An estimated 225 million people around the world today wear a smartwatch, using it to keep track of text messages, emails and even how many steps they have taken.

And now, thanks to software created by an Israeli startup and the little sensor on the device itself, smartwatch owners can also keep track of their emotional wellbeing, including stress levels, anxiety and amount of sleep they are getting.

NeuroBrave co-founder and CEO Dror Talisman tells NoCamels that the startup’s NeuroSpeed AI analysis software takes data about the user’s blood flow gathered by the photoplethysmogram (PPG) sensor on the back of the smartwatch, and uses that to determine the heart rate.

“It’s a very simple, but very clever sensor,” Talisman says.

From the heart rate, he explains, it is possible to measure any fluctuations in the length of time between heartbeats, a phenomenon called heart rate variability (HRV). And it is that HRV, he says, that can offer insights into the wearer’s state of mind as well as their overall health.

This is because HRV is used as an indicator for emotional wellbeing as well as the correct functioning of the body’s physical mechanisms. Talisman says HRV is directly connected to the autonomic nervous system, which autonomously controls the processes in our bodies.

Keep reading at nocamels.com.

NeuroBrave Co-founder and CEO Dror Talisman and CTO Oleg Aryutkin are both Technion alumni.