Garmin Body Battery - Is it worth it? A review

Garmin Body Battery - Is it worth it? A review
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[@lynnmikemiller8370]

Ray, I totally agree it is worth it. I just went through heart surgery and being a hard driver I wanted to push as hard as I did before heart surgery. Body battery essentially told me that I only had 25% of the energy I had before my ablation. At first I didn't believe it because the surgery made me feel so much better in so many ways. However, I didn't have to overdo it too many days to realize it was right, that 75% of my energy was going to healing my heart. Once I started following its lead, and learning the patience it was indicating, then I saw my healing go through the repeating plateaus and periods of rapid improvements over the past two months that I now appreciate so much. I now feel better than I have in years, and I attribute the body battery to providing me the guidelines to ensure that I gave my heart the space it needed to heal. I now consider it indispensable. Thanks so much for this review that proves my confidence was well-founded and well-proven.

[@Dark_Knight_89]

I agree. I have also tested Whoop strap 3.0, Oura, (2nd gen) Apple Watch (series 3), Fitbit Ionic, Biostrap, and Garmin Tactic Delta. The Garmin body battery has, by far, blown all the others out of the water. My biggest problem with the Whoop strap was their take on strain. Sometimes stress (strain) doesn’t always elevate your heart rate. I encounter a lot of mental stress at work and Whoop wouldn’t pick up in it. It would only reflect in my morning HRV score which made it difficult to pinpoint where my stress was coming from during the day. Garmin’s stress with body battery allows me to visualize where I’m acquiring that stress through the day. Now that Garmin in their new 10.10 firmware shows sleep scores, this in my one and only daily driver. Garmin wins hands down.

[@RaymePastore]

I can't wait for the new sleep metrics to come to the 945! That and the new surf app.

[@artcantulaw]

If you are wearing it 24/7 to get body battery how often do you charge ?

[@RaymePastore]

I charge 1x every 7-10 days. All depends on my use. If I turned off spo2 at night it would be more like 2 weeks+

[@johannesschilling550]

Thank for the comment. Question: How did the Body battery on the Garmin instinct perform? Was it accurate too? Because i heard the measurements of the Garmin instinct are not so good, is that true?

[@RaymePastore]

I havent tested the instinct but I dont see why they would be different. Ive tested body battery on several other watches and it seemed to be the same. It does take 3-4 weeks for it to work correctly so maybe that was an issue. There are other things that can cause any of these features to malfunction for certain users too (ie not wearing 24/7, they got a lemon, wrist shape, etc)

[@MField-mq9oq]

I've been sleeping with my Fenix on the inside my ankle. Works awesome and don't irritate my wrist at night.

[@jebby16]

My body battery actually reflects my mild chronic fatigue due to Covid. Since May 10, I bottom out to 5 every day and recharge to about 20-25. My sleep is fine according to Garmin.

[@brandyballz]

Hi, I am having the same readings on BB for a while now, did you managed to change the numbers, I was starting to think the device doesn't work properly.

[@thebelovedtree]

It was accurate about my fatigue from POTS, too. It knew I should be as exhausted as I was before anyone else.

[@thebelovedtree]

@@brandyballz generally with ME/CFS you have to stop draining yourself everyday. Ron David at Sanford has some treatments in testing but pacing is the only thing that your average person can do today, afaik.

[@bassbassbasser]

I have long covid and this feature is priceless for me right now.

[@davidfox6522]

I like the body battery feature. Had a vivoactive4 with it and then upgraded to a Fenix6 Pro. Consistent with the video, I find medication or alcohol affect my HRV and reduce recovery resulting in lower body battery levels. I’ll skip a cardio workout if body battery doesn’t display sufficiently recovered. The only time I was sick last year was when I ignored a drained battery and pushed with all day physical activity.

[@gregorykalinin9789]

Just started using it but agree it’s great. Would like to see the underlying HRV data though...

