FAQ

A Lief device, ECG stickers to attach the Lief device to your body, and a charging pad with USB cord. The connected Lief mobile app is available to download for free in the app store.

Lief initiates vibration feedback when your body dips below your target HRV range, similar to how a continuous glucose monitor device alerts a diabetic to low blood sugar. When you’re in this low HRV state, Lief automatically begins an HRV biofeedback dose (a.k.a. a Downtime). As you breathe with Lief’s vibrations, your Lief monitors your HRV biomarker rise, then automatically ends the autodose when your HRV is back above the target range. As a result of this simple, continuous feedback loop, your body spends less and less time in the low HRV zone, and your average HRV increases over time, enabling your nervous system to respond more calmly in all situations.

The $99/month plan, which includes Lief Coaching, is most popular with new customers. If you're unfamiliar with biofeedback training, starting out with a Lief Coach can be particularly helpful. Your Coach will help you stay engaged by checking in with you at least twice a week, and train your HRV higher by setting weekly goals with you. Then, once you get the hang of it, you can switch plans and do the biofeedback training on your own.

To see if your insurance may cover the Lief program, fill out the eligibility assessment on our website. You will find out whether you could qualify for coverage immediately after filling out the assessment. If eligible, we recommend you contact your insurance provider to confirm your plan’s coverage for the following CPT codes for remote patient monitoring: 99453, 99454, & 99457. If you are not eligible for insurance coverage, you can still access the Lief program as a consumer.

We offer a 1 year warranty, where we will replace your Lief device for free if there are manufacturer defects and proof of purchase is provided. Please note that the issue has to be specific to the Lief device, rather than the mobile app.

Yes, Lief is eligible for Flexible Spending Account reimbursement. The Internal Revenue Service determines what are considered eligible expenses for all Flexible Spending Accounts. Medical monitoring devices like the Lief Smart Patch are covered. When you purchase a Lief, you receive an itemized receipt in your order confirmation email, which can be submitted for FSA reimbursement.

Please use the pre-paid return envelope that arrived with your Lief package to return your Lief box, device, charging pad, and USB cord. You do not need to return the sticker pack if it has been opened. If you no longer have this return envelope, please reach out to support@getlief.com to request another pre-paid label.
Once your return package has been scanned at the post office, you will receive an email confirming your subscription cancellation. We also invite you to rate your experience with Lief. This brief feedback form will be included in your subscription cancellation email. We appreciate hearing from our customers so we can continue to improve our offering based on your direct feedback.

No, you need to return your Lief before your next cycle begins in order to avoid being charged for that month.

Please reach out to support@getlief.com with subject line: Return Shipping Label Request. We will email you a PDF of a new return shipping label that you will need to print out and attach to your package. Once the return package is scanned at the post office, you will receive an email confirming your subscription cancellation.

Please note that we do not accept returns on the Athletic Strap 2.0 for hygienic purposes.

Lief's ECG sticker's snap mechanism is a standard size, so you can search for "ECG electrodes" from local vendors if you'd prefer to avoid international shipping costs.

Lief's coaching ($50/month) includes communicating with your Lief Coach 1-on-1 through chat, and receiving a weekly video message on how to reduce stress and increase mindfulness. Your Coach will help you stay engaged by checking in with you a minimum of twice a week, and train your HRV higher by setting weekly goals with you. You can manage your coaching subscription in the Lief app by navigating to Menu > Coaching.

You can cancel your coaching subscription within the Lief app by navigating to Menu > Coaching. After canceling, refresh the Lief app to see updates to your account.

Each sticker pair can be used 2-5 days before replacing.

Yes, Lief's reusable stickers are designed to let you take your Lief on/off throughout the day as needed. Whenever you're not wearing your device, place it on the charger and cover the sticky back with the plastic sheet to maintain stickiness for reuse.

The Lief is not rated for impact, so do not wear your Lief while playing contact sports, and protect the Lief from impact (in your backpack, purse, etc.) when you're not wearing it.

Yes, you can wear your Lief overnight. However, we ideally recommend wearing your Lief during waking hours so you can actively participate in your HRV monitoring and intervene with the biofeedback training in real time. If you’d like to wear your Lief to sleep, mute the autodosing overnight by navigating to Menu > Settings > Vibration, where you can choose to mute your device for up to 12 hours. That way, you won’t be disturbed with autodosing while you sleep. If you tend to move around while you sleep, consider using the Lief athletic strap to wear on top of your Lief and stickers to help keep them in place overnight.

The athletic strap goes on top of the stickers and device to hold them in place. See this help article for visual instructions on how to wear the Lief athletic strap.

