I’ve had Whoop for a little over a month. Love it! My stress comes into play a little differently... I am wired to with an “A student” mentality. It’s my duty to ace every exam (not always a healthy approach to life; I’m aware and forever working on it). So, with Whoop I can feel myself at night trying to get 100% on my sleep score. I am a finicky sleeper to begin with, battling insomnia on and off my entire life. Trying to be the curve buster in Whoop is NOT conducive to better sleep. I’m working on my mindset and meditating near bedtime which is starting to help. (The one thing I don’t like about Whoop is the daily reminder “hey, you should get more sleep. Try planning now for a good night’s rest.” If only it were that easy for insomniacs!)
Also, worth noting, I play a team sport. Every Sunday I play soccer, regardless of my Whoop stats. As part of a team, we are all dependent on each other to show up and give our best. I’ve been pleased with how well I can perform on low recovery days. I’ve learned it’s not usually my performance that suffers on those days ... it’s my recovery. So, on low recovery score days I go out and kick ass on the soccer field and then do ALL the things to help my recovery then next day or two... epsom salt bath, compression therapy, whole foods.....
These are all ASTUTE observations, and what I've also experienced with my concussion. I can still show up on a low yellow day, but I'll pay for it the next day so I have to plan accordingly. As for being distracted by WHOOP's sleep scores, maybe you could skip looking at those purposefully and just focus on other recovery metrics, or focus that energy into your journal to really track the behaviors you're trying to test.
Avoiding the temptation to look at sleep numbers apparently isn’t my strong suit 😂. Here is what is working for me... something you mentioned in an IG video.... don’t look at the data first thing in the morning and assess internally how I’m feeling. A lot of times I realize I don’t feel that tired so when I see a bad sleep percentage I am learning to say “that’s interesting; I feel pretty good.” Or, “yeah, that tracks.” Baby steps.
This is it! I always check in with MYSELF first, and then use the data to help me calibrate. That way I'm prioritizing the connection to myself (and my own validation) rather than relying on an external source. Bingo.
I got my second 1% recovery last night. My RHR was 101, resp rate was 20 and my skin temp was up 2.8°. I would like to blame this on my boss and the financial shit show that started yesterday but I can’t. I was sure it was caused by needing pain medication for excruciating back pain. Based on how I woke up this morning, it’s clear I’m dealing with a flare up.
All this to say, the data is really is interesting.
I’ve had Whoop for a little over a month. Love it! My stress comes into play a little differently... I am wired to with an “A student” mentality. It’s my duty to ace every exam (not always a healthy approach to life; I’m aware and forever working on it). So, with Whoop I can feel myself at night trying to get 100% on my sleep score. I am a finicky sleeper to begin with, battling insomnia on and off my entire life. Trying to be the curve buster in Whoop is NOT conducive to better sleep. I’m working on my mindset and meditating near bedtime which is starting to help. (The one thing I don’t like about Whoop is the daily reminder “hey, you should get more sleep. Try planning now for a good night’s rest.” If only it were that easy for insomniacs!)
Also, worth noting, I play a team sport. Every Sunday I play soccer, regardless of my Whoop stats. As part of a team, we are all dependent on each other to show up and give our best. I’ve been pleased with how well I can perform on low recovery days. I’ve learned it’s not usually my performance that suffers on those days ... it’s my recovery. So, on low recovery score days I go out and kick ass on the soccer field and then do ALL the things to help my recovery then next day or two... epsom salt bath, compression therapy, whole foods.....
These are all ASTUTE observations, and what I've also experienced with my concussion. I can still show up on a low yellow day, but I'll pay for it the next day so I have to plan accordingly. As for being distracted by WHOOP's sleep scores, maybe you could skip looking at those purposefully and just focus on other recovery metrics, or focus that energy into your journal to really track the behaviors you're trying to test.
Avoiding the temptation to look at sleep numbers apparently isn’t my strong suit 😂. Here is what is working for me... something you mentioned in an IG video.... don’t look at the data first thing in the morning and assess internally how I’m feeling. A lot of times I realize I don’t feel that tired so when I see a bad sleep percentage I am learning to say “that’s interesting; I feel pretty good.” Or, “yeah, that tracks.” Baby steps.
This is it! I always check in with MYSELF first, and then use the data to help me calibrate. That way I'm prioritizing the connection to myself (and my own validation) rather than relying on an external source. Bingo.
Thank you- in the first week and still calibrating but was instantly overwhelmed at the screen😅
Exactly the article I needed today! It's like you read my mind. LOVE my Whoop but it is a lot of info. Thanks for the perspective.
So happy to help! I have a WHOOP highlight on Instagram too, and a whole suite of articles here!
I got my second 1% recovery last night. My RHR was 101, resp rate was 20 and my skin temp was up 2.8°. I would like to blame this on my boss and the financial shit show that started yesterday but I can’t. I was sure it was caused by needing pain medication for excruciating back pain. Based on how I woke up this morning, it’s clear I’m dealing with a flare up.
All this to say, the data is really is interesting.