Evidence should clarify what we know, not make the product sound more impressive
Steady operates in a health-adjacent wellness space. That means we have a responsibility to separate established research from early signals, hypotheses, product design choices, and marketing language.
What we generally give the most weight
| Evidence type | How Steady uses it |
|---|---|
| Systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and consensus guidance | Preferred for broad claims when high-quality, relevant evidence is available. |
| Peer-reviewed primary studies | Used for specific mechanisms, populations, or questions, with limitations kept in context. |
| Government, academic, and established professional sources | Used for definitions, public-health guidance, and accessible explanations of established concepts. |
| Books or expert frameworks | Used selectively and identified as frameworks or expert interpretation rather than universal scientific fact. |
| Steady product data | Labeled as preliminary unless it has undergone appropriate independent validation. Sample size, measurement method, and limitations should be disclosed. |
How we talk about Steady's own results
Early product testing can help us decide what to improve, but it is not the same thing as a clinical trial. When Steady publishes product-specific findings, we aim to state the sample, what was measured, when it was measured, and the important limitations.
Heart rate variability is context, not a diagnosis
HRV can provide information about autonomic activity and changes relative to a person's own patterns, but a single HRV value cannot determine exactly what someone is feeling or why it changed. Sleep, exercise, illness, medication, alcohol, breathing, age, device characteristics, and measurement conditions can all affect HRV.
Read the HRV topic guide and HRV research summary for more detail.
How research appears in our content
Articles should link or cite the sources supporting material scientific or health claims. Our Research Library provides deeper summaries of some of the evidence domains that inform Steady.
We preserve uncertainty when research is mixed, emerging, population-specific, or based on measures that do not support a stronger conclusion.
Advisory input is not blanket approval
Clinical review is identified at the article level only when it actually occurs. A clinical advisor's relationship with Steady does not mean every page, feature, or claim has been clinically reviewed.
Steady is an early-stage wellness product
Our educational resources synthesize external evidence. Product-specific outcomes should be treated as preliminary unless and until stronger validation supports a broader claim. We would rather describe an early signal accurately than overstate what the data can prove.
Explore the evidence library
See the research domains that inform Steady's approach to regulation, stress physiology, HRV, and behavior change.
Open Research Library