An afterthought by many brands over the last decade, accurate stress-tracking wearables with useful features and insights are finally here.
Household-name smartwatches and fitness trackers aren’t the only devices with helpful stress management features, either. Top smart rings from Oura and versatile wearables like the Whoop 4.0 are leading the way in tracking body responses.
Yet, this remains a slightly murky area of tracking. With no definitive metric for stress, each brand presents it slightly differently. By testing stress trackers since 2015, we’ve found the best can identify triggers, prompt breathing exercises when needed, and affirm subjective interpretations.
Like activity trackers, stress monitors don’t do the work for you. However, they can be a potent tool for better understanding your body.
Below, we’ll detail the best stress trackers and features we’ve tried. You’ll also find tips on getting the most out of features and insight into stress management score calculations.
Quick view: The best stress trackers in this guide
- Oura Ring Gen 4
- Whoop 4.0
- Google Fitbit
- Garmin
- Apple Watch
- Samsung Galaxy Watch
Oura
How Oura stress tracking works
Oura has two core stress-tracking features: Resilience and Daytime Stress. In tandem, these features make it our top recommendation for stress tracking.
We’ve covered each in separate guides and reviews, but, as a reference, Daytime Stress is the feature shown above. It uses HRV, motion, and body temperature to plot points throughout the day on a graph. This interprets the user’s balance between stress and restoration.
The algorithm learns your baselines, and we’ve found it to be on the money compared to our subjective feelings. It’s transformed our ability to understand what triggers responses, and an Oura feature we check in with daily.
If your focus is more long-term, Resilience is the feature for you. This analyzes the balance between stress and recovery in the last two weeks. It determines your resilience with a grading ranging from Limited to Exceptional.
This is less useful for understanding triggers. However, we’ve found it especially useful for spotting when recovery (usually sleep quality, in our case) has slipped. Alternatively, we sometimes notice a change following an uptick in daily stress (usually from not winding down adequately post-exercise).
The best Oura Ring for stress tracking
The Oura Ring 4 replaced the Gen 3 in 2024, but both can deliver the stress-tracking features noted above. That means you can’t go wrong if your priority is this area.
Yet, there are differences in other areas, which we’ve highlighted in this Oura Ring 4 vs. Oura Ring 3 guide. We recommend checking them out before settling either way.
In short, the Gen 4 ring features a lighter design and better accuracy for workouts and overnight blood oxygen readings. Considering the price difference and the required Oura subscription, we think plenty are better off with a Gen 3 ring.
Whoop
How Whoop stress tracking works
Whoop isn’t quite as comprehensive as Oura, yet it can deliver solid actionable stress-tracking data. As such, it gets our approval ahead of other alternatives.
The experience centers around a Stress Monitor score (0-1 = low, 1-2 = medium, and 2-3 = high). This assesses your body’s responses by calculating your real-time HRV and heart rate. The calculation also considers the user’s HRV baseline from the last two weeks and the typical resting heart rate.
It’s a 24/7 feature, but it does take out workouts to differentiate body stress caused by physical activity. Given stress remains high post-exercise anyway, we’re not sure why Whoop bothers to take this period out. Still, the important thing here is that the 0-3 ratings can provide an accurate representation of daily stress. When you check in throughout the day, they feel true to life.
Though more basic than Oura’s, we also appreciate the comparisons made with the same day of the week. If you live on a tight routine, it’s a good way to help pinpoint triggers and trends.
We should also reference the Whoop Journal. It can take a while to finesse the prompts, but it’s an effective tool for linking behavior to recovery.
In short, don’t give yourself a barrage of questions to sift through first thing in the morning.
The best Whoop for tracking stress
The Whoop 4.0 is the only way to access the brand’s stress tracking and journal features. Despite the high asking price for essentially a rented HRM/platform, we still rate it as one of the top wearables.
But, alongside the lofty price, factor into your decision that Whoop 4.0 is now a little old. It performs well for a tracker released in 2021, but Whoop 5.0 will likely replace it in 2025. Well, that’s if previous launch cycles are anything to trust.