[@maxm1966]

Thanks for the video! It was already good 2 years ago, now it seems even better! It looks like Garmin listened and developed the feature, sharing also the data you mentioned… 😊

[@Superbabey]

As someone with a severe anxiety disorder, its measering pretty well.. almost everything is high stress lol. Thnx for the video

[@siennaco906]

Do you find it a benefit to you anxiety?

[@johnkearns7503]

Awesome review, love that you’re doing a T-test on things amazing

[@matrhein]

thanks for the video! I totally agree that body battery is doing a good job estimating the current readiness if worn 24/7. I just recently discovered though that the stress score strongly depends on the heart rate zone settings. Be sure to update these to what feels correct and achieve even more precise estimations for readiness and recovery. For example, I changed the HR zone estimation from max HR to RHR and suddenly have a much better idea when I was stressed. This of course also impacts the activity minutes feature, so make sure that you adjust these settings to represent your experience best.

[@health_doc]

The manual encourages you to do so actually. I'm just not sure what my heart zones are so i haven't fiddled with it yet

[@JW-th5hh]

loved your review and happy found this video. I have been using the F6 Pro but have been thinking about trying the Whoop as I dont want to wear my F6 24/7. I have heard you say you wear the 945 for activities and VS4 for sleep. how does this work, do you have a garmin device on 24/7 but not the same watch. do they share the data i thought like your review of training status that the device holds the data for firstbeat not connect. I would love to be able to wear a dress watch sometimes with a VS4 on my other wrist.

[@Learnhard]

Thanks! That was very informative and to the point!

[@stephanie_bolland]

Thank you for the overview. Interesting stuff. I wear the Vivosmart 4 at night as it is small and light and then use a Forerunner when running, etc. Will be interesting if Garmin ever update the Vivosmart or develop something similar to the Whoop strap.

[@michaelpennington5111]

Great Video... I have been using Garmin products for many years! Thanks for the video! I also live in Taiwan close to where all the products are made... Exceptionally good company! Thanks again!!

[@jfgad]

Nice video! Just purchased a forerunner and was curious about that feature.

[@Glenn.Cooper]

Thanks a lot for putting this out. I've just switched from a Fitbit Ionic to a Garmin with body battery. Trying to make sense of it all and this was great!

[@rolandrohde]

I agree wholeheartedly with this! Garmin in general, not just with Body Battery, has the best way of providing useful data to the user. The email I get once a week, giving me my scores compared to the last week are just invaluable! Other systems collect a lot of data, but they often fail to present that data in a useful manner. The only thing I am not happy about with my Garmin Vivoactive 4s is, that it seems (like all Garmin watches) too focused on "running" as your main activity. I personally don't go running at all, but do regular indoor rowing exercise, and those just don't get graded and rated in the same way as running...🤷‍♂️

[@cke7156]

yes. i have a battery level of like 8/100 everyday. and i feel like it

[@StormyDog]

This happened to me and also to a friend. You need to reset the watch and turn off PulseOx sleep tracking. Soft reset is adequate if your watch supports it.

[@danan9061]

🤣

[@SuperAmazingAnt]

With sleeps apps you can pull HRV number out of apple watch, do update on this video and add that number there? Does the hrv chest strap also give you number in ms?

[@ShirleiBarnes]

My experience has been on point with what you say throughout the video. I have dinner much earlier because I was not recharging over night. I like it a lot because it makes me question what is happening. And yes agree I also want the HRV number in my watch, or should I say, Garmin Connect?

[@cortneywebb1677]

@Ray Pastore you said you used Whoop? I feel like the recovery metric on that is always wrong. It can be in the red for a couple days when I have done 0 workouts and I will fell fantastic.

[@gregzaks6649]

I have just started listening to this, but I have a feeling it is going to be biased. I have a Garmin Lily Sports edition and am shocked at how inaccurate and useless it is. I am sitting down for 40 minutes doing yoga nidra meditation in my garden and the battery is draining! I get up in the morning, go downstairs to make a cup of tea and bring it to bed, down 5 points! By the time I do my morning exercise and go for a walk it is down to 15! How am I supposed to go through my day without draining it to 5? And I do not feel tired, so what is the purpose of it? To stop my activities?

