Medical Training: Vagus Nerve Activation + HRV Tracking In Clinical Practice

by Heads Up Health | Apr 24, 2025 | Educational, Educational Content, Webinars

Vagus Nerve & Heart Rate Variability

In an era where holistic health and biohacking converge, clinical professionals and wellness experts alike are turning to the powerful intersection of Vagus Nerve Activation and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) tracking. In a robust and information-packed webinar, Sachin Patel, Dr. Navas, and Dave Korsunsky demystify these cutting-edge tools and explain their practical applications in health monitoring and optimization.

In 2020, data surpassed the value of oil. If you’re not collecting data from your clients, whatever you’re claiming, isn’t happening… This underscores the shift toward outcomes-based care, where real-time metrics replace guesswork. For health professionals, tracking data isn’t optional—it’s the only way to prove efficacy, personalize treatment, and scale trust in a results-driven market.

Sachin Patel

Founder | Living Proof Institute

Understanding the Vagus Nerve: Anatomy and Clinical Importance

The vagus nerve, the longest cranial nerve in the body, plays a pivotal role in autonomic nervous system regulation. Emerging from the brainstem, it extends through the neck into the thorax and abdomen, interfacing with the heart, lungs, digestive tract, and more. According to Dr. Navas, approximately 80% of the vagus nerve’s fibers are afferent, meaning they transmit information from the body to the brain. This makes the vagus nerve an essential sensor of internal bodily conditions.

In his detailed anatomical breakdown, Dr. Navas demonstrates how the vagus nerve’s influence spans from modulating inflammatory responses to affecting mood, digestion, heart rate, and respiratory rate. The nerve also activates the parasympathetic nervous system—often referred to as the “rest and digest” system—which counters the stress-induced fight-or-flight response.

Heart Rate Variability: A Game-Changing Biometric

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) measures the variation in time between successive heartbeats, a crucial marker of autonomic nervous system flexibility and overall resilience. HRV is no longer just for elite athletes—it’s a clinical goldmine. Patel and Korsunsky explain that HRV reflects the balance between sympathetic (stress) and parasympathetic (recovery) states.

Low HRV may indicate stress, inflammation, or fatigue, while higher HRV is typically a marker of good recovery and adaptive capacity. HRV is sensitive enough to predict illness onset before symptoms occur, making it a preemptive tool in both general wellness and chronic disease management.

Data-Driven Medicine with Heads Up

Dave Korsunsky introduces the Heads Up Health platform, which aggregates real-time biometric data from wearables like the Oura Ring, CGMs, smart scales, blood pressure cuffs, and other digital health technologies. It enables clinicians to monitor HRV, respiratory rate, blood sugar, sleep quality, and other metrics from a single dashboard.

Korsunsky shares how practitioners can set thresholds for various metrics to trigger alerts, enabling early interventions. In autoimmune patients, for instance, a consistent drop in HRV can signal an impending flare-up. These insights allow for preemptive care strategies rather than reactive treatment.

Patient Empowerment and the Future of Healthcare

A standout theme of the webinar is empowering patients to take charge of their own health. Patel’s philosophy—”The doctor of the future is the patient”—emphasizes the growing role of self-monitoring and experimentation. Patients can assess how lifestyle changes such as late-night meals, alcohol consumption, or breathwork practices affect their physiological markers.

This empowerment extends beyond anecdotal evidence to objective metrics. For example, an Oura Ring can show how a client’s HRV changes after improving sleep hygiene or implementing breathing techniques, leading to higher engagement and compliance with wellness programs.

Clinical Interventions:

1. Breathwork and Diaphragmatic Training

Sachin Patel emphasizes that many clients suffer from dysfunctional breathing patterns rooted in trauma or stress. These patterns contribute to chronic sympathetic activation. He introduces tools such as coherence breathing, the BOLT test (Body Oxygen Level Test), and breath-focused therapies to help recalibrate the autonomic nervous system.