Yes, your Lief can function without WiFi connection. Your Lief will still read your HRV data and initiate autodoses. In addition, you'll be able to initiate downtime doses. However, without WiFi, you will not be able to send or receive chats from your Coach, or receive Lief notifications.

The Lief is designed to last one full day, or about 12-16 hours, depending on usage. We recommend removing and charging your Lief every night, similar to your phone, so that it’s always fully charged and ready to wear each morning. The Lief device takes 2-3 hours to be fully charged.

While the Lief is sweat-proof, designed to handle sweat and splash, it cannot be immersed in water. Thus, do not wear your Lief while showering, swimming, or engaging in other activities where you will be fully submerged in liquid.

Lief has an "airplane mode" where all radio transmissions are turned off. It's accessible in the Lief app's Settings. You won't be able to see real-time data in the app, which is transmitted over low-energy Bluetooth, but the device's autodosing features will still work fine. In order to sync your data with the app, you'll need to connect for a few minutes at the end of your wear time. You'll be able to tell the data is syncing because your HRV bar chart will fill out for the hours you were wearing Lief. For more information on EMF exposure, please refer to this Healthline article.

Gently wipe your Lief device with light soap and a damp cloth. Dry completely before charging or wearing again.

Download the free connected Lief mobile app for your iPhone or Android device at: https://getlief.com/app.

Ideally you should wear your Lief every day for 8+ hours to get the most out of the program. At a minimum, we recommend wearing your Lief 5 out of 7 days per week for at least 4 hours per day, ideally around the same time frame.

If you're not working with a Lief Coach, you can choose when you get autodosed by setting your Zone-Based Training thresholds. Navigate to: Menu > Settings > Zone-Based Training. For your first week, we recommend setting your Zone-Based Training at 5%-10%. This means that your autodose will initiate whenever your HRV dips lower than your 5th percentile, and turn off once you get it back up past your 10th percentile by completing a downtime dose. Every week, you can adjust the Zone-Based Training threshold higher to increase the frequency that you get autodosed. The idea is that over time, you train your HRV higher, helping your nervous system be more resilient to stress.

Under Menu > Train, you can access different uses for your Lief device, such as listening to your heart beat (Heart Beat mode), and engaging in slow, deep, diaphragmatic breathing (Paced Breathing mode). Some users like to access those modes to help center them during meditation, to help them fall asleep, etc. However, the core exercise specifically designed to increase your HRV, and the main objective of the Lief program, is the Downtime Dose. By syncing your heart rate with your breath, Lief's Downtime Dose sends a biofeedback signal to your brain that you are safe and can relax, thus restoring your nervous system by activating the parasympathetic mode.

Varies by the individual. Lief's clinical trial found that 88% of study participants reported significantly reduced anxiety over the course of eight weeks, but Lief wearers have reported benefiting from the program in as little as 1 week.

Higher HRV is associated with more positive emotion states, as well as better emotion regulation. Higher HRV indicates your nervous system is responding dynamically to the environment. In other words, your body stays in "rest and digest" mode when the situation doesn't require you to be on high alert, but when you're in a stressful situation, your body adjusts to go into "flight or fight" mode. This balance between your parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system is healthy. Lower HRV means that your body is not dynamically adjusting in this way, and more likely to stay in "flight or fight" mode even when it's not helpful.

By syncing your heart rate with your breath, Lief's Downtime Dose sends a signal to your brain that you are safe and can relax, thus restoring your nervous system by activating the parasympathetic "rest and digest" mode.

Lief's patented "HRV autodose" feature makes HRV biofeedback responsive to your body, giving you just the right amount of biofeedback training to move your HRV biomarkers into a healthy zone, and gradually training your average HRV higher.

You can see your HRV levels throughout the day by looking at the HRV bar chart in your Lief app. Each bar represents your average HRV during that 5 minute period. The colored bars show whether your HRV was relatively lower (red/yellow) or higher (gray/green/blue) during that 5 minute period. You can scroll back through this bar chart to see your HRV data from previous days.

The color zones/bars help you interpret whether your HRV is relatively lower or higher. You have access to real time feedback, as well as historical data through your HRV bar chart. Red=tense, yellow=alert, gray=neutral, green=calm, blue=restore. Your Lief categorizes your unique HRV range into quintiles, where the 0-20th percentile=red, 20th-40th percentile=yellow, 40th-60th percentile=gray, 60th-80th percentile=green, and 80th-100th percentile=blue. The goal is to stay in the gray, green, and blue zones as much as possible, which Lief's autodosing helps you do.