How Biometrics Can Help To Tell a Narrative

I am a proponent of using biometric data to help inform one's health journey. I am also of the mindset that these devices, just like everything else, are not some panacea that will solve all problems all of the time. With that in mind I thought it would be useful to use this post to explain one of the ways I use biometrics to inform my own health.

This past weekend, under the duress of peer pressure, I ran the Rock 'n Roll half marathon in Washington DC.

Below is the screen shot of my whoop data recorded from the day of the event, Saturday March 15th 2025.

In the days leading up to the run, I heavily prioritized sleep and healthy eating, so I could prime my body for the event. A way this is reflected in the data is by the green circle indicating 97% recovery and by the 100% sleep performance metric. Now did I need the whoop to tell me that I slept well and was ready for the race? No. If the data had said you are only 40% recovered and need to rest today, would I have not run the race? No, I for sure still would have run.

Now take into consideration the whoop data from the next day, Sunday March 16th 2025.

Apparently when you run 13.1 miles you didn't train for, and follow it with a boozy brunch, a friends brewery bike and beer tour, and then indulge in a wine heavy late night dinner, topped off with a 3 am bed time, your recovery is not optimal.

Did I need my whoop to tell me my recovery was 1%. Definitely not. In fact, I think the 1% recover might have been a little generous.

So how do I use this data to inform a narrative of my health if it didn't seem to change my actions in real time?

I look at data both in the short term and long term contexts, with most of my focus on the long term trends.

For example, when looking at how changes to my pre-bedtime sleep routine are helping my sleep quality and quantity, I don't put too much stock in any given day's sleep performance score or recovery score. What is the actual meaningful difference between a 78% sleep score and an 84% sleep score?... Probably negligible and mostly noise. But looking over the course of an entire month:

Now we can start seeing some meaningful information. Does adding a warm shower before bead help? Let's see. Let's add that warm shower as part of our pre-bedtime routine for a month and then look at the data compared to the previous month without warm showers. By taking the whole month's data you start to wash out the day to day noise that leads to fluctuations. Did your kiddo have a nightmare that kept you up one night? Did you have to talk a friend through a rough break up late into the night on a random Thursday? Were you up for most of the night after get food poising from that food truck that smelled so good, but had all the red flags of "do not ingest anything from me" written all over it?

This is life, and natural fluctuations occur from the innumeral variables outside of our control that affect our existence. So only in the context of the bigger picture and with extended segments in time can we really see if chosen interventions are working for us.

This data, like any biometric data is a tool, that needs to be used in the context of a larger toolbox to help you achieve your health goals.

That 1% recover the day after the race was not a surprise to me, and I knew exactly what I was doing the entire day of March 15th. The key is that I was making an informed trade off. Unless you are a Bryan Johnson like figure, the goal is not to maximize every metric. The goal is to live a full life, a life you are pumped to be living. Sometimes that means getting readings in the red.

Now will my 'longevity indiscretions' of staying up and drinking all night have long term effects? Will I get Alzheimer’s a couple days, a couple weeks, or a couple years earlier? Maybe, we don't have the data on that yet, so who’s to say. But what’s the point of having your memory intact in your 90s, if you have no fond memories to reflect upon?

But what’s the point of having your memory intact in your 90s, if you have no fond memories to reflect upon?

Life is to be lived. The key is using these biometrics is to have them help inform our decisions and give us feedback, so we are as 'in the know' as we can be when charting our path.

For completeness, I have no conflicts of interest to disclose. I do not have any investments in whoop, receive any endorsements or payments in any way, or have any meaningful relationship with the company. I am simply a user of the product and find value in it. I have also used other devices in the past including Oüra and 8sleep amongst others. I have no financial conflict and sure as shit don't get any money from any of them. Just a consumer of their products that occasionally talks about them.