2. Mouth Taping and Nasal Breathing

Mouth taping during sleep is discussed as a powerful intervention to promote nasal breathing, which enhances nitric oxide production, improves cardiovascular function, and supports better sleep architecture.

3. Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS)

Dr. Navas discusses non-invasive VNS methods, including auricular stimulation and neck-based techniques, which activate specific brain regions associated with calm, cognition, and pain reduction. These interventions are backed by fMRI studies showing thalamus activation and reduced inflammation via IL-6 suppression.

4. Technology-Based Monitoring

Wearables now allow real-time tracking of not just HRV but also respiratory rate and sleep apnea markers. These tools make it possible to monitor subtle shifts that could signify metabolic dysregulation or chronic stress.

Case Studies and Real-World Data

In one compelling case, an autoimmune patient showed declining HRV following a series of intense bike rides. The Heads Up dashboard allowed clinicians to correlate HRV data with training logs and intervene early, potentially preventing a flare-up. In another case, patients using CPAP therapy were found to have chronically lower nocturnal HRV—a useful marker when optimizing treatment plans.

Another clinical pearl discussed is using HRV to guide fasting regimens and glucose monitoring. Patel shares examples where patients could self-adjust based on CGM and HRV data, improving outcomes significantly.

Functional Lab Integration and Data Consolidation

Heads Up doesn’t stop at wearables—it also integrates functional lab data (stool tests, blood panels, organic acid tests), creating a unified view of the patient’s health. This holistic view allows practitioners to pinpoint the root causes of symptoms rather than simply treating surface-level issues.

The Role of Technology in Scaling Personalized Medicine

Korsunsky notes that practitioners with large client bases need automation. The platform’s alert systems highlight patients who fall outside their HRV baseline or exhibit early signs of distress. This triage approach helps clinics operate efficiently while maintaining personalized care.

Furthermore, Patel stresses the marketing value of these tools. Clients can visually track progress, share results, and become brand advocates, effectively increasing referrals and practice growth.

The Big Picture: A Health Revolution

This video masterfully illustrates how the intersection of HRV and vagus nerve activation is ushering in a new era of precision wellness. With patient empowerment, technological integration, and clinically validated interventions, practitioners are now equipped to offer deeper, more effective care.

By transforming subjective wellness into measurable outcomes, HRV and vagus nerve tools are becoming non-negotiables in progressive health practices.

Key Takeaways for Health Professionals

Use HRV as an early warning signal for stress and inflammation.
Encourage patients to self-monitor using wearables.
Employ breathwork and vagal stimulation to improve recovery and resilience.
Integrate biometric and lab data for a 360-degree view of client health.
Leverage platforms like Heads Up for efficient and scalable client management.

Conclusion

As the healthcare industry shifts from episodic treatment to proactive wellness, tools like HRV tracking and vagus nerve stimulation will lead the charge. Backed by research and enabled by technology, these modalities empower both clinicians and patients to make informed, impactful decisions.

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Biohacking Tips By Don Moxley

by Ryan | Apr 17, 2025 | Educational, Educational Content, Interviews

Empowering Patients Through Personalized Biohacking: A Clinical Perspective from Don Moxley

“You can’t sit on your ass eight hours a day and think that working out for one hour is going to make up for it—it doesn’t work that way.”

Don Moxley

HRV Researcher

In the ever-evolving landscape of health optimization, clinicians and wellness professionals are increasingly faced with a common challenge: how to empower patients with practical, data-driven strategies that genuinely move the needle on their healthspan.

In a concise but potent 4-minute video, physiologist and performance coach Don Moxley distills years of applied science into four foundational biohacks that clinicians can integrate into patient care plans starting today. These are not trendy quick fixes—they are time-tested principles grounded in physiology, behavioral science, and wearable data.

The “Four Rocks in the Jar”: Translating Insight Into Action

Moxley’s framework, known as the “Four Rocks in the Jar,” is an elegant metaphor for prioritization in health. Each “rock” represents a key lifestyle area that, when addressed, contributes to not just longevity—but quality longevity.

