In This Guide
When someone searches "human energy is measured in…" they usually get one answer: calories (or joules, the SI equivalent). That's true — but it's roughly like saying human communication is measured in decibels. Technically accurate. Wildly incomplete.
Your body generates energy in at least seven measurable forms, each requiring different instruments, producing different units, and revealing different aspects of your health. This guide maps all of them — from the familiar calorie to the frontier of biophotonic emission — so you can understand what each measurement captures and what it misses.
Two Paradigms: Chemical vs. Informational Energy
The fundamental divide in body energy measurement is between two paradigms. Understanding this distinction is key to grasping why conventional and biofield approaches measure such different things:
Most people only know about Paradigm One. But as Dr. Beverly Rubik wrote in her landmark 2015 paper, the biofield — a complex organizing energy field engaged in the generation, maintenance, and regulation of biological homeodynamics — provides the informational infrastructure that coordinates all of the chemical processes. Without it, your 37 trillion cells would have no way to act in concert.
Source: Rubik, B., Muehsam, D., Hammerschlag, R., Jain, S. "Biofield Science and Healing." Glob Adv Health Med. 2015;4(Suppl):8-14. PMC4654789 →
Units of Body Energy: Joules, Volts, Photons
Here's the real answer to "human energy is measured in…" — it depends on which layer you're measuring:
The Seven Units of Human Energy
kcal
Kilocalories
Metabolic energy — food converted to ATP. ~2,000 kcal/day average adult. Measured by calorimetry.
kJ
Kilojoules
SI equivalent of calories. 1 kcal = 4.184 kJ. Standard in physics and most of the world outside the US.
mV
Millivolts
Bioelectric potential — voltage across cell membranes (~-70 mV resting), neural signals (~100 mV action potential). Measured by EEG, ECG, EMG.
Hz
Hertz
Brainwave frequency — delta (0.5–4 Hz), theta (4–8), alpha (8–13), beta (13–30), gamma (30–100). Measured by EEG.
ms
Milliseconds (HRV)
Heart rate variability — time between heartbeats in ms. Higher variability = healthier autonomic function. Measured by HRV monitors.
W/m²
Watts per square meter
Thermal radiation — infrared heat emitted from body surface. Measured by infrared thermography cameras.
γ/s/cm²
Photons per sec per cm²
Biophotonic emission — ultra-weak light from cells in the 200–800 nm range. A few to several hundred photons/s/cm². Measured by GDV cameras (Bio-Well) and photomultiplier tubes.
Source: Popp, F.A. "Properties of biophotons and their theoretical implications." Indian J Exp Biol. 2003;41(5):391-402. PMID: 15244259 → — Biophoton emission displays a few to several hundred photons/(s × cm²) within the spectral range from at least 260 to 800 nm.
Interactive: What Does Each Method Capture?
Each measurement technology captures a different slice of your total energy picture. Tap a question below to see which methods can answer it — and which ones can't.
What do you want to know about your energy?
Tap a question above to see which measurement methods can answer it.
The Biophotonic Layer: Energy Science Can Finally See
Of all the energy layers your body produces, the biophotonic layer may be the most information-rich — and the most recently accessible to practical measurement. Every living cell emits ultra-weak photons as a byproduct of metabolic processes. But these aren't waste — research suggests they serve as a cell-to-cell communication system.
Key Research Finding
Fritz-Albert Popp demonstrated that healthy cells emit more coherent biophotons (synchronized wave patterns) than diseased cells. When coherence drops, it signals cellular stress. This makes biophotonic emission not just a measure of how much energy your body produces — but how well organized that energy is.
Popp, F.A. Indian J Exp Biol. 2003. PMID: 15244259 → · UPE review, PMC, 2024 →
This is why Bio-Well's GDV scan captures something that no calorie counter, EEG, or blood test can: the coherence of your body's light emissions. The entropy parameter in a Bio-Well scan directly reflects this — higher entropy means more organized, more coherent emission patterns.
A 2024 review published in PMC confirmed that biophoton research has matured significantly, with ultra-weak photon emission now recognized as important to cellular communication, metabolic regulation, and neural signaling. Detection technology continues to advance, making practical clinical applications increasingly feasible.
Source: Zarkeshian, P. et al. "Ultra weak photon emission — a brief review." PMC, 2024. PMC10899412 →
Why One Measurement Isn't Enough
No single instrument captures the full picture. A person can burn 2,000 calories and still feel completely depleted (metabolic energy without informational coherence). An athlete can have perfect HRV and still show organ-level energy deficits on a GDV scan.
What each paradigm captures — and the overlap
The published GDV-HRV correlation study confirmed that these paradigms share a measurable overlap — GDV stress parameters correlate with HRV autonomic measures. This suggests that the most comprehensive energy assessment combines conventional biomarkers with biofield imaging, giving practitioners a multi-dimensional view that neither approach provides alone.
How to Get Your Energy Measured
If you want the most complete picture of how energy flows through your body, start with a biofield scan. It's non-invasive, takes under 3 minutes, and gives you the broadest view available from a single instrument.
Ready to see your energy?
5,000+ practitioners worldwide. Non-invasive. Under 3 minutes. Full organ and chakra energy mapping.
Sources Cited in This Article
- Rubik, B., Muehsam, D., Hammerschlag, R., Jain, S. "Biofield Science and Healing." Glob Adv Health Med. 2015;4(Suppl):8-14. PMC4654789 →
- Popp, F.A. "Properties of biophotons and their theoretical implications." Indian J Exp Biol. 2003;41(5):391-402. PMID: 15244259 →
- Popp, F.A., Gu, Q., Li, K.H. "Biophoton emission: experimental background." Mod Phys Lett B. 1994;8(21-22):1269-96. DOI →
- Zarkeshian, P. et al. "Ultra weak photon emission — a brief review." PMC, 2024. PMC10899412 →
- Cioca, G. et al. "A Correlation Between GDV and HRV Measures." New Venture Technologies / Estee Lauder. 2004. PDF →
- "Correlation of EPI Parameters With Fasting Blood Sugar." J Evidence-Based CAM, 2016. PDF →
- "Analysis of Osteopathic Procedures." EC Orthopaedics. PDF →
- "GDV to measure massage therapy." IUMAB. Read →
- Korotkov, K. "Review of EPI papers 2008–2018." Int J Complement Alt Med. 2018;11(6). DOI →
- Dunlop, 2004. DHEA/cortisol GDV correlation. IUMAB review →
- Rubik, B. "The biofield hypothesis." J Alt Complement Med. 2002;8(6):703-17. PMID: 12614524 →
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