Users upgraded for free in the transition from Whoop 3.0, and nothing suggests the model will change next time around. However, the unique nature of the brand’s subscription means anything is possible.
Google Fitbit
How Google Fitbit stress tracking works
Fitbit – nowadays owned by Google – has always been at the forefront of holistic, mindful tracking. And its range of wearables does a solid job of tiering these features.
The most advanced of these are Body Responses. When electrical changes on the skin occur during sweat secretion, the Google Pixel Watch’s cEDA (continuous electrodermal activity sensor) activates. If it detects a spike, it will notify you and ask you to log your feelings.
You can then view and track these events in the Fitbit app, using them to understand what affects body stress. In testing, we’ve found it a bit of a hit-and-miss system. Occasionally, it pops up accurately 10 minutes after a stressful event or change of social setting. But it’s a lot of work to go through and make the links yourself by looking at tags.
It’s unlike Oura’s Daytime Stress, which is passive. And, ultimately, logging your mood around the same time as a body response change is also often inconvenient.
All Google/Fitbit devices can access the Stress Management Score. While the cEDA sensor measures responses, the stress score uses estimates from heart rate and sleep data. It uses a 0-100 measurement, and low scores can highlight the need to pay attention to your body.
We’ve not found this overly engaging, with scores remaining similar even with big changes to sleeping routines or daytime stress. However, it’s a handy feature to check in on if you want a big-picture view of your stress.
The best Google Fitbit devices for tracking stress
To get the most out of Google Fitbit’s stress tracking, you must opt for a device with an EDA sensor. However, this limits you to the Pixel Watch 1-3, Fitbit Sense 2, or Fitbit Charge 6.
We recommend Google’s Pixel Watch line (particularly the 45mm Pixel Watch 3) ahead of that pair of Fitbit models. It can tap into the army of third-party stress and wellness apps available on Wear OS. However, this does come at a higher price than Fitbit’s trackers.
Just be aware that Google won’t be make any more Fitbit-branded smartwatches, so future support would seem fraught. A Charge 6 update may also land in 2025.
The rest of the range also offers stress-tracking features, for those who don’t care about the body response check-ins. Devices like the Inspire 3, Versa 4, and Luxe all have the Stress Management Score.
Garmin
How Garmin stress tracking works
Garmin’s core stress tracking is much more basic than its sports tracking and training features. It uses 24/7 HRV measurements to break down stress into rest, low, medium, or high zones, offering a 0-100 figure to summarize your day.
Although there aren’t insights into this stress monitoring, encouragements to log mood, trends, or any guidance, it does help to see how your body reacts to different situations. Really, the strength of Garmin’s stress tracking is away from this score and in the Body Battery feature.
This isn’t strictly a stress-only feature, as sleep and activity also factor in. Yet, receiving an accurate representation of remaining energy is the HRV measurement’s most useful application.
Garmin’s stress tracking/HRV measurements also feed into Training Readiness, which uses tracked stress history as part of its score, the Performance Condition scale that pops up at the beginning of outdoor workouts, and the Recovery Hours (which will suffer if your body experiences high stress).
HRV Status is also a medium-term assessment of the balance of this recovery insight. Though, again, not strictly a stress-only feature, it’s still a clever and personalized way of assessing the balance of your training or spotting signs of illness/stress.
On the more holistic end, guided breathing exercises are available on some Garmin watches.
However, Garmin is generally consistent with its approach. The brand views stress through the prism of training and conditioning, meaning much of the stress data requires self-interpretation.
The best Garmin for tracking stress
Almost all modern Garmin watches are compatible with the 0-100 stress tracking and Body Battery features. As noted above, these are accurate and solid enough tools if your bigger priority is training and you want some stress tracking on the side to feed into this.
However, the training-focused stress – HRV Status, Training Readiness, Recovery Hours, and Performance Condition – are more scattered across the seemingly endless amount of Garmin watches we’ve tested.
If you don’t want to plump for a hardened, classic Garmin sports watch, the device that offers the best blend of all these features is the Garmin Venu 3/Venu 3S. If the price is too much, you can consider the Garmin Vivoactive 5 – it only omits Training Readiness from a stress perspective compared to the latest Venu.