1. Movement: Treating Sedentary Behavior as a Health Crisis

The first pillar is movement, and Moxley is clear: sedentary lifestyles are among the most underestimated threats to modern health. As clinicians, this reframes the conversation around physical activity—not merely prescribing workouts, but coaching patients to build movement into the architecture of their daily lives.

Clinical Tip: Use wearables and step counters to prescribe movement goals, and integrate behavior-change models to sustain activity over time.

2. Nutrient Density: Moving Beyond Diets Toward Precision Nutrition

Moxley emphasizes nutrient-dense eating, urging health pros to move beyond fad diets and instead help patients assess what their bodies truly need. The use of HRV (Heart Rate Variability) as a tool to measure the impact of dietary changes offers a bridge between subjective experience and objective biofeedback.

Clinical Tip: Encourage food journaling alongside HRV tracking using platforms like Heads Up Health to visualize correlations and identify the most nourishing dietary patterns for each individual.

3. Sleep: Optimizing the Environment, Not Just the Hours

While sleep hygiene is widely discussed, Moxley makes a critical distinction—you can’t hack sleep, but you can hack your sleep environment. This reframing encourages deeper investigation into light exposure, magnesium supplementation, and even cannabinoid use when appropriate.

Clinical Tip: Audit the sleep environment and introduce sleep tracking wearables to fine-tune both quality and quantity. Avoid melatonin as a first-line intervention unless clinically indicated.

4. Light: The Overlooked Variable in Metabolic and Mental Health

Moxley introduces a game-changing perspective: light is both nutrient and toxin. Early-morning sunlight exposure is essential for resetting circadian rhythms, while blue light exposure after dark can disrupt metabolic and neurological health.

Clinical Tip: Educate patients on light hygiene. Recommend blue-light blocking glasses, dim lighting in the evening, and prioritizing morning sunlight.

Why This Matters for Health Professionals

This isn’t just biohacking—it’s applied health science. Moxley’s video is a tool clinicians can use to open conversations, initiate behavior change, and personalize care. When paired with platforms like Heads Up Health, professionals can turn subjective lifestyle advice into quantifiable, trackable outcomes.

Discovery Our New Practitioner Training:

Tracking Patient Health Data Has Never Been Easier!

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Get started with by scheduling custom demo with one of our specialists to see the difference Heads Up can make in your practice. Schedule your demo and discovery call here.

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Optimizing Patient Health with Dr. Brad Jacobs and BlueWave Medicine: A Deep Dive into Biohacking Longevity with Heads Up Health

by Heads Up Health | Mar 13, 2025 | Educational Content, Interviews

Introduction

As a health professional, leveraging data-driven longevity & biohacking strategies can transform how we track and optimize patient health. Dr. Brad Jacobs, a leader in integrative medicine and the founder of BlueWave Medicine, emphasizes three core biohacks that can significantly impact patient wellness. This blog post will explore these biohacks and demonstrate how Heads Up Health provides clinicians with a powerful platform to monitor, analyze, and improve patient outcomes.

Who is Dr. Brad Jacobs?

Dr. Brad Jacobs is an expert in integrative and functional medicine, focusing on personalized, data-driven healthcare. His work with BlueWave Medicine aims to optimize patient performance, resilience, and longevity through evidence-based interventions. By combining advanced diagnostics, wearable technology, and precision medicine, Dr. Jacobs helps patients achieve optimal health with measurable outcomes.

Three Biohacks for Patient Health Optimization

Dr. Jacobs outlines three primary biohacks that healthcare professionals can incorporate into patient wellness programs:

1. Heart Rate Variability (HRV): A Key Marker for Autonomic Function

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is a powerful biomarker for stress resilience, cardiovascular health, and nervous system balance. Tracking HRV can provide critical insights into a patient’s recovery capacity and stress adaptation.

Tools to Track HRV with Heads Up Health

With Heads Up Health, practitioners can integrate HRV data from:

Oura Ring
Polar
Garmin
Withings
Apple Watch HRV tracking

Ways they have improved HRV?

