Tracking it and what it means
Heart Rate Variability
It is exactly what it sounds like- how different your heart beats are from each other. In other words, is your heart beating at a constant cadence or does it slow some and then quicken when appropriate?
This metric measures the balance of your nervous systems and how it relates to fitness (compared to general health). Your autonomic nervous system (ANS) regulates involuntary functioning in the body, like breathing, sleeping, digestion food, etc.
Sympathetic Nervous System: “fight or flight”
Parasympathetic Nervous System: “Rest and Digest”
The heart should beat faster when the sympathetic system is dominant during: exercise, stress, poor mental health, heat; and the parasympathetic jumps in to slow the heart rate down like during meditation, mealtime, leisurely walking, bedtime preparation, etc. The more efficiently the sympathetic nervous system can get revved up in times of stress/demand, and then the parasympathetic can ramp things down to normal when the need has passed- the better.
When the number is higher, not too high, it is indicative of a healthier and more fit person whereas a lower HRV can mean that the nervous system changes are sluggish. Lower numbers can be evidence of illness, stress, fatigue, sleep depravity and overtraining. Keep in mind that an HRV number that is too high might be a medical yellow flag.
While we don’t know how exact the fitness “wearables” (Garmin, Whoop, Quora) are at estimating your HRV, it’s a great metric to keep an eye on. Dr. Bhonsale says “we know people that lead a healthy lifestyle have higher HRV”.
The image, to the right, shows how HRV does track to decrease with age.
What are some practical things you can do to improve your HRV? The big 3, there’s no quick-fix or gimmick here…
Exercise
Regular exercise with a balance of aerobic conditioning and anaerobic efforts. Avoid overtraining because too much constant strain doesn’t give your body time to recover.
Nutrition → Maybe I’m biased, but here is the ‘meat’ of it ;)
Eating high quality foods and ingredients (it goes without saying, but minimal processed foods), to improve your insulin response to foods has a large impact on the physiological stress on the body, and by default- help to ease your ‘fight-or-flight’ ie. the sympathetic nervous system. Alcohol also plays a role and consumption of 2 drinks in one sitting has been shown to dramatically lower HRV.
The timing of your meals and snacks can also benefit your HRV because regular eating patterns have been shown to improve circadian rhythm, as well as avoiding late-evening snacking. Eating too close to bed can prevent your parasympathetic nervous system from focusing on restorative processes, due to prioritizing digestion.
Adequate hydration is the low hanging fruit. Everyone, men and women, should consume at least 2 Liters of water at the very minimum; athletes need more. Even mild dehydration has been shown to lower HRV.
Rest
You need to sleep enough hours. Period. Prioritize it, and forgive yourself when it doesn’t happen but don’t let it become a habit. Sleep is the primary portion of the day when your body is recovering from the day and preparing for the next. If you are training at high intensities and/or volumes, sleep will make a huge impact.
Active recovery can also be an option to help here. Try breathing exercises like “box breathing”. Deep breathing ignites the parasympathetic system and can be a great tool during high-stress periods of the day.
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