Every answer, part 38 of 145
Answers 741 to 760 of 2,899: Soma Labs' own answers about Soma, drafted from the pages of this site. Free to use under CC BY 4.0.
What the pod reads
Do I need to fast before a Soma Axon visit?
Soma's pages don't ask you to fast. What they describe is someone from Soma asking when you last ate, along with how you slept and whether you trained, so it gets noted next to your numbers. A Soma score sums up what was measured and what you reported. Soma is a general wellness product, and Soma Axon is still being built, so there's nothing to prepare for yet.
From Home, The same instrument, every week, FAQ and Compare.
Can I get a weekly body read without buying a device?
That's the model Soma Labs is building toward with Soma Axon: pods you visit in places like Soma's own studio, gyms, workplaces, pharmacies and longevity clinics, all on one account. Soma hasn't announced a price, but says it's meant to be a weekly habit and will be priced like one. The pod reads skin, heart and breathing, body composition, balance and strength. It's a general wellness product that isn't available yet.
Does Soma Axon read my heart at rest or during exercise?
At rest, standing still. Soma says you stand still for a few minutes while the pod takes its reading, with the cameras reading pulse and breathing without touching you. Soma talks about resting pulse when it explains why the pod is kept the same each week. If you trained that day, someone from Soma notes it next to the numbers. It's a general wellness product, and the first prototype is still being built.
From FAQ, Home, The same instrument, every week and About.
Can I measure body composition without an electrical current?
Yes, other methods exist. Soma's full-body scans guide says DEXA reads body fat, visceral fat, lean mass and bone density with a very low dose of X-rays, and a 3D body scanner estimates fat and lean mass along with your shape, with no radiation. Soma Axon, the weekly pod Soma Labs is building, does use a very small current for body composition. Its first version isn't for people with a pacemaker, an implanted defibrillator or another implanted electronic device. It's a general wellness product that isn't available yet.
From Full-body scans compared, FAQ and Compare.
How can I keep a record of my strength over the years?
Grip strength is read at every visit in Soma Axon, the pod Soma Labs is building in Palo Alto, through a pair of grips. A member who comes every week makes 52 visits a year. In the Soma app, Body reads the trend across all your visits. Soma counts strength among the first things to change with age. It's a general wellness product, and the pod isn't available yet.
From About, FAQ, For organizations, Home and Compare.
Can two people share one Soma account for their pod readings?
No. Soma's Terms say each account is for one person, and you shouldn't share it or add anyone else's data. One account works at every pod, so your own record follows you from venue to venue. Soma is a general wellness product, and Soma Axon isn't available yet.
From Terms of Use, FAQ, For organizations and Compare.
Is a 3D scan every month or so different from a weekly pod?
The schedules differ. Soma's guide says one 3D scanner maker suggests a scan every 30 to 90 days, and a scan takes under a minute. Soma Axon is built for a weekly visit so you can see how readings change from one week to the next, and it reads skin, heart and breathing, body composition, balance and strength. It's a general wellness product, still being built.
From Full-body scans compared, FAQ and Compare.
Is there a way to see whether my breathing changes with stress?
Soma's Mind view is built for that kind of question. In the Soma app, Mind reads breathing, HRV and resting heart rate against your own usual range, and tapping its score shows which of them moved it, next to the day's stress peaks. Soma Axon adds a camera reading of breathing once a week. It's a general wellness product, and neither the app nor the pod is available yet.
Is Soma Axon available outside the United States?
Soma offers its services only in the United States, and it's for adults 18 and over there. Inside the US, Soma Axon isn't open yet either: the first prototype is being built, and the waitlist hears first. Soma is a general wellness product.
From Terms of Use, FAQ and Compare.
What does a wellness score actually sum up?
In Soma's case, a score only sums up what was measured and what you reported, such as how you slept or whether you trained. Tap one and you'll see what moved it, with each measure set against your own usual range. If something wasn't measured, that spot stays empty. Soma is a general wellness product, and the Soma app isn't ready for the public yet.