Mindfulness & Breathwork: Encourage patients to use guided breathing apps and HRV biofeedback.
Therapeutic Sound Healing: HRV benefits from sound baths and Kirtan singing can be measured through tracking tools.
Lifestyle Adjustments: Monitor patient HRV trends alongside sleep, alcohol intake, and stress levels within Heads Up Health.

How Heads Up Health Helps Clinicians Track HRV

Heads Up Health consolidates HRV data into a centralized patient dashboard, allowing clinicians to track trends, correlate HRV with lifestyle interventions, and adjust treatments accordingly.

2. Contrast Therapy: Optimizing Recovery and Immune Function

Contrast therapy (hot/cold exposure) is a powerful biohack for patients seeking improved circulation, recovery, and immune function.

Benefits of Contrast Therapy

Cold Plunges & Ice Baths: Reduce inflammation and improve autonomic nervous system balance.
Sauna Therapy: Heat shock proteins stimulate detoxification and cellular repair.
Hormesis: Controlled stress exposure trains the body’s adaptive response for resilience.

Tracking Contrast Therapy in Heads Up Health

Monitor HRV and temperature response pre/post therapy.
Track patient adherence to sauna and cold immersion routines.
Analyze inflammation and immune markers over time using integrated lab test data within Heads Up Health.

3. Mitochondrial Optimization: Boosting Energy and Longevity

Mitochondrial health is critical for energy production, metabolic function, and longevity. Clinicians can help patients optimize mitochondrial function through targeted lifestyle interventions.

Evidence-Based Strategies for Mitochondrial Health

Intermittent Fasting & Time-Restricted Eating: Improves autophagy and metabolic flexibility.
Zone 2 Cardio Training: Enhances mitochondrial efficiency.
Ketosis & Metabolic Adaptation: Helps shift energy reliance from glucose to fat.
Supplementation:
- - Urolithin A – Supports mitophagy (mitochondrial cleanup).
  - NAD+ and NMN – Essential for cellular energy and aging
  - CoQ10 and PQQ – Enhance ATP production.

Tracking Mitochondrial Health with Heads Up Health

Integrate fasting and ketone tracking with Heads Up Health.
Monitor glucose-ketone index (GKI) to assess metabolic efficiency.
Analyze patient biomarkers (lactate, inflammation, oxygen utilization) over time.

Using Heads Up Health for Patient Biohacking

Heads Up Health provides an advanced platform for clinicians, functional medicine doctors, and health coaches to track and analyze patient health data across multiple interventions. The platform allows practitioners to:

Integrate wearable device data (HRV, sleep, stress levels, activity).
Monitor biometrics including ketones, glucose, HRV, and inflammation markers.
Analyze patient adherence to lifestyle interventions.
Correlate patient data across multiple health variables for personalized treatment adjustments.

Conclusion: Enhancing Patient Care with Data-Driven Biohacking

For health professionals like Dr. Brad Jacobs, personalized, data-driven interventions are the future of medicine. By tracking HRV, leveraging contrast therapy, and optimizing mitochondrial function, clinicians can design precise, individualized health strategies.

With Heads Up Health, practitioners can monitor real-time patient data, customize dashboards, and implement biohacking protocols that drive measurable improvements in health and longevity.

Get started with Heads Up Health today and transform the way you track, analyze, and optimize patient health! 🚀

Tracking Patient Health Data Has Never Been Easier!

Leverage The Power Of Heads Up in your Health Practice

Get started with by scheduling custom demo with one of our specialists to see the difference Heads Up can make in your practice. Schedule your demo and discovery call here.

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Data stories: Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Oura HRV

by Roman Serebryakov | Nov 6, 2024 | Data Stories

Introduction To Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy & Heart Rate Variability.

This is a case report looking at the effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) on heart rate variability (HRV) as measured by the Oura ring.

While HBOT is well known for its ability to treat certain medical conditions, less is known about the impact on daily heart rate variability for those interested in improving physical recovery, sleep and longevity.

Overview

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is becoming increasingly common and has many health benefits. See podcast interview with Jason Sonners.

