Every answer, part 145 of 145
Answers 2,881 to 2,899 of 2,899: Soma Labs' own answers about Soma, drafted from the pages of this site. Free to use under CC BY 4.0.
The ideas behind Soma
What areas of the body and mind does Soma look at?
Soma Labs lists six areas. For the body, it reads you the same way every week. For the mind, it reads stress and recovery from your nervous system next to how you say you feel. Sleep is about whether your sleep makes up for what your days take out of you, and for the heart, cameras read heart and breathing with no cuff or wires. The gut covers what you eat, how you feel and how your body responds, while activity means strength, balance and how you move. It's all general wellness.
Does Soma compare me with other people or with myself?
With yourself. Soma Labs sets each measure against your own usual range, and after a handful of visits Soma will have a baseline built from your own readings. The Mind score, for example, reads HRV, resting heart rate and breathing against your own range. Soma is a general wellness product, and Soma Axon is still being built.
From Home, The same instrument, every week, FAQ and About.
What is a derived fact in Soma?
It's a result Soma computes from your raw record once you turn on history sync, for example a biological age estimate or a long-term trend. Soma Labs' server-side engines produce a small number of them and return each with its date, how much data it's based on and the version of the engine that computed it. Every one is an estimate shown with its uncertainty, and Soma is a general wellness product.
From Privacy Policy, Terms of Use and FAQ.
Is the science behind Soma finished?
Soma Labs is open about that. Soma is in beta, a pre-release product whose features can change, and the first prototype of Soma Axon is still being built. For each number, it plans to show whether its science is well established or still being tested, along with a margin of error. It also says its estimates can be wrong. Soma is a general wellness product.
From Terms of Use, About, Home and FAQ.
What are the grips in Soma Axon for?
They're part of how Soma Axon keeps each reading the same. You'll stand in the same spot with your hands on the same two grips at every visit, and the grips help read body composition with a very small electrical current while your feet are on the plate. They also take grip strength. Soma Labs builds the pod as a general wellness product, and it isn't available yet.
From The same instrument, every week, Blog, FAQ and Home.
How does a one-time clinic scan differ from a weekly trend?
A clinic scan gives you a thorough look, with several instruments and a clinician in one visit, reading much more but less often. Soma Axon is built for the trend instead: the same readings, taken the same way every week, so you can see how your body changes between check-ups. Soma Labs doesn't see the pod taking the place of a thorough check-up, and it's a general wellness product that isn't available yet.
From Full-body scans compared, Compare, Blog and FAQ.
How do the Soma app's phone-based numbers differ from Soma Axon's?
They come from different instruments. The pod is the same instrument every week, with the same light and camera angles, so Soma Labs says a change in its numbers comes from you. The app's computed results depend on your phone's sensors, Apple Health and any service you connect, none of which Soma controls. Both come as estimates with their uncertainty, and Soma is a general wellness product.
From Home, About, Terms of Use and FAQ.
Do a DEXA scan and a smart scale measure body composition the same way?
No. A DEXA scan measures what you're made of, down to bone density, using a very low dose of X-rays. A smart scale estimates body composition with a very small electrical current. Soma Axon, which Soma Labs is building, will use the smart scale's basic method, a very small current through its plate and grips, once a week. It's a general wellness product, and it isn't available yet.
From Full-body scans compared, Blog and FAQ.
Why do most people know so little about their own bodies?
Soma Labs' answer is about timing. A check-up reads you once a year and a watch reads part of you all day, but most of what shapes how you feel happens in between, as sleep, stress, food and training add up over weeks. So for most people, what they know stops at their weight and maybe a resting heart rate. Soma Axon is being built to read the whole body every week, as a general wellness product.
From About, Know thyself, Compare and FAQ.
Are wellness numbers the same as medical results?
No, and Soma Labs is explicit about its own. Soma's estimates come from wellness signals rather than clinical tests and can be wrong, and nothing its AI features say is medical advice. Its Terms ask you not to start, stop or change any medication or treatment because of something Soma shows, and to talk to a qualified clinician about your health. Soma is a general wellness product that isn't medical care.
