The new pulse oximeter functionality in the new Apple watch is a great move towards on the road self-care in the hands of the health-conscious traveller. Whether we will see a wholesale adoption of the Apple watch as an essential travel tech gadget remains to be seen. While it may seem like just another gimmick, I know of at least one airline which routinely requests blood oxygen saturation measurements from hospital doctors if its crew are admitted to hospital after being taken ill on a flight.
Except for incidents of food poisoning and other physical trauma, traveller health issues are likely a progression of chronic on-going infringements on health. Another tool worth looking at to minimize the chances of foreign hospital visits is Heart Rate Variably (HRV) monitoring. Selecting the right HRV tool can give travellers actionable data to inform their travel wellness on a daily basis.
What does Heart Rate Variability do for you?
It measures the irregular but healthy intervals between heartbeats. When this happens predominantly, it is known as parasympathetic dominance, you are in the rest and digest phase of activity. On the other hand, when you are not in rest and digest mode you are on the sympathetic side of the nervous system also known as the fight or flight phase. Imagine having a tool you can wake up to that will give you a real-time readout of how well recovered you are based on your sleep.
How important is recovery?
In life and business if you want great results recovery is a key area of focus. If you want to perform as best as you can you need reliable accurate recovery tools. The higher the stakes the more important it is for you to be fully and well recovered. An example I like to give is of the US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. In negotiations with North Vietnamese diplomats, Kissinger noted whenever he arrived directly on a transatlantic flight and went straight into negotiations he got close to losing his temper. When he recognised too much was at stake, Kissinger stopped going into negotiations straight after landing from transatlantic flights.
How many times do travellers go straight into business or performance after flights without consideration for how well recovered they really are. How many times do they make bad judgments and decisions because of a lack of adequate recovery?
If you would like to avoid sub-optimal performance when you travel by getting insights into how well recovered you are, that inform your productivity and performance contact me here on LinkedIn via DM.
The Firstbeat 3-Day Lifestyle Assessment costs upwards of £175 for the free-standing test. My offer is a test for £150 plus a 45-minute consultation. I work with travellers, consultants, and performers who need to be at the top of their game.