What is continuous HRV in wearable research?

Continuous HRV means capturing heart rate variability over hours, nights, or weeks with a defined metric and window, rather than relying on a single clinic snapshot. Wearable programs often focus on overnight or resting windows where motion is lower.

Why do studies prefer overnight HRV windows?

Sleep reduces many daytime confounds such as talking, posture changes, and exercise. Reviews of HRV during sleep describe clear autonomic patterning across sleep, and nocturnal wearable validations often compare overnight averages against ECG references.

What HRV metrics do research teams usually report?

Time-domain metrics such as rMSSD are common for short-term vagally related variability. SDNN and frequency-domain measures appear when the recording length and preprocessing support them. Protocols should name the metric, window length, and artifact rules explicitly.

Do researchers need raw PPG or is IBI enough?

Inter-beat or pulse intervals are often enough for standard HRV metrics. Raw PPG helps when the team must re-derive beats, audit signal quality, or develop new algorithms. Many programs store both computed intervals and optional waveforms.

How is continuous HRV different from a consumer recovery score?

A recovery score is a vendor interpretation. Continuous HRV research keeps the metric, window, missingness, and export path under the protocol so another analyst can reopen the record.

Can Sensor Bio support continuous HRV studies?

Sensor Bio supports configurable capture, computed HRV-style outputs, optional raw PPG, REST and mobile SDK export, and batch downloads for partner and study workflows. V2 is a general wellness device, not FDA cleared for diagnosis.

How researchers use continuous HRV

Get Started