[@mmaccou]

Thank you so much for this video. I've been researching the Forerunner 945 vs. Polar Vantage V, and this video is really helping. 2 questions for you...First, have you compared Body Battery with Polar's Recover Pro? If not, could you point me in the direction of someone you trust who has compared the two. Second, based on my research I understand wrist based HRV readings are not accurate. Given that Body Battery measures HRV 24/7 via the wrist, I was wondering if you have any comment on that. I know based your perceived readiness, Body Battery was more accurate than the morning's HRV score, but do you have anything else to add?

[@RaymePastore]

I have not compared it to the polar devices. Body battery seems pretty cool and does a good job of measuring my recovery/readiness but at the end of the day how I feel tells me more than anything else.

[@Mat_Gallusman]

Great feature indeed for me on my garmin 245 !

[@maxtsim6459]

Thanks and like to see your views about the body battery feature of Garmin. But I probably would not upgrade my Fenix 5 plus to go for this feature now.

[@RaymePastore]

Thanks. Definitely all preference. The F5/935 are still awesome and just as good as the F6/945 for most things. The upgrade is only worth it if you want a few extra features. And I don't see why body battery can't be on the last gen since they have the stress feature and body battery is just an interpretation of it.

[@peep14]

thanks for your reviews. just got a venu 2, i think i mess with my body battery bc i find the watch too darn uncomfortable to sleep with on! 😖

[@allenw969]

I have a Garmin Instinct 2 Solar. The Body Battery reading seems very accurate to me. If I have a reading of 55 or 70 in the morning I know I will have a pretty good day. If it starts out at 20 or less I can expect to run out of energy before the day is over. If it goes down to 5 I feel so tired that I can hardly move.

[@ihdandia]

Do you rest during the day, and it restores your BB reading? Do you feel better when BB is higher?

[@allenw969]

@@ihdandia Definitely feel better and it lasts longer when BB is high. When it gets low, rest during the day doesn’t seem to help.

[@evahernberg2624]

I don't understand the body battery. I don't feel stressesd at all and I am sleeping in average about 80 but my recovery is often between 30-50. I don't understand why it is so low. I don't drink alcohol and I think I am eating healthy food. I have a Vivosmart 5 and have worn it every day and night for 5 months. Where can I get help to analyze my problem?

[@tylermears2671]

Thank you for the information.

[@lightspeed4021]

Thanks Ray. Fellow anxiety sufferer here too. Looking for a way to better measure how meditation assists manage anxiety rest recovery. As well as tool for training HRM fitness etc. You recorded this 12 months ago mate any further comments on Body Battery effectiveness ?

[@Toddlw]

I just bought the Venu Sq based on health based tracking. Garmin or Whoop come up a lot but Whoop costs monthly (which I feel is really unnecessary). I also suffer from Anxiety and Panic attacks lately so the Body Battery + Stress tracking makes the budget friendly Venu Sq great. If you have the budget, Venu 2 has scored really well also.

[@lisacarleton3902]

Great video. Thanks. How does body battery compare to the recovery time given in the 645 music (as it doesn't have body battery) is there a certain measurement eg below 40 on the body battery that you should not train below? Is there an app/widget that can be used on the Vivo active 4s to show recovery time? Thank you

[@RaymePastore]

Recovery time and body battery are not related from what I see. If you were to use body battery for training I would see how it responds to you first then start using it

[@believeinjesus8300]

Does coffee drain your body battery faster. I don’t know about everyone else but seems like I really burn through my body battery morn to noon. 😮 then by early evening my battery is like at 15 and by bed it’s completely shot.

[@ott55]

I got Covid this week and BB did show my lowest score so far (light fever, sore throat and fatigue were my symptoms ). It works!

