpful.
The heart rate tracker is much more accurate than a Fitbit, and where a Fitbit tells you to do more, this instead warns you when you are overdoing it. It is still in its infancy so they are constantly improving the features.
The tracker works by sending heart rate information to the app, showing when you are ‘resting’, in ‘activity mode’ and ‘over-exerting’. You can also attach certain activities to times of day to track how much energy you expend on each activity. I learnt very quickly that showering was more exerting than I thought.
Once you get the paid subscription, after a few days of the tracker learning about you, it will set a recommended Pacepoints budget. Pacepoints are basically like the spoon theory, but much more accurate to measure. The app can also show trends and how much on average each activity uses, so you can better manage pacing.
All the options are adjustable, such as adjusting the recommended Pacepoints to stay under each day, and the different heart rate zones, until you find a good median, however for the most part it has been very accurate for me, and is certainly helping me make better decisions for my health. It has also helped me prove to myself and others just how much more energy it takes for me to do tasks that others have no problem with, and to justify my feelings.
The best thing about the app is that it is set up with opportunities for research, where research organisations are investigating health conditions and you can opt in to different projects for your data to be used to help research.
I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but I thought I was good at pacing until I started using Visible, then I realised why I felt awful so much! Knowing how much energy I use is really useful in trying to better manage my health, and though I am still new to it, it has already taught me a lot, and I cannot wait to see what new features they will bring in!
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