This discussion has been locked.
You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

Non continuous HRV measurements

For about two Weeks I noticed my Forerunner 955 simply stopped measuring HRV in the second half of the night continuously. There sometimes are small measurements and sometimes none at all. I mainly noticed it because my overall HRV Score went way down, as the higher values from the end of the night were missing. I know the HRV Measurements aren't the most accurate to begin with so I usually use them as a very rough guideline, but the score also affects other metrics like training readiness and the suggested workouts. As a result the bad readings are breaking some of my most used features. At first I thought it was because I was wearing the Watch too loosely on my wrist and the sensor didn't make contact, but even with a tighter strap setting the Problem remains. Rebooting the Watch also does not seem to make a difference. I have been on Sofware version 16.17 pretty much since its release, so the problem probably does not come from an update.

Below are the measured Curves where you really see the problem. 1 is a typical reading in the past weeks, 2 is a very extreme case and 3 is a normal reading from before this started. I don't think the Hardware suddenly stopped working, as everything else about the HR Sensor seems to work normally. The bad measurements have persisted long enough now to make me think there is something wrong with either the HRV Measuring itself or the watch thinks I am already awake after 2 AM, as I have had two or three weird sleep measurements as well. Either way both would appear to be software based, so I am wondering of anyone else has experienced this behaviour.

 

  • Same thing today. But it happens max. once a week, otherwise continuous measurement with minimum outages.

  • Yes, sadly it didn't do anything for me. I think it worked one time but then it went right back to the gaps and the reboot now does nothing. I've seen a few people on the forums who have had luck with the reboot though, so that is probably the best option we have right now...

  • I have since gotten a replacement unit and the problem has not gone away. At least we now know, that it really is a software problem. The first night with the new Watch was recorded nearly perfectly but after that it went of a cliff again. Heart rate, Puls Ox and other metrics such as sleep states are tracked normaly though, so I still don't see why just the HRV is bad. I have seen that it is mostly having problems during REM Sleep phases, but the gaps don't allign perfectly, so that is probably a coincidence.

  • Yes, you're right! The night it went wrong I had a lot of REM sleep and a few interruptions. Might have something to do with the interruption of HRV measurements during micro hand movements. It's a question of how much the hand can move and how often during REM, but then again, it's probably not likely that the REM phase would cause such large watch movements that it would interrupt the HRV recording.

  • Same thing tonight. Again with lots of REM sleep.

  • I get large amounts of REM sleep and have never had any issues with the HRV tracking of my 955 Solar.  I do have pulse ox set to on demand but never use it.  I’ve kept my watch on firmware 16.17

  • The heart sensor on my 955 also stops working at night at times, but in my case, it stays locked, always showing the same heart rate, that is, there are no empty spaces without readings. I have observed that it happens when the clock reaches 35 degrees Celsius or more (I sleep covered with a blanket), once the temperature drops, the sensor works again. When it crashes and does not measure well in settings it says "sensor hub 0.0.1".

    Perhaps that is why during the day the watch works perfectly, since when moving and doing things the temperature does not rise as much as when staying still at night while sleeping covered.

    Before the 17.24 and 17.26 update, my Garmin sensor was working fine.

  • I was thinking the same thing. Maybe in light sleep the movements could be enough, but REM should be pretty minimal. But then again, you also had the gaps during REM, so probably it isn't a coincidence

  • Also an interesting find. I'll look at the temperature the next few nights, maybe mine also runs as hot.