[@nicholasritchie5192]

When I caught COVID my stress was 100% for 3 days :(

[@vald_b4420]

Can someone please explain how the numbers work? The high (number at the top) and low (number at the bottom), when you look for the previous days, I can't seem to find any information about what it means anywhere

[@simonealberts4397]

Fitbit sense gives you HRV but not a body battery feature. It’s true, the moments are valuable to capture versus just one HRV score

[@Roqjoru]

Thank you. Great presentation

[@jzen1455]

Does Polar have anything similar to Body Battery? Body Battery is an analytic that really intrigues me. However, I've read Garmin's HRT monitors and sleep tracking are inaccurate compared to Polar fitness tackers. I wish I could find something as accurate as Polar with the analytics similar to Body Battery and other features of FirstBeat. Or do you find the Garmin's accuracy sufficiently accurate for tracking overall health? I don't need precise HRT measurements, just something roughly within 5% accurate of actual readings. I could do without decent sleep tracking, as I'm going to use a fitbit for that because I read they are among the most accurate according to various studies that compared it to what sleep clinics use.

[@mistabionerd8813]

New Garmin for 100 bux, best money I spent on a gizmo, so freaking useful. Vivosmart 4, Hr, sleep monitor, awesomw

[@RaymePastore]

Vivosmart 4 is a brilliant device.

[@DrDakotaX]

I don't feel it's accurate. Sometimes it will show a BB of 5 and I'll feel super energized and ready for the day.

[@ajacobs100]

sh*! imagine if you were at 100%

[@ocubex]

Some good insights here, please can you post the link for your test between HRV and body battery?

[@RaymePastore]

Here you go kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2KvlWOsZpulgLs

[@tomschmiedel3253]

I have had a Forerunner 45 for about 10 weeks. I find body battery to be inconsistent and, simply put, wrong much of the time. It certainly does not reflect how I feel energetically on many days. It is frustrating to see it telling me I need to rest, when my perceived reality is "Let's go!" This is especially true when I get up in the morning after a good and lengthy sleep and it's hardly recharged. When I contacted Garmin support about this, all they do is send me links to read about it, not real support. I wish I could turn it off, but there is no way to do that. I also find it odd that it has not updated my VO2 max in over a month. And one day this week, it had my heart rate reading about double what I determined in a manual 60 second count, done several times over several minutes. I like it for the GPS for hiking and bicycling. The step count is inaccurate, as when I ride it often increments 1000 steps or more over 2-3 hours of cycling. The altitude readings it gives are very, very different than the altitude readings on my Garmin Edge 520. Garmin support has been of no help in determination of which tool is accurate in this matter.

[@tomschmiedel3253]

Yesterday I did a 3-hour bike ride, 45 miles, and over that that time period body battery went from 75 to 60, strenuous activity over 3 hours and a 15-point decrease. This morning I sat and read and wrote at kitchen table for two hours and body battery when from 100 to 80. Light activity over 2 hours and a 20-point decrease. This does not make sense to me, and it is something that happens often with this body battery tool.

[@ihdandia]

@@tomschmiedel3253 Is this still happening for you? Why do you think it did?

[@htmonaro1969]

The body battery on my 945 is very accurate, for me at least.

[@kenmcpherson7134]

Hi Ray, I am a CAF Navy Veteran with morbid level PTSD. You are bang on. I have a vivoactive 4s and the body battery 🔋 is very good at showing me. Great product when their services stay up.

[@a.b1266]

Hey Ken... Retired cop here with some of the same sort issues. Although after having my FR245 for awhile I've found the body battery function not helpful and in fact a bit de-motivating. After having the thing a couple days the body battery went to 5 and has stayed there ever since. I've come to the conclusion that if I had to wait and relax long enough for it to come up I may as well just crawl into the ground. 😆 I haven't slept well in a decade or more, I don't need the gadget to tell me why. Although I damn sure need to workout in order to hope to sleep at all. Having this thing tell me "I got nothing in the tank" isn't helpful. I guess I did half my career with nothing in the tank, and still got it done. Go figure . I think folks like us know that even when you don't feel like it you gotta just keep moving forward, full battery or not.

[@Josecunyat]

@@a.b1266 mate, you might need some therapist help to be able to rest. You might be locked down into stress jail for way too long!