Samsung
How Samsung stress tracking works
As with some of its rivals, Samsung uses a combination of HRV and HR measurements to generate stress-tracking insights. This includes spot readings, 24/7 summaries, breathing exercises, and access to the Google Play Store’s apps.
With the brand’s latest Wear OS skin (One UI Watch 6), users can also access the Energy Score. This is also accessible via the brand’s debut ring, the Samsung Galaxy Ring.
For us, the daily stress overviews didn’t particularly cut through when testing any of Samsung’s latest wearables. They’re presented similarly to Garmin’s low-to-high graphs. However, the Energy Score is an effective related feature.
It calculates this using HRV and HR, activity levels, and sleep hours data – all adjacent to body stress. Plus, the Galaxy AI summaries in the Samsung Health app often feature holistic and personalized advice on your body’s needs.
The best Samsung wearable for tracking stress
Samsung is far from a leader when it comes to stress tracking. However, its watches have access to a broad app selection and a smart ring is also an option. This makes the brand a viable option for those who want to add stress insights to their wider tracking.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra (above) is comfortably the best smartwatch for doing so. However, it’s also the most expensive and not the friendliest design for women or those with smaller wrists.
The Galaxy Ring is the best alternative, coming in cheaper and with much better battery life.
Apple
How Apple Watch stress tracking works
The latest Apple smartwatches still don’t have a stress monitor feature built in, although there are third-party Apple Watch apps that will do the trick.
Instead, and in the typical Apple fashion of deviating from convention, the Mindfulness app is where users are sent to tackle stressful feelings. Overhauled in watchOS 8 in 2021, the app comprises three key parts: Breathe, State of Mind, and Reflect.
They’re all pretty self-explanatory. The Breathe section has actually been around since watchOS 3 and essentially guides you through in-out breathing sessions of 1-5 minutes. You can receive prompts throughout the day for these quick breathers, too.
Meanwhile, State of Mind is a a sort-of digital journal where you can chart your feelings throughout the day to build up a broader picture. And Reflect are essentially positive affirmation prompts – a fortune cookie designed to promote gratitude and perspective.
All of this data is stored in the Apple Health app for you to look back on, though we wouldn’t say they’re the most engaging set of features, or ones that help you pinpoint behaviours or track stress passively.
Apple also takes heart rate variability measurements when using its Workout app for exercise. This can be tricky to locate in the Health app, but it is one way for you to dig into workouts and identify trends related to stress on your body.
As we say, though, there are also third-party apps (like EliteHRV) that take that heart rate data to help track recovery and stress levels related to exercise.
The best Apple Watch for tracking stress
All Apple Watch devices able to support watchOS 11 are ones we currently recommend for stress tracking, given that this gives you access to the latest version of Mindfulness. This also ensures you’re able to play around with the many options on the App Store.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is comfortably the best experience overall, thanks to its improved battery life, display, and durability, but the Series 10 and SE 2 are still highly recommended.
How wearables measure stress
At the heart of how the majority of wearables monitor stress is, well, your heart. Devices like the Apple Watch, Samsung Galaxy Watch, and many of Fitbit’s trackers use heart rate monitors, which offer 24/7 feedback on our bpms (beats per minute).
In more recent years, wearable makers have developed other types of heart rate activity measurement that can unlock additional health and fitness insights. The one most relevant to this rise in stress monitoring is called heart rate variability.
Heart rate variability (HRV) relates to the measurement of the time interval between heartbeats. Unlike measuring heart rate, which relates to an average number of heartbeats per minute, these heart rate variability readings are more focused on the small fluctuations of the heart.
The key thing here is what can cause those fluctuations. These include age, body position, time of day, and your current health status, but crucially, emotional, physical, and mental experiences can impact heart rate variability.
If your heart rate variability is above its typical range, that’s commonly considered a good thing. A HRV reading lower than your recent baseline can be a sign of stress on your body. The likes of diabetes, heart disease, and cholesterol are medical issues commonly associated with some having a consistently low heart rate variability.