HRV is one of the best predictors of overall system health, nervous system balance, coherence

Consumer-grade wearables such as Oura ring provide a very precise way to measure HRV under the effects of different biohacks such as HBOT

This report looks at the effects of HBOT therapy on HRV from two individuals

About Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)

Hyperbaric therapy (HBOT) is a treatment that involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber.

Normally, we breathe air that contains about 21% oxygen. In hyperbaric therapy (HBOT), the air pressure is increased, allowing your lungs to take in more oxygen than usual. This extra oxygen gets absorbed into your bloodstream and helps your body heal more effectively.

Hyperbaric therapy (HBOT) is used for a variety of conditions, like helping wounds heal faster, reducing inflammation, or treating certain infections. It works by boosting oxygen levels in your blood, which can improve tissue repair and reduce swelling. People often undergo this therapy to speed up recovery after surgery, for chronic conditions, or even for brain health.

A research study administered daily treatments to 35 healthy adults aged 64 and older and found HBOT may be beneficial for longevity in two ways.

1. Increasing telomere length

Telomeres are located at the ends of chromosomes and are responsible for maintaining genomic stability. As we age, telomeres naturally shorten during cell replication.

Shortened telomeres are associated with various diseases, decreased physical performance, and brain atrophy. When telomeres reach a critical length, cells can no longer replicate and either enter cellular senescence or undergo programmed cell death.

2. Decreasing senescent cells

Cellular senescence is a process where cells stop dividing but remain alive and active, releasing chemicals that can cause inflammation and damage nearby cells. This state of cell cycle arrest is often triggered by telomere shortening. Senescent cells accumulate with age and contribute to tissue damage, further accelerating the aging process.

About Heart Rate Variability

Heart rate variability (HRV) is the natural variation in time between your heartbeats, and it’s a measure of how well your body responds to stress and recovers. Greater variability signals better health/recovery.

Heart rate variability (HRV) can be used as a predictor of general health, risk of disease, and mortality. Many wearables, such as the Oura ring, provide the ability to measure heart rate variability (HRV).

Hyperbaric oxygen, heart rate variability & Vagal Tone

Vagal tone refers to how well your vagus nerve is functioning. The vagus nerve helps regulate functions like heart rate and digestion.

Higher vagal tone means your body is better at calming down after stress, which is important for overall health. Research indicates that hyperbaric therapy (HBOT) can lead to significant increases in HRV which reflects good vagal tone.

One study investigated the effects of age and repeated hyperbaric treatments on vagal tone. The researchers found that vagal activity, as measured by heart rate variability (HRV), increased in both younger and older participants during hyperbaric exposures, with no significant difference in response between the groups.

This case study investigated the effects of hyperbaric therapy (HBOT) on heart rate variability (HRV) using the Heads Up platform to collect data and track changes.

Method

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) chamber

The chamber used in this case report was an Oxyhelp dual-plan hard shell chamber.

Protocol

Participant A completed a total of 44 HBOT sessions for a total of 61 hours over a period of 6 months. Participant B completed 97 HBOT sessions for a total of 130 hours over 6 months.

HRV was measured using an Oura ring (generation 3).

Heart Rate Variability – H.R.V.

Oura is a wearable ring designed to track your health and wellness. It continually collects data on over 20 biometrics that directly impact wellbeing (ex: sleep quality, heart rate, HRV, body temperature, and activity levels).

The ring uses sensors to gather data while you’re sleeping or during the day, providing insights into your overall recovery, readiness for activity, and sleep patterns. It is lightweight, comfortable to wear, and water-resistant, making it convenient for daily use without interrupting daily routines.

Data tracking

Heads Up is web and mobile platform designed for analyzing health outcomes.

The platform can integrate data from medical devices (e.g. Dexcom, Libre), wearables (e.g. Oura, Dexcom), conventional lab testing (e.g. Quest, Labcorp), functional diagnostics (e.g. Dutch, Genova, Great Plains), advanced modalities (e.g. hyperbaric oxygen chambers, cryotherapy, infrared sauna) and other sources of health information.

