FAQS

Q: WHAT IS SORCE?

SORCE is a data-driven platform that measures, tracks and treats the nervous system of organizations.

Q: HOW DO I DOWNLOAD THE APP?

Go to the iTunes Store to download the SORCE App. In order to unlock all its functions, you must first receive a SORCE app code from your employer.

Q: EXPLAIN MY HRV SCORE?

SORCE is grounded in modern science and tracks a bio-marker called heart rate variability (HRV) as a verifiable indicator of the stress level in an individual’s cardiac and nervous system.

SORCE gives you the ability to use HRV as a tool for managing stress, increasing energy, and revitalizing your body without putting it at risk for burnout.

For example, if a person’s HRV indicates a high degree of stress and lack of recovery they will get a “RECOVER" HRV score. If a person is somewhat recovered but not ready for higher intensity they get a “MAINTAIN”. If a person is fully recovered and ready to push the limits they will get a “PUSH”.

The patented HRV measurement method was created by HRV Fit Ltd.

Q: HOW CAN I BENEFIT FROM TAKING MY HRV SCORE?

By taking your HRV Score every day you are able to determine how recovered you are from the prior day's stress.

Using this information, you tailor your lifestyle according to your energetic needs and modulate your choices based on your HRV.

Once you are giving your body a lifestyle it can cope with, your health and performance will improve.

It’s hard for anyone to judge whether they are under or over doing it in their life. While the first signs lead to fatigue, brain fog, disappointing performance, the second can result in increased sick days through colds, persistent fatigue or worst case, substantial periods of layoff from work and life.

The easiest way to start using HRV is to take a measurement using SORCE every morning, then your day as normal, according to your own body's advice.

Q: WHAT IS HRV?

Heart rate variability, or HRV for short, describes the way your heart beat varies – both at rest and during exercise. Contrary to popular belief, the healthy heart does not beat like a metronome but is constantly changing the time between beats in a rhythmic way. These changes are driven by the nervous system, constantly trying to find the most efficient way for the body to operate. The fact that the nervous system makes itself visible through HRV makes the heart a wonderful barometer of how hard your body is trying to preserve its equilibrium.

HRV has been used in hospitals for many years, mostly to help very sick patients whose beats are very regular, with little HRV, and has also been used in high-end systems to help elite athletes. The widespread availability of heart rate monitor chest straps and the computing power packed into an iPhone mean that competitive & recreational athletes can now benefit from the big improvements in training effectiveness that HRV monitoring brings.

Q: WHO USES HRV?

In the past, only doctors and professional athletes had the luxury of ung HRV to determine health and training protocols. However, the SORCE app is an easy to use product that allows the benefits of HRV training to be gained by anyone with an iPhone or iPod touch and a desire to increase their health and performance.

Q: HOW DO I EXPORT MY HRV SCORE DATA?

All of your data can be exported to the email address of your choice. That could be a friend, personal trainer, doctor, coach, or yourself in order to include in your log or just to keep a safe copy.

The file is in .csv (comma separated variable) format and can be imported into many spreadsheet programs such as Excel, Numbers, and OpenOffice.

Q: CAN I TAKE MULTIPLE HRV SCORES DURING THE DAY?

You can take multiple scores during a day and save them, but only the last score you save on any one day will appear in your Chart and Log.

Q: I FORGOT TO TAKE MY HRV SCORE IN THE MORNING, WHAT SHOULD I DO?

On the days when you forget to take your HRV Score upon waking, it is recommended to take a subjective assessment. Simply sit with your eyes closed, and breath deep for 1 minute. Then ask yourself, where is my energy at from 1-10. If your energy lies between 0-4 you want to RECOVER. If your energy is between 5-7, MAINTAIN. If your energy is between a 8-10, PUSH.

Q: DOES THE WAY I BREATHE AFFECT MY SCORE?

Heart rate variability and breathing are intimately connected, and that is the reason we included the paced breathing of the dial animation to provide consistency in the assessment. The chosen breathing rate is based on highly respected research into the effects of breathing rate on HRV; however, some people feel it is too fast for them, especially if they are practiced deep breathers. You can choose your own breathing rate if you prefer, but HRV is a sensitive measurement, so keep it consistent from one day to the next, and never take HRV readings when breathing irregularly.

Q: WHY DON'T I GET THE SAME SCORE WHEN I REPEAT THE ASSESSMENT?

You need to think of an HRV measurement more like a blood pressure than an HR measurement (in fact HRV and blood pressure are regulated by exactly the same parts of the nervous system). Many people have heard of ‘white coat hypertension’ – that’s when your blood pressure is higher in the doctor’s office simply because you are anxious. That same anxiety or lack of relaxation will also lower your HRV. We strongly recommend doing one reading and not repeating without leaving a 5-10min break if you really think the first measurement was wrong.

The breathing rate is also very important for consistency, as explained in the following quote from Dr. Liz Miller, a former neurosurgeon, psychologist & author: The emphasis is getting people to breathe right, which maximizes HRV because breathing profoundly affects HRV – Heart Rate Variation is largely due to the changes that occur during breathing – breathe in – Heart Rate goes up – breathe out – Heart Rate goes down. These changes are healthy, normal and partly relate to the mechanics and partly to the autonomic (sympathetic and parasympathetic) nervous system. The greater the changes between breathing in and breathing out, the healthier and fitter your heart and lungs and autonomic system.

In other words, heart rate variability measures the amount your heart rate changes from moment to moment. Most of this difference is due to breathing patterns. Any change in mental state, even if you are an Indian meditation guru will change your pattern of breathing – the two are inextricably linked! Anxiety produces shallow fast breathing, calm produces slow deeper breathing. The slower and more consistently you breathe, the greater your HRV at any moment, up to a maximum that relates to your own personal fitness and gives you a HRV Score.

Inconsistent breathing, even slight, profoundly affects HRV. Although most people learn subliminally that to get their best reading, they need to follow the animation on the screen, and breathe in a slow and measured fashion, it is possible to mess with your HRV by fractionally altering your breathing. This will happen if you are anxious, tired or otherwise stressed.

From a user point of view – taking your HRV Score needs to be a peaceful ritual. You sit and relax for a couple of minutes, watch the graphic on the screen and then when you are feeling calm, join in breathing with it and then when you are happy your breathing is nicely synchronized, switch on the device and take your HRV Score.

Q: HOW DOES HRV COMPARE WITH MORNING PULSE ASSESSMENT?

Taking your morning pulse is a classic check for signs that your body is under stress and needs recovery. A morning pulse rate a few beats per minute higher than normal is a sign to go easy. The trouble is that there are multiple factors able to influence your heart rate and it is not that easy to perform the test accurately or to track when changes become significant enough to take action.

You can think of the HRV Score as a more sensitive, up to date morning pulse test where the readings and calculations are all done with high precision and stored to develop personalized decision making criteria on your perfect workout and lifestyle advice to raise your level of health and vitality.

Just remember when comparing the two that a higher HRV number is a good thing, indicating better rest & recovery, whereas a higher resting heart rate is bad and may indicate accumulated fatigue.