I woke up this morning with that heavy, off feeling I felt like garbage. I felt like I didn’t sleep at all. I know I was tossing and turning all night. I looked at my WHOOP (This is a health monitor on steroids!), and it basically confirmed what my body was already trying to tell me. I am not in very good shape today!
First, the big picture: my Recovery is sitting at 1%, and my Sleep score is only 33%, even though I was in bed for 9 hours and 13 minutes (about 9:48 PM to 9:28 AM). That is a weird combo. It means I got time in bed, but my body did not use it the way it normally does. Instead of waking up with that “okay, let’s go” feeling, I woke up feeling like I was already behind.
Then I opened the Health Monitor screen, and it got even more obvious why I feel the way I do. My resting heart rate is 94 bpm, which WHOOP flags as very elevated. That alone explains a lot. When your resting heart rate is that high, it usually means your system is working harder than it should, even when your doing nothing. On top of that, my HRV is 11 ms, which WHOOP marks as low. For me, low HRV tends to match days where my body is stressed, run down, or fighting something.
The biggest “nope” on the screen is my skin temperature: +4.7°F above baseline, also flagged as very elevated. Looks like I had/have a fever. I’m not trying to diagnose anything, but it does make me think my body is dealing with inflammation, a cold, or at least some serious recovery debt. Even my blood oxygen is reading 93%, which is lower than the usual “comfortable” range WHOOP lists (near 95% to 100%). Add it all up, and it feels like my body is waving a big red flag and telling me to “Slow Down, You Move Too Fast”.
I was scheduled to donate platelets today since I do that about once a month. But I called and canceled, because today is not the day to do anything, let alone share my sick platelets (although I do not know how that works… Do my germs get transferred as well? They must, right? Well, they say if you do not feel well, you should not donate any way). With these numbers and how I feel, the responsible move is to rest and let my body do what it needs to do.
So that’s the plan. Not much is happening for me today. Bed rest. Water. Simple food. Soup.
If you’re reading this and you’ve ever had a day where your body forced you to slow down, I’d love to hear it. Leave a comment and tell me what “rest” looks like for you when you actually listen.
So sorry that you are not feeling up to par today! Would love to hear more about your WHOOP monitor. What is it? How does it work? What made you buy one? What have you heard about it? How is that different from an Oura ring?
On another note, when I am feeling punky, I begin drinking lots of water. Then lots of turmeric and ginger -teas and in a stir fry or soup (with tons of steamed greens and noodles and any other veggies I can cram into it). Oranges, as many as I can eat. Lots of rest. Wrapped up in warm blankets. I might even take a hot bath and soak for a bit. Epsom salt is helpful for body aches so I might add that to it. Then let my body do it’s thing. If it means I will get sicker, then I will just try to ride that train. Unless it’s the flu, and then maybe seek a Tamiflu shot from my doctor (if appropriate). But definitely, I try and stay away from anyone who might catch what I might or might not be brewing. Watch lots of movies…..Get better soon!
Now you have me humming Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTUhnIY3oRM
Had a cold (or whatever) over the past week that made every day at least a bit of a struggle, but now mostly back from it. A friend who had the same thing was told by his doctor that he could expect the cough to go away in about a month – something to look forward to!
Glad I could be of service… I am not sure if I hope the song leaves your head or the cough leaves first! Here to being back 100%!
Sorry to hear you are under the weather but hopefully a day of do thing by rest will perk you up. Your WHOOP looks very interesting, I checked the app but need to study it more. I like all the info you can receive from it.
Thanks, Martha! I am looking forward to being back to my usual self!