Analysis tools are provided for both individuals and healthcare professionals to study the effects of health interventions.

For this case study, both participants linked their Oura ring to Heads Up and logged all their hyperbaric sessions on their dashboards (Figure 1).

Two participants using HBOT therapy

Participant A

Male

Sex

y/o

Participant B

Male

Sex

y/o

Hyperbaric chamber

Oxyhelp dual-place hard shell chamber

The OxyHelp OxyLife C Multiplace chamber is ideal for multiple users at the same time. This multiplace hyperbaric oxygen chamber allows either an assistant or an observer inside to monitor the user and assist with the session, electronic functions or emergencies. The different sizes of Multiplace HBOT chambers (2, 4 or 5-seater) can also fit cardio equipment like a stationary bike / water rower or can be fitted with 2 to 5 seats for users to enjoy collective sessions.

Measurement devices

Oura Ring

The Oura Ring has consistently been an industry-leading wearable to track sleep, nighttime biosignals, and daily activity. We continue to improve upon each generation of the Oura Ring with new hardware sensors and software features.

Measurement devices

Heads Up

Leverage our simple and powerful health platform customizable for concierge doctors, integrative and functional medicine, longevity programs, research, and digital health solutions.

Results

Participant A (Fig.1)

Participant A completed a total of 44 HBOT sessions for a total of 61 hours over a period of 6 months.

Oura HRV improvements were see as follows:

Participant B (Fig.2)

Participant B completed 97 HBOT sessions for a total of 130 hours over 6 months.

Oura HRV improvements were see as follows:

Summary

HBOT is becoming an increasingly popular treatment for general health and wellness. This case study demonstrated how HBOT had positive effects on HRV in two males, ages 48 and 74.

HRV is a metric commonly measured and tracked by health enthusiasts. The Oura ring is a useful tool to capture the effects of HBOT on HRV. The Heads Up platform makes it easy to visualize trends collected by wearables like the Oura ring and track changes in HRV.

Using wearables to measure health benefits can be very motivating for clients undergoing HBOT. Clinics should consider encouraging their HBOT clients to monitor their HRV as a helpful tool for assessing long-term health and longevity.

Learn More

Schedule a demo and discovery call with one of our specialist to see how Heads Up can help you improve patient outcomes and validate them with ease. Schedule here.

References

Coutts, L. V., Plans, D., Brown, A. W., & Collomosse, J. (2020). Deep learning with wearable based heart rate variability for prediction of mental and general health. Journal of Biomedical Informatics, 112, 103610.
Gupta, M., & Somasundaram, I. (2024). HBOT in Aging and Regeneration. In Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy: Principles and Applications (pp. 129-133). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
Gupta, M., & Rathored, J. (2024). Hyperbaric oxygen therapy: future prospects in regenerative therapy and anti-aging. Frontiers in Aging, 5, 1368982.
Hachmo, Y., Hadanny, A., Hamed, R. A., Daniel-Kotovsky, M., Catalogna, M., Fishlev, G., … & Efrati, S. (2020). Hyperbaric oxygen therapy increases telomere length and decreases immunosenescence in isolated blood cells: a prospective trial. Aging (Albany NY), 12(22), 22445.
Jarczok, M. N., Weimer, K., Braun, C., Williams, D. P., Thayer, J. F., Gündel, H. O., & Balint, E. M. (2022). Heart rate variability in the prediction of mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis of healthy and patient populations. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 143, 104907.
Lund, V. E., Kentala, E., Scheinin, H., Lertola, K., Klossner, J., Aitasalo, K., … & Jalonen, J. (2004). Effect of age and repeated hyperbaric oxygen treatments on vagal tone. Statistics, 4(7), 0.
Lund, V., Laine, J., Laitio, T., & Kentala, E. (2003). Instantaneous beat-to-beat variability reflects vagal tone during hyperbaric hyperoxia. Undersea & hyperbaric medicine, 30(1), 29.
Sari, N. F., & Fawzy, A. (2024). A Deep Dive into the Role of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Enhancing Burn Wound Healing. International Journal of Medical Science and Clinical Research Studies, 4(05), 960-973.
Wu, B. Q., Liu, D. Y., Shen, T. C., Lai, Y. R., Yu, T. L., Hsu, H. L., … & Hsia, T. C. (2024). Effects of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy on Long COVID: A Systematic Review. Life, 14(4), 438.