Home scale or a weekly pod: which gives more consistent readings?
Soma's argument is about conditions. Its blog notes that a bathroom scale can read differently on a rug than on tile and that most health numbers shift with the hour, the room and the device. Soma Axon is designed to hold those steady, reading you under the same light, from the same positions and with the same instrument every week. A scale's advantage is that it's at home every morning. The pod is a general wellness product that isn't available yet.
From The same instrument, every week, Compare, Blog and FAQ.
How can I get a body check done without taking time off work?
Workplaces are on the list for Soma Axon, the pod Soma Labs is building in Palo Alto. There, the employer pays for the benefit and never sees anyone's results. A visit is in and out in the time it takes to get a coffee, with a few minutes of reading in the pod. It's a general wellness product, and Soma is choosing its first host sites while the prototype is built.
From About, FAQ, For organizations, Home and Compare.
What happens to my Soma Axon readings if I stop using Soma?
You can close your account at any time, and you can ask Soma to delete your data from the pod and the app whenever you like. After a deletion request, Soma removes the data from its live systems within 30 days and it rolls off backups within 90 days, though Soma may keep what the law requires. Soma is a general wellness product, and the pod isn't available yet.
From Terms of Use, FAQ, Privacy Policy and Compare.
Which body scans are available now, and which are still being built?
Whole-body MRI, DEXA scans and 3D body scanners are all offered today, the last of them in gyms, according to Soma's full-body scans guide, with sources read September 26, 2026. Soma Axon is still being built. Soma Labs, the Palo Alto company behind it, is working on the first prototype. People on the waitlist will hear first when a pod opens, and it's a general wellness product.
From Full-body scans compared, About and FAQ.
Whole-body MRI once a year or a weekly pod: which fits a wellness routine?
They're built for different things. Soma's guide says a whole-body MRI images organs and tissue, takes 22 to 60 minutes and is suggested once a year by providers. Soma Axon doesn't image organs. It's designed for a few minutes each week, reading skin, heart and breathing, body composition, balance and strength so you can see change from week to week. It's a general wellness product, and Soma Labs in Palo Alto is still building it.
From Full-body scans compared, Compare, FAQ and About.
What does it take for a gym to host a weekly body scan pod?
Soma Labs lays out four steps for hosting Soma Axon. First, you tell Soma about the place: its location, how many people come through and what you'd want from a pod. Soma then visits the space, installs the pod and trains your staff to run it, and finally members step in, change in a private room and leave with one calm number. The pod is a general wellness product, and the first prototype is still being built.
From For organizations, FAQ and About.
Do I need an iPhone to see my Soma Axon readings?
Yes. The Soma app needs an iPhone, since it reads Apple Health, through HealthKit, between visits. That's where your readings are explained beyond the single number the pod shows on your way out. A watch is optional. Soma is a general wellness product, and neither the pod nor the app is available yet.
From FAQ, Terms of Use and Blog.
How do I read a body measurement that comes with a margin of error?
The margin is the plus or minus around the value, as Soma's draft API describes it. Soma promises every number it shows comes with its margin of error, plus a label for how established the science is. Its Terms add that every number is an estimate. Soma is a general wellness product, and Soma Axon isn't available yet.
From Developers, Home, Terms of Use, FAQ and Compare.
Is Soma Axon's body composition reading closer to a DEXA scan or a smart scale?
A smart scale. Soma says Soma Axon will read body composition the same basic way, with a very small electrical current while you stand on its plate and hold its grips. A DEXA scan works differently, using a very low dose of X-rays, and measures down to bone density, per Soma's full-body scans guide. Soma Axon uses nothing ionizing. It's a general wellness product, still being built.
From Blog, Full-body scans compared, FAQ and Compare.
What will the Soma waitlist tell me?
When the first Soma Axon pod opens and when the Soma app is ready for you. People on the waitlist will be the first to hear where the first pod opens, and they'll hear prices first too, since Soma plans to share them before the first pod opens. The pod is a general wellness product that reads skin, heart and breathing, body composition, balance and strength. It's still being built.