Fight, Flight, or Freeze? During the Superbowl, players will be lit up to show what is going on with their bodies. The question was it done already? With wrist straps being cheap and bluetooth evolving, will we see on the jumbotron someone’s arousal levels or parasympathetic reactivation on iPad 6? Speaking of jumbo why didn’t Frank Gore get the ball at the end of the game in a jumbo package? The Atlanta Falcons used Polar HR monitors in games before, so what is the future of this technology? Can we see who is not in the zone? What are the coaching adjustments to help?
The photo attached shows a ring on the right that can be used by mobile devices for HRV, while the wristband on the left will use both GSR and HRV to change monitoring. With thousands of eyes looking at players during games, it makes sense to look at the other 23 hours of the day to help them. What athletes are falling asleep at night easily, who are stressed, who are half awake and need a Ray Lewis dance, and who are just out of shape? This is much better information than the accelerometer junk that are just pedometers with bluetooth apps.
What I learned from last night is that the 49ers are starting slow and needed something to get them optimal. Teams in the future will be leveraging HRV and GSR to see how athletes are responding emotionally, as we have a good idea what is going on with basic physiology.
With the new Tinke, Alpha watch, and now smart fabrics, I think we are going to see a huge wave of HRV tools coming into sport.