Mode+Method Validated New HRV+ Supplement

by Heads Up Health | Apr 17, 2023 | Case Studies, Professionals, Research

Supplement Brand Validates New HRV+ Supplement Using Decentralized Digital Health Monitoring Technology That Automatically Collects Sleep & Behavioral Data Through Wearables & Assessments.

Decentralized Health Research Platform

Introduction:

Mode+Method is looking to validate a new product in the supplement space aimed at increasing a customer’s HRV with a goal of rapidly scaling sales this calendar year.

Business Challenges

Mode+Method primary challenges were finding users to test the product, the cost of collecting, managing, and analyzing health data, finding the right partner(s), with a flexible platform. Lastly, Mode+Method did not want to be limited into taking a rigid data collection and development environment.

The end result Mode+Method aimed for:

Mode+Method needed a device-agnostic flexible software solution that could automatically capture the health data they needed while also being able to analyze it in near real-time with ease. The goal was to produce health data that can be used to build trust by making objective claims in their sales and marketing materials.

In the future, Mode+Method wanted a model that could be replicated for discovering product opportunities and validating new products that they develop.

“We used the Heads Up platform to validate our new product targeting nocturnal Heart Rate…to aggregate the study data from multiple wearable systems. The platform seamlessly ingested HRV and sleep data from Oura ring & other wearables, and the reporting tools made outcomes analysis a breeze.”

Don Moxley – Director Of Applied Sciences @ Longevity Labs (Mode+Method)

About The Industry

The supplement industry is one of the most competitive and fastest growing industries in the United States. There are over 29,000 dietary supplements available in the U.S. market, with approximately 1,000 new supplement products being introduced to the market every year.

Despite being such a large market, with an estimated 77% of Americans taking at least one supplement, 59% of global consumers want to see scientific evidence supporting supplement efficacy. Many factors play into this, such as legislation that limits the regulation of most dietary supplements, the presence of “snake oil” supplement brands that devalue the reputation of other brands, and limited research on the effectiveness of supplements.

The scientific awareness of the consumer has evolved post-COVID, partially thanks to new interest in longevity and immunity enhancement. Consumers are no longer only swayed by marketing techniques and older research on individual ingredients, consumers want evidence that the “specialty blends’ developed by supplement manufacturers work as advertised.

For companies to succeed in this evolving market, validating their products and services with decentralized trials will be necessary to build trust with consumers’ purchasing decisions, answering the consumer’s authentic question of, “will this work for me?”

About HRV+

Longevity Labs, Inc, the parent company for Mode+Method, is a health and wellness research company specializing in longevity and human aging. They developed the supplement product HRV+ and designed it to optimize performance and boost Heart Rate Variability (HRV), a health marker associated with reduced morbidity and mortality.

HRV+’s active ingredients include cannabinoids extracted from a proprietary hemp oil, curcumin, magnesium, and omega-3 oil.

Business Challenges:

Since Mode+Method is a new supplement company, and they have aspirations to rapidly grow their new product (HRV+) in 2023. They needed a flexible research solution that is cost effective and quick to set up so that they could receive results back quickly.

Mode+Method is focused on producing high quality supplements, and does not have the infrastructure to validate the product with an in-house technology solution. The complexity of organizing the study, obtaining participants, onboarding them, collecting the data and analyzing it needed to be achieved quickly, with help from a partner.

Therefore, Mode+Method searched for a:

Trusted partner who was well-connected to the wellness and supplement industry, and had experience in consumer health data analysis, all while providing top notch user service.
Research process that was simplistic both internally and for the participants.
Flexibility to try new ideas and possibly test new products easily.
Support with participant recruitment and onboarding.
Single platform that could accurately track biometric data from various inputs that could be easily analyzed at both an individual and cohort level.

