Sauna & Cold Plunge  Tracker

1. What types of sessions does the app support?

Sauna Tracker supports six types of heat and cold therapy sessions:

Heat Therapy:

• Traditional (Finnish) Saunas

• Infrared Saunas

• Steam Rooms

• Hot Tubs

Cold Therapy:

• Cold Plunge

• Cold Shower

2. Do I need an Apple Watch to use the app?

No, you can track sessions from your iPhone or Apple Watch.

iPhone tracking: Records duration, temperature, and session type. Heart rate and calories are not tracked since iPhones don't have the required sensors.

Apple Watch tracking: Records everything including real-time heart rate, calories burned, and integrates with Apple Health.

3. What metrics does the app track?

The app tracks:

• Heart rate (real-time, average, and maximum)

• Session duration with customizable goals (1-60 minutes)

• Calories burned

• Session temperature (customizable by type)

• Benefit zones (science-based stages during heat/cold exposure)

• Session type and goals

• Weekly heat vs. cold therapy minutes

• Session count and activity streaks

4. What are the Smart Notifications?

The app includes intelligent notifications to help you stay motivated:

Session Completion - Hydration reminder 30 minutes after your session (5+ min for heat sessions, 1+ min for cold exposure)

Weekly Summary - Every Sunday at 6 PM with your total sessions, minutes, and calories burned

Session Reminders - Friendly nudge after 4 days of inactivity

Goal Achievement - Instant celebrations when you hit new personal records

Sauna Streaks - Encouragement when you complete 3 sessions on consecutive days

All notifications can be individually customized in Settings → Notifications.

5. What are Live Activities?

When you start a session, the app displays real-time progress on your iPhone's:

• Lock Screen - Full session details even when your phone is locked

• Dynamic Island - Quick glance at your timer and current benefit zone

The timer continues in the background so you never lose track of your session.

6. Can I see my session history?

Yes! The app maintains a detailed history of all your sessions, including:

• Date and time

• Duration and session type

• Heart rate data with charts

• Calories burned

• Temperature settings

• Benefit zones achieved

7. Does the app integrate with Apple Health?

Yes, Sauna Tracker integrates with Apple Health to store your workout and heart rate data, contributing to your daily activity and health metrics.

8. What temperature ranges can I track?

The app supports tracking temperatures for:

• Traditional/Infrared/Steam saunas: 90-225°F (32-107°C)

• Hot Tubs: 98-108°F (37-42°C)

• Cold Plunge: 38-59°F (3-15°C)

• Cold Shower: 50-70°F (10-21°C)

The app remembers your preferred temperature for each session type.

9. Can I customize my session goals?

Yes! You can set custom goal times from:

• 1-60 minutes for timed sessions

• "Open" for unlimited sessions with no time goal

The app remembers your preferred goal time for each session type.

10. Can I pause a session?

Yes, during any session you can:

• Pause and resume (time pauses with you)

• End the session early

• View real-time stats including heart rate and benefit zones

11. Does the app show progress during sessions?

Yes, the app provides:

• Real-time progress tracking

• Visual progress ring

• Time remaining display

• Current heart rate monitoring

• Benefit zone indicators

12. What are Benefit Zones?

Benefit Zones are science-based stages that your body goes through during heat or cold exposure. The app displays:

Heat Sessions: Warm-up → Cardiovascular → Peak Performance → Recovery

Cold Sessions: Initial Shock → Adaptation → Peak Benefits → Recovery

These zones help you understand what physiological changes are happening at each stage.

13. My sessions stopped syncing with Apple Health?

If your sessions from Sauna Tracker stop appearing in Apple Health, try these steps:

1. Close the iPhone App

2. Close the Apple Watch App

3. Relaunch the iPhone App

4. Relaunch the Apple Watch App

If the issue persists, check that Sauna Tracker has permission in Settings → Health → Apps → Sauna Tracker.

14. How do weekly therapy goals work?

The Dashboard displays your progress toward weekly therapy goals:

• Heat Minutes: Target of 80 minutes/week from sauna, steam, and hot tub sessions

• Cold Minutes: Separate tracking for cold plunge and cold shower exposure

This helps you balance both heat and cold therapy for optimal health benefits.

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15. My heart rate and calories aren't updating on the Apple Watch

If your heart rate and calories aren't recording during Apple Watch sessions, check your permissions:

1. Open Settings on your iPhone

2. Scroll down and tap Sauna Tracker

3. Tap Health

4. Make sure the following permissions are enabled:

• Heart Rate (Read & Write)

• Active Energy (Read & Write)

• Workouts (Write)

You may also need to:

• Open the Health app on your iPhone

• Tap your profile picture (top right)

• Tap Apps under Privacy

• Select Sauna Tracker

• Enable all health data categories

After enabling permissions, restart both the iPhone and Apple Watch apps.