[@a.b1266]

@@Josecunyat been on that road for about 15years, the amount it helps is marginal. The point I was really trying to make is that the power of suggestion can be a negative impact overall. I got rid of that gadget and replaced it with one that gives me the data I want but none of this body battery nonsense. I'm sleeping better, my workout intensity is up, and meditation sessions more fruitful. For me, being more in tune with my self is more benificial than a gadget telling me how I feel I guess. Thanx for the concern though bro! 👍🏻

[@Josecunyat]

@@a.b1266 beautiful conclusion! "For me, being more in tune with my self is more benificial than a gadget telling me how I feel I guess". I leave it like this ;) all the best!

[@samiam369]

@@a.b1266 Hey, wondering what device you decided to go with? Thanks!

[@Matt-Wolf]

How do you figure out exactly what causes a decrease in body battery? E.g. alcohol, bad sleep, etc? Seems hard to find causal relationships, that you can use to improve how you are feeling.

[@RaymePastore]

Trial and error but many times its pretty clear. Sleep well it most likely goes up. Workout hard, drink etc its going down. Drink alcohol one night and you dont recover in sleep its pretty clear what the cause was

[@StormyDog]

Totally agree, body battery is very accurate and very useful.

[@joeowenstalkingsense4439]

Very well put.

[@robyfirmansyah2348]

so we have to wear the watch during night sleep also to have accurate body battery data?

[@RaymePastore]

Yes you need to wear 24/7. Most of the good info comes at night as the watch determines your recovery

[@carlos1000rr]

Great vid!

[@macfin4862]

I'm wondering if the 945 has better sleep tracking than the cheaper models. I've got the 245, body battery is definitely useful, but the sleep tracking seems a bit off (misses some awake times etc) which impacts it a bit

[@chifordenis]

Why I dont have the body battery on my fenix 5? How can I get it? It seems like an good thing!

[@RaymePastore]

only on the newer devices. not on the 935 either. they could totally add it as they have stress but want you to upgrade

[@chifordenis]

@@RaymePastore thanks for the reply. Hope they will add it on the next updates.

[@sheelmirji5494]

Does this feature available for Venue series ?

[@RaymePastore]

Yes!

[@gm3353]

my venu 3 gives HRV numbers, so maybe that's been added since this video

[@murray1961]

What about naps? Are they included..

[@RaymePastore]

yes because you will recharge

[@rajeshkarkera1881]

@@RaymePastore I believe the naps are not tracked for body battery and recharge is only during sleep tracking which is based on the times we set.

[@nxel2]

how can I get it in the 645 music? is there any app in the app store of garmin?

[@lestontonsplongeurs1038]

Only garmin trackers outded since April 2019.

[@TwoWheels_OO]

Why would you say Garmin is better than Whoop? I’m just trying to work out if I should get the Whoop, I have a Garmin but not sure how accurate the body battery is

[@RaymePastore]

Does it seem like body battery recognizes how you really feel? Does it recognize when you are sick, extra tired, drink alcohol etc.? I notice its pretty accurate for me but remember its a piece of tech that can simply not work correct for everyone. As far as Whoop, the tech is cool but the no watch interface and monthly fee kill it for me.

[@mr5039]

Day one of wearing the watch all night. I woke up with a 7. It said my battery decreased by 5 points while I slept. I feel normal. Is this a reset issue or am I a mess??

[@RaymePastore]

It takes 2 weeks of 24/7 use to establish a baseline for you. So day 1 results most likely are inaccurate.

[@mr5039]

@@RaymePastore thank you sir. I feel better already 😅

[@mechthildhaeussler5736]

What bothers me is that with me it is so much more about nervous and mental fatigue than about my body. Haven't been able ever to exercise enough to make it decrease ...

[@hagentrondheim3675]

Do I have to shave the wrist to get most precise reading?

[@Andi69155]

I‘m a little confused about the accuracy. I often have a day light nap for 30-60 min and the body battery shows no loading and no day. Did anybody else made the same experience?

