Every term, in plain language
Health shouldn't need a dictionary — but when it does, here it is. From Healthspan to HRV, everything Ikavio shows you, explained simply.
Core concepts
Healthspan
The number of years you live in good health — strong, capable and independent.
Unlike lifespan (how long you live), healthspan is how many of those years you spend healthy, mobile and free of chronic disease. Everything Ikavio recommends is designed to extend it.
Healthspan Score
One number (0–1000) summarizing how well you're sleeping, moving, eating and recovering.
Ikavio combines your 9 performance pillars into a single 0–1000 score. It rises when your daily habits support long-term health and dips when sleep, stress or activity slip. Think of it as your health compass, not a grade.
Digital Twin
A living model of your body that Ikavio uses to predict risks before they happen.
Built from your profile and daily check-ins, your Digital Twin estimates things like biological age, burnout risk and your 30-day trajectory — so Ikavio can act early instead of reacting late.
Biological age
How old your body behaves, based on your habits — it can be younger (or older) than your birthday age.
Two people aged 40 can have very different bodies. Biological age estimates how well yours is actually functioning based on sleep, recovery, activity and stress. Good habits push it below your chronological (calendar) age.
Chronological age
Your calendar age — the number of years since you were born.
Chronological age only counts time. Ikavio compares it with your biological age to show whether your habits are making your body younger or older than your years.
Days added
An estimate of healthy days your recent habits have added to your healthspan.
Every day you check in with strong sleep, movement and recovery, Ikavio estimates the healthy time those habits compound into. It turns abstract 'good behavior' into something you can count.
Daily check-in
A 30-second morning survey of how you slept and feel, so Ikavio can plan your day.
The check-in tells Ikavio how you actually feel today — sleep, energy, stress, soreness, time available. It's what makes your plan adaptive instead of fixed.
Nudge
A short, proactive tip from your coach — sent before problems happen.
Nudges are Ikavio noticing patterns (low recovery, sleep debt, rising stress) and suggesting one small action at the right moment. You can choose which types you receive in your notification preferences.
Streak
How many days in a row you've checked in — consistency is your biggest lever.
Small actions repeated daily compound more than any single hard workout. Your streak tracks that consistency and feeds your Consistency pillar.
Body signals
HRV (Heart Rate Variability)
The tiny variation between heartbeats — higher usually means your body is well recovered.
HRV measures the gaps between heartbeats in milliseconds (ms). When you're rested and calm, the gaps vary more (higher HRV). When you're stressed, sick or under-recovered, they become uniform (lower HRV). It's one of the best everyday recovery signals.
Resting heart rate (RHR / Rest HR)
Your heart rate when fully at rest — lower generally means better cardiovascular fitness.
Measured in beats per minute (bpm), typically 50–70 for healthy adults. A rising resting heart rate over several days can signal fatigue, stress or oncoming illness.
Recovery
How ready your body is to take on load today, based on HRV, sleep and soreness.
Recovery isn't laziness — it's when your body actually adapts and gets stronger. Ikavio reads your HRV, sleep and soreness to decide whether today should be a push day or a repair day.
Sleep debt
The accumulated shortfall between the sleep you need and the sleep you got.
Sleeping 6 hours when you need 8 builds a 2-hour debt. It compounds quietly, degrading mood, recovery, focus and even appetite regulation, and takes several good nights to repay.
Soreness
Muscle ache after training — a signal your body is still repairing.
Some soreness after new or hard training is normal (often called DOMS — delayed onset muscle soreness). High soreness means your body is mid-repair, so Ikavio lowers intensity to protect the adaptation.
The 9 pillars
Sleep (pillar)
Quality and quantity of sleep — the foundation every other pillar is built on.
Sleep is when your body repairs muscle, consolidates memory and regulates hormones. Most adults need 7–9 hours. It carries the largest weight in your Healthspan Score.
Recovery (pillar)
How well your body is bouncing back from training and life stress.
Driven by your HRV and soreness. Low recovery means Ikavio will steer you toward lighter movement and better sleep instead of intense training.
