FAQS

Stress Guide:

How does the Stress Guide app work? 

The Stress Guide is much more than just an app to determine your heart data. Rather, it combines innovative medical technology with proven mindfulness concepts to create a digital companion. We scientifically analyze your stress and use relaxation techniques and positive habit building to help you lead a healthier life. Furthermore, the Stress Guide is a certified medical product.

The Stress Guide brings you to effective stress reduction in three steps:

1. Scientifically proven stress level measurement using your smartphone (no additional hardware needed)
Stress Guide is a CE-certified medicine product that was created with the help of physicians, data scientists and IT specialists. We have developed the world’s first patented procedure based on light cardiography, in order to measure your stress level using just your smartphone camera. During stress measurement, the individual respiratory and pulse rate is analyzed, which is used to determine heart rate variability (HRV) and stress resistance.

2. Individualized programs and exercises to combat stress
With the help of leading biopsychologists and stress therapists we have created programs that are designed to reduce your stress, bring you relaxation and achieve long-term success. These courses are recommended to you based on your measured stress level, so as to specifically target your personal needs. Whether through a guided mindfulness meditation, a short breathing exercise or relaxation task- we help you find stress relief.

3. Evaluate personal progress with measurement reports & feedback
The continuous measurement is essential for successful and effective stress management, as it provides you with a feedback loop. Based on this, you are able to understand your stress and how to manage it. Stress Guide provides you with your stress analysis reports and helps you to track your progress, so you can see the positive influence your actions are having on building healthy habits and a healthier you.

How can you measure my stress with the smartphone camera?

The smartphone’s camera and flash light enable us to take a deeper look into the human body. By illuminating your fingertip, the Stress Guide is able to detect and analyze changes in your blood vessels, which occur due to your natural heartbeat. When blood is pumped through your vessels they appear darker, whilst blood being pumped out leads to lighter vessels. Based on these changes, the Stress Guide is able to detect various medical vital parameters- including the heart rate variability (HRV), which mirrors the autonomic nervous system’s ability to adapt to stress. If a person is suffering severely from stress, their heart is no longer able to adapt well to short-term stress. What usually takes place in a matter of split seconds now becomes visible. Consequently, our special algorithm analyzes the data obtained and determines your heart rate variability. Based on the HRV, the Stress Guide is able to make statements on the intensity of cardiovascular stress (Stress Level). Furthermore, the body’s ability to recover is measured (Recovery Ability), as well as whether the body is currently resting or using existing energy reserves (Energy Status).

 

What do your courses offer?

The Stress Guide helps you to find peace and relaxation. Based on your stress level we compile an effective program for you to manage your stress. This program consists of various exercises and techniques that support you in different ways to lower your stress level. Mindfulness meditations help you to reorganize your thoughts and find a state of inner calm. Breathing exercises are an effective calming tool, because through the breath you are able to bring your body into a relaxed state. Coaching tips, which were created by bio psychologists and meditation experts, help you to better deal with stressful situations. Furthermore, you also receive positive quotes to inspire and motivate you. We accompany you through your daily life and support you, no matter which challenges you may currently face. With the Stress Guide App you always have your stress coach with you.

Is the Stress Guide app medically certified?

The Kenkou Stress Guide is the first digital platform to medically classify stress and offer individualized interventions. With the help of doctors, biopsychologists and IT specialists we have developed a stress solution. The Stress Guide app is a medical product (class I) developed by scientists, which of course guarantees data protection, is easy to use as well as entertaining.

Stress Management:  

How can you measure my stress?

We measure various vital data in order to determine your stress level. The three most important are your Stress Level, your Relaxation Ability and your Energy Status.

Your Stress Level is a heart rate index and is determined by the variability of the heart rate. It is an objective indication of how much stress you are currently under.

Your Recovery Ability is measured by the parasympathetic nervous system. This controls your body while at rest. The easier you are able to calm down, the higher your stress resilience is.

The Energy Status is also measured by the parasympathetic nervous system. Here, we determine how fast the change in your heart beats occurs, based on which we can detect whether your body is resting or using existing energy reserves.

What do the values for HRV, RMSSD, PNN50 and RSA amplitude mean?

HRV: 
The time interval between the heartbeats of a healthy heart is constantly fluctuating. Although these fluctuations can be small, they indicate how well your body handles stress. The intervals over a given time period are referred to as your heart rate variability, or HRV. A high HRV indicates that your body can cope well with stress. In contrast, a low HRV can be a symptom of fatigue, stress or even illness. There are many values that can be used to measure HRV, of which RMSSD und PNN50 are two.

Root Mean Square of Successive Differences (RMSSD):
Rhythmic Variability of the Heart (RMSSD) tells you how well your body is recovering from stress. It reflects how well the parasympathetic nervous system can help you to regenerate and recover. A high level of stress relief is partly due to a high RMSSD.

PNN50:
The PNN50 is the fraction of consecutive heartbeats with an interval greater than 50 milliseconds between them. Therefore, a higher PNN50 value shows that your heart rate has drastically changed in a short time period.

