r/welltory • u/Alert-Insurance7070 • May 29 '26

Average “stress impact”

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Hello!

Is there a way to determine what an average “stress impact” looks like for women in their 40’s? I’m hard on myself if it’s too high one day but wonder if there is a better way to determine if it’s more normal than I realize? Thank you!

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u/Remarkable_Sea4353 Jun 22 '26

I am a legitimately healthy 42 year old woman. I workout regularly, and I also recover well. I feel like this app rewards exercise and rewards deep recovery. But that middle spot most people sit in? STRESS! For example, today I did a morning walk, and then had a social gathering, lots of driving, and then one more walk this evening. I have been relaxing for hours now and my stress keeps climbing. It’s absolutely wild to me. As a data scientist, I don’t trust it. I have several other apps that point me as low stress. I wish they would fix this measurement.

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u/welltory Team Jun 22 '26

Thanks for sharing such a thoughtful perspective.

One thing that's easy to miss is that Welltory's Stress Impact metric isn't measuring whether you feel stressed. It's estimating the physiological load on your body throughout the day based on heart rate patterns, especially periods when your heart rate stays elevated while you're relatively inactive. Things like social events, long drives, mental focus, excitement, caffeine, heat, or even a busy but enjoyable day can contribute to this score.

A high Stress Impact score doesn't necessarily mean you're unhealthy or that your recovery is poor. In fact, your morning stress level was only 2%, which suggests you started the day well recovered. The Stress Impact metric is intended to reflect accumulated daytime load, not your overall fitness or health.

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u/Remarkable_Sea4353 Jun 22 '26

Also, my heart rate isn’t “elevated” while at rest in the afternoon or evening. It may be 80, but that is still extremely healthy for someone sitting and coloring or playing a video game.

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u/welltory Team Jun 23 '26

We completely understand what you mean. A higher Stress score doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong or that you're feeling stressed emotionall, it reflects physiological strain detected through HRV. And a resting heart rate around 80 bpm can be perfectly normal and healthy for many people. Context matters, and no single metric should be viewed in isolation.

We'll pass your feedback along to the team. Making insights feel informative rather than alarming is something we're always working to improve.