Health Effects of Physical Activity
The physical activity score helps you see if the amount and intensity of your exercise are in line with general guidance and your current fitness level.
Do you exercise enough?
Regular physical activity is strongly associated with good health.
In addition to the positive effects on cardiovascular and lung health, exercise enhances your mood, improves sleep quality, and relieves stress.
The daily physical activity score reveals if you are active enough to get health benefits, and how much exercise at different intensity levels you accumulated during the day.
What is an appropriate amount of physical activity?
A good score ( over 70) can be achieved with 30 minutes of moderate or 20 minutes of vigorous physical activity a day.
The score accumulates faster with higher-intensity exercise.
But the goal is not to get a 100 score every day. The best health and fitness benefits are gained with a good balance of vigorous, moderate and light physical activity on different days.
Firstbeat Life gives you an estimate of your daily energy consumption.
Some days can, and will, include only light physical activity!
These kind of days accumulate less points, but help the body recover from previous overloading.
How are differences in daily activity considered in the overall score?
The “overall load” of physical activity is balanced by taking into account that very active and/or physically strenuous days can accumulate more than 100 points (100+). After a day like this, you do not need so much physical activity on the other days to get a good overall score.
A person with a lower fitness level will get more physical activity points from the same exercise session than a person with a higher level since the same exercise is harder on their body.
Restorative exercise and strength training in HRV measurement
Please note that Firstbeat Life measures the heart rate and the loading of the cardiovascular system.
If the workout does not increase your heart rate significantly, such as yoga or pilates, it will not accumulate significant exercise points. However, they do affect physical fitness and health in many positive ways.
How to boost the health effects of exercise
Take breaks from sitting and being still. Stand and move around regularly, including during working hours
Try to do at least some physical activity every day. Walking, taking the stairs, yard work, and walking or biking to work are excellent ways to increase your physical activity on daily basis. Choose what you enjoy doing the most!
If necessary, increase the amount, duration, or effectiveness of your current exercise routine
Alternate between strength and endurance type training and restorative and high-intensity exercise
Steps measure your activity
In Firstbeat Life, you can also monitor your physical activity with steps.
Steps accumulate from walking and running, but not, for example, from cycling or minor movements.
Steps counted in Firstbeat Life can be different to, e.g., wrist monitors that typically register arm movement and vibration as steps.
What to do if your physical activity score is consistently high but your sleep score is low?
You might be exercising too much considering your current fitness or ability to recover.
In this situation, reduce your physical load or exercise intensity until your recovery starts to improve.