4 OCT
Impact Stage
Hannu Kinnunen
CEO and Innovator
Hannu Kinnunen – Entrepreneur and Scientist
Hannu Kinnunen is an entrepreneur and scientist who has spent 30 years working at the intersection of human physiology and wearable technology. His work has focused on understanding physiological signals and turning them into insights that support health and well-being.
Hannu was part of Oura from the very beginning, serving as Chief Scientific Officer and helping establish the scientific foundation of the company's approach to wearable health. Before Oura, he spent 18 years at Polar, ultimately serving as Principal Scientist of Physiology.
Today, Hannu continues to explore how wearable technology can support human well-being. He is particularly interested in heart rate, heart rate variability, and other physiological signals as windows into the interaction between our bodies, our behavior, and our everyday lives. For him, the goal of technology is simple: to help people live better, not just measure more.
ABOUT THE SESSION
HRV and Wearables — What Does Your Data Actually Tell You?
4 OCT · Impact Stage · 12:20
Heart rate variability has become one of the most tracked wellness metrics and one that can also be easily misread. Some users look at their HRV numbers without realizing how many factors influence it, or compare themselves to others when the only meaningful comparison is to themselves.
So what does HRV actually measure? It reflects how actively your parasympathetic nervous system is lowering your heart rate, and in practical terms, how strongly your body is promoting recovery from physical and mental load. Night-time is an ideal measurement window: your body is at rest, external disturbances are minimal, and the data is comparable from one night to the next.
In this session we will look at why your own baseline is the only reference that matters, not a population average, not the internet's top performers. We will cover the lifestyle factors that drive your number down, and how to connect what you did yesterday to what your body is telling you tonight.
Wearable technology is not a sleep laboratory, nor is it a clinical device. It is something different and at its best something far more useful: a continuous, personal mirror of your own well-being. By learning to read your own data, you can see concretely how meeting your basic human needs, such as sleep, movement, nutrition, relationships, and peace of mind, shapes your recovery. And with that understanding, make smarter decisions about how you live.