Solution:

Heads Up Health worked with Mode+Method to create a solution that supported their research goals to validate their product (HRV+) and differentiate themselves in the supplement industry.

Collaboration & Support

Process Driven: Together, Mode+Method and Heads Up created a highly collaborative and process-driven study startup based on Heads Up’s experience.
Accessible: Heads Up works closely with clients to provide an optimal research study experience. For this project, the Mode+Method team and HeadsUp met weekly during the first 4 weeks of their collaboration,
Top-Notch Customer Support: Heads Up provided consistent customer support, not just through study start, but throughout the duration of the collaboration to ensure a smooth user experience.

Speed: Up and running in weeks

The traditional research recruitment process can be tedious and it can take months for companies to get meaningful sample sizes of participants to validate supplement claims.
Heads Up’s team simplified the process for Mode+Method by developing a recruitment plan, creating a participant onboarding experience, streamlining the consent process, and creating a customized dashboard experience for data input and collection. Together, these solutions reduced the recruitment time so that the study could be up and running in weeks.

Turnkey experience for study subjects

Built into Heads Up’s system are safeguards against participant attrition, which can slow the speed of effective data collection. Heads Up is an easy to use platform, with both customizable and intuitive-to-use desktop/mobile interfaces for participants.
The system allows for low-burden data collection in the form of automated data collection. Heads Up also provides participants with a step-by-step guide concerning expectations and tasks required to be a part of the study.

Automation & Data Visibility

Heads Up’s platform is an integrative technology built around continuous remote monitoring, and supports passive data collection from multiple wearable devices and apps all in one place. In addition to other collected biometric data, Oura Ring wearables were used in the study to accurately measure HRV and other health metrics.
Our platform can easily generate individual reports to hone in on the effects of the supplement on a person-to-person basis, but that’s not all.
Heads Up supports automated cohort analysis to ensure adherence to the protocol, help companies review macro trends across the subject population, and get real-time readings on how performance is trending – all at the click of a button.

Tools In Action:

White-labeled web and mobile app to have unified branding.

Participant Signup

Custom signup page to promote customer trust.

Custom Video Introduction

Welcome video introduction to build a rapport with the participant and educate them on what to expect.

Participant Walkthrough

Click-by-click platform walkthrough for each participant to ensure they understand the expectations and how to use the platform.

Easy click-button consent process to simplify the onboarding experience.

Automated Data Collection

Automatically collected data from wearable devices like Oura that can be set up in seconds.

Assessment Feature

Collect pre and post-subjective data from participants.

Customized Dashboards

Only show relevant metrics to participants.

Signals reports

Automated cohort analysis for quick decision-making and visibility
(ex: out of range tracker, performance snapshots)

Results

18 individuals were included in the initial cohort of the study.13 men, 5 women. The age range is from 28 to 70, average age=58.

Average baseline HRV score= 37.3ms RMSSD. Average score following protocol = 41msRMSSD. With average improvement of 13.24%. Results included individual improvement of 27.8%, 21.9%,17.4%, and 12.8%.
Average baseline AM readiness score= 78.7. Average AM readiness following protocol= 79.62 for an improvement of 1.1%. Individual improvements included 12.1% and 5.1%.
Average baseline sleep score 80.98. Average sleep score after protocol=82.81 for an increase of 2.3%. Individual improvements included improvements of 11.0 and 6.3%.
Average baseline for WHO (World Health Organization) well being survey prior to protocol=15.84. Average WHO Wellbeing score following protocol = 18.75 for an improvement of 18.4%.
All participants reported an improvement with individual improvements of 43%, 60% and 88%

Takeaways

The Heads Up platform is the perfect solution for data-driven supplement companies who want to validate their supplement’s outcomes using near real-time tracking tools that quickly and easily quantify changes to users’ health data from an individual to the cohort level. If you are looking for software and support validating your supplement or health solution, schedule a discovery call with our support team and we’ll be happy to help you.

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