From Terms of Use and FAQ.
Can my phone measure my body?
Up to a point. The Soma app shows what your phone and watch measure on three views: Today, Body and Mind. How good those results are depends on your phone's sensors, Apple Health and any service you connect, none of which Soma controls. Camera-based pulse inside the app isn't available yet. Soma Labs adds a weekly pod, Soma Axon, for the full read. Both are general wellness products.
From FAQ, Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Home.
Is resting heart rate a useful number to know?
Soma Labs notes that for most people it's one of the few numbers they know about their own body, along with their weight. In Soma, resting heart rate is read against your own usual range as part of the Mind score, with HRV and breathing. A slow change, like a resting pulse creeping up over a month of short nights, should show up as a trend. Soma is a general wellness product.
From Know thyself, Home, The same instrument, every week and FAQ.
Can Soma's AI features be wrong?
Yes. Soma's Terms call its AI features informational only: they can be wrong or incomplete, they aren't medical advice and none of what they say replaces a clinician. Soma's other numbers carry a similar caveat, since each is an estimate shown with its uncertainty and built from wellness signals rather than clinical tests. Soma is a general wellness product.
From Terms of Use and FAQ.
Does the recovery part of a Soma visit affect the readings?
It comes after them. In a Soma Axon visit you stand still for a few minutes while the pod takes its reading, and then the recovery part follows, with warmth, cool air and mist, light, sound and a slow breath. Soma Labs says that part is there to help you feel good, it doesn't treat anything and you can make any part of it gentler. The pod is a general wellness product.
What's the difference between a whole-body MRI and a DEXA scan?
They look at different things. In Soma Labs' guide, a whole-body MRI takes images of your organs and tissue using a magnetic field and radio waves, with no radiation, while a DEXA scan measures what you're made of, down to bone density, with a very low dose of X-rays. An MRI takes 22 to 60 minutes and a DEXA about 7 to 11. Soma Axon, which Soma is building for weekly visits, uses neither method and is a general wellness product.
From Full-body scans compared and FAQ.
How does a DEXA scan differ from a 3D body scan?
A DEXA scan measures body fat, visceral fat, lean mass and bone density, using a very low dose of X-rays, while a 3D body scanner reads your shape and measurements, estimated fat and lean mass and posture with no radiation. The 3D scan takes under a minute, and a DEXA about 7 to 11 minutes. Soma Axon, from Soma Labs, would read body composition once a week with a very small electrical current, as a general wellness product.
From Full-body scans compared, Blog and FAQ.
How is a clinic health scan different from a whole-body MRI?
A whole-body MRI takes images of your organs and tissue, while a clinic scan puts several instruments and a clinician in one visit. Soma Labs' guide notes that these read different things, so it's worth asking what a scan measures before you book it. Soma Axon is different again: a weekly pod reading skin photos, heart and breathing, body composition, balance and strength in a few minutes. It's a general wellness product.
From Full-body scans compared, Compare and FAQ.
Is a smart ring or a smartwatch better for following sleep?
Both follow sleep. Soma Labs' blog says a watch is on you all day, so it can follow trends in your heart rate and sleep between check-ups, and Soma describes a ring as covering your nights. Soma Axon does something else: the pod is built to read the whole body once a week, and the Soma app reads your phone and watch between visits. Soma is a general wellness product.
From The same instrument, every week, Blog, Compare and FAQ.
How does a smart scale's daily reading compare with a watch's all-day data?
They work on different schedules. A smart scale lives at home, where you can step on it every morning in 30 seconds, while a watch is on you all day and can follow trends in your heart rate and sleep. Both have limits: a scale can give a different number on a rug than on tile, and a watch's optical sensor gets less reliable when your wrist moves or the strap is loose. Soma Labs is building Soma Axon to read the whole body once a week in one closed pod, as a general wellness product.
From Blog, The same instrument, every week, Compare and FAQ.