[@rajeshkarkera1881]

I think body battery has something to do with sleep tracking, the naps are not treated as regular sleep so the body battery doesn't take the nap into account and there is no recharge. I think that is a kind of "bug" that Garmin needs to fix.

[@robertbaker1893]

Once I realised that the numbers I get from my body battery monitor bear no relation whatsoever to how I'm actually feeling, I also realised that the best way to use the damned thing is to simply ignore it.

[@Chuibby93]

The body battery is interesting but I still can't see its use. If I actually feel tired, shouldn't I trust that than rely on my body battery to say otherwise? I feel I'm forcing to go according to body battery but doesn't actually provide any proper forecasting. I'm always getting 100 body battery despite actually being tired. I know on certain nights my sleep was completely disrupted but because I stayed lying down on my bed, it thinks I'm actually sleeping. Perhaps my vivoactive 4s is faulty or its software is just outdated but even if it were accurate, I don't really see the point of body battery

[@jebby16]

Interesting comment. I didn't see the point either until I got Covid. Since my "recovery" I'm drained to 5 daily and only recharge to about twenty. It amazes me because my HR and blood O2 levels are normal. Sleep could be better, though. This post Covid chronic fatigue sucks big time.

[@dearillstaygold]

technically, body battery recharging does not necessarily have to do with sleeping, meaning the state of actually sleeping/dreaming. when you are relaxed, even doing something relaxing like watching a movie, reading a book, doing something you like, your HRV increases and your body battery with it. i get to the conclusion that there's 3 different tresholds where your battery either recharge, discharge, or none of the two stayin in a state of "rest". you discharge you're battery when you're in a stressfull situation let's say over 30 on the garmin stress score, you recharge your battery when you are under 15 or so, and battery is in "stand by" when you're inbetween 15 and 25ish. that's at least what i noticed, actual numbers needs to be taken with a grain of salt. and it's obvious that if your stress score il like over 75, your battery drains way faster.

[@nelsonbile8238]

this idea that it is like a gas tank is complete not sense. When your car is out of gas then it cannot move. In Body Battery your devices shows you are 5% for hours and you still get out waking, jugging, swimming. On the contrary if people look very often the Body Battery people are nervous or anxious, increases the adrenaline in the body and the heart rate goes up decreasing your Body Battery. This is not a device approved by FDA for Body Battery. There is not good data for FDA to give the OK that this worth it. So I usually don't pay to much attention to all this propaganda about Body Battery like the Pulse ox. When people have 99% Pulse ox the Garmin watch give you 96-95%. when you have 95% then Garmin give you 91-90, meaning you need medical attention. So it is a nice propaganda to sell a product that may not be useful most of the time.

[@karastover8963]

I hate it because it makes me slow down 🤣 My body battery is at 28 and it's 12:02 pm 🙈 It decreased last night because I trained for 2 hours and im SAF 🤣

[@tommyponsonby2116]

My body battery is at 5

[@anagamin6793]

That is an alarm to remind you that more rest is needed.

[@Nate-hq8no]

Body battery

[@TheJasonLear]

Doesn't work, it is inverted. Shows stress for a good nights sleep. Stress free during a stressful day at work.

[@RaymePastore]

That is strange! Have you been wearing it a while? It does take a few weeks to get right but weird that it would be inversed!

[@TheJasonLear]

@@RaymePastore Been wearing now for about 7 months.

[@RaymePastore]

@@TheJasonLear That’s crazy! I would be really interested to see what happens if someone else wears your watch to determine if its your watch or something about you. You have a cool case study right there:)

[@TheJasonLear]

@@RaymePastore I have even done a reset on the watch and nothing changes. Still high stress sleep and then low/no stress work day.

[@kaidrumm373]

@@TheJasonLear Maybe you are having nightmares.

[@kalihitino]

So Apple is trash? Lmao

[@RaymePastore]

apple is very good, just different.

[@brucelin5842]

So body battery can act like a personal psychiatrist?🤣