Water Balance: How to Read GoBe’s Hydration Data
Did you know that water makes up 2/3 of your body? Normal hydration is essential for your body functions. For example, water is crucial to maintaining your body temperature, ensuring your blood circulation, regulating your digestion, transporting oxygen to your organs and cells, and much more.
Staying hydrated can also help you to lose your weight! Dehydrated tissues and cells inhibit protein production and, in turn, new muscle formation and calorie burn.
Dehydration has several noticeable physiological impacts as well, including fatigue, headaches, poor skin elasticity and decreased joint mobility.
How Does GoBe Help You to Stay Hydrated?
When you first put your GoBe on, it will immediately start collecting data to analyze YOUR unique “normal” hydration level. This learning process can take from two days up to two weeks of consistent wearable use.
With a bioimpedance sensor and the patented HEALBE FLOW Technology, GoBe calculates your current level of hydration and compares it to the learned “normal” one.
Low Hydration Level
When your GoBe device vibrates and alerts “DRINK”, it reminds you to drink some water because your hydration level is below normal. This reminder comes long before your hydration levels could cause any potential health risk. GoBe’s objective is to keep you consistently hydrated and prevent you from reaching critical levels of dehydration.
You don’t have to worry if your GoBe shows a reduced hydration level – even if it lasts for a relatively long period of time – unless you are drinking fluids in any form throughout the day.
Hydration Level Accuracy
Your hydration level accuracy depends on many factors. To ensure the best accuracy, you need to
• wear the device constantly in accordance with the user • manual (taking it off to charge only),
• ensure constant contact of the device sensors with your skin by adjusting the strap and
• clean the device in accordance with the care and maintenance instructions.
Additionally, after bathing, showering, washing hands, swimming in freshwater or sweating it’s best to wipe dry the sensors on the bottom of the device along with the skin on your wrist the sensors come in contact with to be sure the moisture does not interfere with GoBe’s readings.
PLEASE NOTE: If you reset your GoBe to factory settings, update the firmware, put the device back on your wrist or turn the device back on after 9 PM, hydration data may not be reported in the mobile app or web dashboard until between 6AM and 8AM the following day.
How Does My Body Digest Water?
As mentioned above, your hydration level is not based on how much water you consume, but instead on how much water your body retains.
When you drink a glass of water, the water stays in your stomach for approximately 10 minutes. From there, it moves through the intestines, a big amount being absorbed in the large intestine.
If you drink water on an empty stomach, before or in between meals, the movement of water through your digestive track would take about 20 minutes. If you have food in your stomach or intestines, the time it takes for your body to process the liquid you drink increases.
Every day your body receives on average about 10 cups of water from water drinking, water-rich foods (fruits, vegetables, soup, etc.) eating and water released during intracellular metabolic processes (a.k.a. metabolic water – which equates to about 13,5 oz per day) absorbing.
The way your body digests water and the rate at which it is absorbed during the digestion process can be impacted by medications that affect your water-salt metabolism and hydration levels. Diuretic medications (to increase urine flow) will result in a decreased hydration level detected by your GoBe and antidiuretic medications (to decrease urine flow) will result in an increased hydration level detected by the device.
GoBe adjusts to YOUR body’s normal level of hydration because the way your body absorbs water, just like the way it absorbs nutrients from food, is unique to you.
Also, it’s important to remember that your body absorbs water differently under different conditions. For example, if you drink two cups of water at once after a long physical activity, your body will absorb less of that water than if you’re periodically hydrating during your activity session.
Finally, the method of hydration affects the way your body absorbs water. Mineral water and isotonic drinks are absorbed quickly, whereas sugary soda and strong alcohol contribute to the loss of body fluids.
“DRINK” Notification
When GoBe detects a decreased hydration level, it will remind you to rehydrate by vibrating and displaying the “DRINK” message on your device screen. GoBe’s hydration reminders are based on the analysis of several parameters including metabolism, activity level and personal data shared in your profile.
You have an option to set a time interval when GoBe will be reminding you to rehydrate to ensure it will not disturb you during meetings and activities. The notifications are automatically disabled overnight.
Hydration Level Indicators
You can also view your hydration level on the GoBe screen. Here you will see 2 indicators:
Each time you put the GoBe back on your wrist, it can take from 30 minutes to two hours to calculate your hydration level. Inconsistent contact between the device sensors and your skin will increase the detection period.
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