RSA Amplitude:
Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA) Amplitude, sometimes referred to as the HRV amplitude, is the change of heart rate believed to be caused by breathing. We are measuring it by breaking the measurement into sections which match the expected breathing interval of our users – ten seconds in length – , calculating the difference between the maximum and minimum heart rate, and averaging the results found for each of the sections; AVG (Max – Min Heart Rate).

 

My Account:

Is the Stress Guide compatible with my smartphone?

– iOS/ Apple: All models from 6s (2015) ie. operating system 11
– Android: All models from operating system 6.0

 

Is the Stress Guide compatible with my iPad?

Unfortunately, the stress measurement in the Stress Guide app is not yet possible for iPad devices. However, if you subscribe to the Stress Guide, you can use the Guide (i.e. the courses and exercises on stress-related topics) from your iPad. For stress measurements you will then need a smartphone, where you can log in with the same user data.

Which payment methods do you accept?

Payment is made using the credit card associated with your iTunes account after you have confirmed your first subscription purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless you disable automatic renewal at least 24 hours before the current subscription period ends. Your account will be debited up to 24 hours prior to the end of the current subscription period and the cost of renewal will be stated. You can manage your subscription after purchase via your account settings. You can also disable automatic renewal here. Unused periods of the free trial are no longer available after you purchase a subscription.

 

I have forgotten my password- how do I get a new one?

If you have forgotten your password, please select “Forgot password” on the log-in screen of the app. A new password will be sent to you by email. With this sent password you can log back into the app and set a new personal password.

 

How can I delete my account?

In the Stress Guide App you have the possibility to delete your account. Under settings you will find your profile. Choose “Delete account” at the bottom in order to permanently delete all your data.

 

How do I cancel my subscription?

In the Stress Guide App you have the possibility to cancel your subscription. Under settings you will find your Premium Stress Guide. Choose “Cancel your subscriptiont at the bottom in order to cancel the renewal of your subscription.

 

I am an Apple user, how do I cancel my subscription?

If you purchased your subscription through iTunes, you can only cancel it through iTunes. Go to “Settings” on your iPhone. – Select your name -> Apple ID – Select the iTunes Store and App Store. – Select Apple ID at the top of the screen -> then select “Show Apple ID”. – Select “Subscriptions” -> Stress Guide – Select “Cancel Subscription”

How do I contact customer support?

Should you have any further questions, you can always reach us at [email protected].

My Data & Data Privacy

Where do I find more information on data protection?

You can find all information on data protection here: https://stressguidek.wpengine.com/data-protection/?lang=en

How is my data collected?

Your data is collected when you communicate it to us, which may involve data entered in a contact form for example. Other data is automatically collected by our IT systems when you visit our website, which includes mainly technical data (e.g. Internet browser, operating system or time of the page call).

What is my data used for?

Some of the data is collected to ensure that the website runs error-free. Other data may be used to analyze your user behavior.

 

What rights do I have regarding my data?

You have the right at any time and free of charge to receive information about the origin, recipient and purpose of your stored personal data. You also have the right to demand the correction, blocking or deletion of this data. You can contact us at any time at the address indicated in the imprint for this, as well as for further questions on the subject of data protection. Furthermore, you have the right to appeal to the responsible supervisory authority.

Who has access to my data?

We won’t share your personal measurements with anyone. Only you personally can access your measurements. We only compile overall statistics of all users in order to tailor our service even better to your needs. Furthermore, we naturally meet the requirements of the EU Data Protection Regulation (EU-DSGVO) and adhere to the confidentiality and integrity of patient data in accordance with the international HIPAA standards. HIPAA compliance” ensures that healthcare companies follow certain rules to protect the confidentiality and integrity of patient information.

 

How secure is my data?

Kenkou GmbH stores all user data decentrally in highly secure data centers in Saint-Ghislain, Belgium and Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The provider is the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) (https://cloud.google.com/). GCP and Kenkou are therefore subject to German data protection regulations.

In the area of data security, continuous efforts are being made to guarantee data transmission to the highest data protection requirements. Data transfer between the user, our services and in-house always takes place via SSL-encrypted channels. In addition, the user data is stored encrypted with 30 days key rotation.

Only certain individuals have access to this encrypted data, the list of individuals is always checked, and security measures such as 2FA are mandatory. GCP is GDPR, ISO 27001, ISO 27017/2018, HIPAA compliant and many other conforms, the complete list can be found at https://cloud.google.com/security/compliance Kenkou takes privacy very seriously and adheres to the Privacy Policy, the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Conditions.

How do you ensure that your scientific methods work?

We continuously cooperate with established universities and prepare and participate in studies, as we want to ensure that we use the right science-based technology. We work with leading health professionals to provide you with the best stress solution. Our team consists of scientists from the fields cardiology, psychocardiology and (bio)psychology. The Stress Guide is also certified as a Class I medical device.