Biostrap

The bio strap app did what it claimed to do in tracking sleep and HR parameters though it could sometimes be balky to sync up. Battery was okay but not as good as some of the newer devices. It seemed to go for about 36 hours on a charge. The device fits okay though not completely unobtrusive during sleep. Activity tracking is minimal without the shoe pod, and the shoe pod is a pain to place and keep in place. I ended up losing mine on a run, and it didn’t fit certain shoes like cycling shoes with straps instead of laces. Whether it is more or less accurate than other apps is likely depending on who’s marketing claims you go with. Finally, at its current price, I think it lacks value - too expensive for such a device.

There are several reasons that My wife and I like using BioStrap. My wife likes using it for both tracking her exercise and monitoring her sleep cycles. For exercise I prefer my iWatch but for sleep monitoring I like Biostrap the best. I am a 72 year old male and I have been struggling with memory issues partially because of age, partially because of bad diet choices and partially because of not enough deep sleep. Biostrap has a number of excellent monitoring tools that provide you with significant feedback regarding the amount of deep sleep vs light sleep vs awake time per day, week or month. Also resting heart rate and heart rate variable as well oxygen saturation and many other measurements. The hardware and software have helped me to drastically improve the amount of Deep sleep that I get each night which in turn is helping to improve my memory, thinking and clarity. I have it a rating of 4 instead of 5 because they are not very clear on how they determine the sleep score and recovery score so it’s difficult to understand how I could best improve those scores.

I’ve had my Biostrap for more than six months now. My biggest complaints are: 1. Automatic sleep processing. For whatever reason, it seems to think I’m sleeping at times when I’m not.. and sometimes doesn’t detect when I am actually asleep. Those inconsistencies cause skewed data which definitely doesn’t make me want to subscribe to the sleep lab service. 2. Activity tracking. Training exercises can be a major pain and frequently fails. I have tried trading things like box jumps, cleans, clean & jerk, snatch, etc.. and all failed. I’ve performed 12-15 reps only to have the app report that no repeatable reps were detected. I’ve completely given on workout tracking, especially CrossFit, as it is completely useless. (This includes using the Shoe Pod, which I no longer even take off the charger. 3. Background sync doesn’t seem to work. I have to open the app for the band to star syncing. I bought a new phone a few days ago and the problem happens with it as well. I have background sync enabled in settings, but it doesn’t seem to matter.