Cardio (pillar)
Your aerobic fitness — how efficiently your heart and lungs power your body.
Built through steps, walks, runs, cycling and any activity that raises your heart rate for a sustained time. Strong cardio fitness is one of the most powerful predictors of a long healthspan.
Strength (pillar)
Muscle strength and mass — your body's armor as you age.
Muscle protects joints, keeps metabolism healthy and preserves independence in later decades. It's built by resistance training: weights, bands or your own bodyweight.
Mobility (pillar)
How freely your joints move through their full range — key to staying injury-free.
Mobility combines flexibility and control. Good mobility makes training safer, posture better and everyday movement easier. It responds well to short, regular stretching and movement practice.
Nutrition (pillar)
How well your food supports energy, recovery and long-term health.
Not a diet score — a reflection of how consistently you eat whole foods, enough protein and appropriate portions. Ikavio nudges your food choices contextually instead of prescribing rigid meal plans.
Stress (pillar)
Your mental and physiological stress load — chronic stress quietly erodes every other pillar.
Short stress is normal and even useful; sustained stress suppresses recovery, sleep and immunity. A higher pillar score means your stress load is under control.
Mind (pillar)
Your mood, energy and motivation — mental vitality is part of health too.
Tracked from your daily check-in. Persistent low mood or motivation is a real health signal, and Ikavio adapts your plan (and its tone) accordingly.
Consistency (pillar)
How regularly you show up — the quiet multiplier behind all progress.
A moderate habit done daily beats a perfect plan done occasionally. This pillar grows with your check-in streak and steady training rhythm.
Training & recovery
Intensity
How hard a session is — low, moderate or high effort.
Intensity is the effort level of your training. Ikavio balances it against your recovery: on low-recovery days, lowering intensity is what lets you keep progressing without burning out.
RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion)
A simple 1–10 scale of how hard an effort feels to you.
RPE 3 feels easy, RPE 7 is challenging but doable, RPE 10 is maximal. It's a surprisingly accurate way to dose training without any equipment.
Zone 2 cardio
Easy, conversational-pace cardio — the gold standard for longevity fitness.
Zone 2 is an intensity where you can still hold a conversation (roughly 60–70% of max heart rate). It builds your aerobic engine and mitochondrial health with minimal recovery cost.
Progressive overload
Gradually doing slightly more over time — the engine of getting stronger.
Your body adapts to what you ask of it. Adding a little weight, a rep or a minute over weeks is how strength and fitness are built safely.
Active recovery
Gentle movement (walking, easy cycling, stretching) that helps you recover faster than full rest.
Light movement increases blood flow to repairing muscles without adding training stress. It's often what Ikavio prescribes on low-recovery days.
Warm-up & cooldown
Short bookends of a session: prepare the body before, settle it after.
A warm-up raises temperature and readies joints (5–10 min of easy movement). A cooldown — light movement or breathing — helps shift your nervous system back to rest-and-recover mode.
Nutrition & lifestyle
Protein
The nutrient your body uses to build and repair muscle — most people under-eat it.
Found in meat, fish, eggs, dairy, legumes and tofu. Adequate protein (roughly 1.6–2.2 g per kg of bodyweight for active people) protects muscle, supports recovery and keeps you full.
Macros (macronutrients)
The three big nutrients food is made of: protein, carbohydrates and fat.
Each plays a role — protein builds and repairs, carbs fuel activity, fats support hormones. Balance matters more than eliminating any one of them.
Whole foods
Foods close to their natural state — vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, eggs, nuts, grains.
The opposite of ultra-processed food. Whole foods carry more nutrients and fiber per calorie and are naturally harder to overeat.
Wind-down
A calm pre-sleep routine that tells your body it's time to rest.
Dim lights, no heavy screens, light stretching or reading in the last 30–60 minutes before bed. A consistent wind-down measurably improves sleep quality.
Circadian rhythm
Your internal 24-hour body clock, driving sleep, energy and hormones.
Anchored by light and consistent timing. Morning daylight, regular sleep/wake times and earlier meals keep it aligned — and almost everything (sleep, mood, metabolism) works better when it is.