However, that measurement alone isn’t enough to tell you whether you’re stressed or not.
“It takes a lot of specialized expertise in mathematics, signal processing, pattern recognition, and programming to get to the point where you are providing useful information to people,” says Garmin’s Herman Bonner.
Why guided breathing exercises work
There are two main ways that heart rate variability measurements are being used to measure or track stress. The first is related to offering insight into people’s mental well-being. So, this is the kind of stress you experience when you’ve maybe got a lot on your mind.
Many wearables will use this HRV data to produce a ‘stress score’ from 0-100 which gives you a clear idea if you are experiencing a stressful moment in your day.
We have also seen the use of guided breathing exercises that lean on onboard heart rate monitors and HRV to help indicate when you’ve returned to a calmer state.
“Mindful breathing lets users take control of how they handle stress,” says Han Paik, a senior product manager at Garmin.
“When we breathe in a controlled, thoughtful manner we gradually lower our heart rate and increase the beat-to-beat variability. When this happens, the brain gets a signal from the heart that is saying ‘Relax, things are okay! No need to worry.'”
“When our breathing is rapid and shallow, our heart rate gets fast, and more inflexible. That’s when the brain and the body get the opposite message which makes us stressed.”
Playing your part: Understanding body stress
The other big area of stress tracking and wearables relates to fitness and exercise. So, this is the concept of using the same heart rate variability measurements to help indicate the strain and stresses put on the body after a workout and what it can mean from your recovery.
Companies like Whoop, Oura, and Garmin use those heart rate variability measurements to offer insights into how ready your body is ready to perform.
The value lies in using those measurements to understand trends that can help you see when you are at your optimum to tackle a workout.
A high HRV may indicate that the body is in good shape, while a low HRV during activity could indicate a person is fatigued, dehydrated, stressed, or even unwell.
“A lot of the value people get from tracking their stress comes from looking back over their days and weeks,” says Bonner.
“This is a hugely different perspective from what you get from sitting down and firing up a stress test, seeing the results, and moving on to the next thing.
“At any given moment, you tend to have a pretty good sense of whether you are stressed or not. Catching trends and ups and downs when you aren’t even thinking about it can be truly eye-opening.“
Are stress trackers accurate?
Stress monitoring can only be effective if the technology it relies on to provide insights is reliable. Optical heart rate monitors are the key source, but their accuracy and reliability have been questioned over the last decade.
If the heart rate sensor on your wearable can’t accurately read your heart rate, it’s fair to wonder whether it can be trusted to tell you how physically or mentally stressed you are.
When we spoke with Dr. Steven LeBoeuf from biometrics experts Valencell, a company that provides optical heart rate sensors for big-name brands, they gave us their thoughts on measuring HRV, which underpins the current way of measuring stress on wearables:
“It’s really difficult to deliver heart rate variability from the wrist when you have so much movement of the wrist. Our technology works best when people are not moving,” said Dr. LeBoeuf.
It also told us of the value of moving heart rate tracking to other parts of the body (like the ear) and areas that are closer to the heart (like the chest) to improve the accuracy and reliability of the data.
The reliability of wearables’ ability to track stress could improve by looking into other data that can be drawn from the body. One of those being explored is sweat, with the make-up of perspiration potentially able to provide insight into stress hormones and a window into emotional stress.
The future of stress-tracking wearables
Sensors that already provide these stress measurements right now will continue to improve in terms of providing more accurate data and also helping users act on it. That challenge that comes from how people make sense of that says – something Bonner believes will improve.
“Your watch can recognize that you are experiencing an elevated state, but it doesn’t necessarily know why that is the case,” he tells us. “The individual user still needs to bridge that gap, using their awareness of how potential stressors might affect them.“
“The next stage is going to be taking the stress and recovery data that wearables collect and putting it to use,” adds Bonner.
“You will start to see stress tracking insights used to ground and tune personalized lifestyle and training tips,” says Bonner. “Obvious opportunities exist for tuning the scheduling and strenuousness of your workouts based on things like daily stress and sleep quality.”
Stress and wearables are still in their early days, and what they could look like in just a few years time is an exciting prospect.
