The Importance of Tracking Your Heart Rate Variability (HRV) + A Metric Worth Improving
Heart rate variability, or HRV for short, is a measure of your autonomic nervous system that is widely considered one of the best objective metrics for physical fitness and determining your body’s readiness to perform.
What is Heart Rate Variability (HRV)?
Heart rate variability (HRV) is the amount of time between heartbeats, and how much it varies. It’s a measure of how well your body can adapt to physical and mental stress.
Heart rate variability is determined by the time between heart beats, known as RR intervals.
HRV And the Autonomic Nervous System
HRV originates from your nervous system. Your autonomic nervous system (parasympathetic (deactivating) and sympathetic (activating). The parasympathetic nervous system (often referred to as “rest and digest”) handles inputs from internal organs, like digestion or your fingernails and hair growing. It causes a decrease in heart rate. The sympathetic nervous system (often called “fight or flight”) reflects responses to things like stress and exercise, and increases your heart rate and blood pressure.
Heart rate variability comes from these two competing branches simultaneously sending signals to your heart. If your nervous system is balanced, your heart is constantly being told to beat slower by your parasympathetic system and beat faster by your sympathetic system. This causes a fluctuation in your heart rate: HRV.
HRV a Sign of Fitness?
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is considered a sign of fitness because a higher HRV indicates a well-functioning autonomic nervous system, meaning your body is better able to adapt to stress, recover from exertion, and respond efficiently to changing situations, essentially reflecting a higher level of physiological flexibility and overall fitness compared to a low HRV; essentially, a more variable heart rate shows your body is better equipped to handle different demands placed on it.
What is a Normal Heart Rate Variability?
According to most data, a typical average heart rate variability (HRV) chart based on age shows a consistent decline as people get older, with younger individuals generally having higher HRV values compared to older adults; for example, a 25-year-old might average around 78ms while a 55-year-old could be around 44ms.
Here is an average heart rate variability chart based on age:
Age Group 20-25 years
Men: 55-105 ms
Women: 55-105 ms
Age Group 25-35 years
Men: 50-90 ms
Women: 50-90 ms
Age Group 35-45 years
Men: 45-85 ms
Women: 45-80 ms
Age Group 45-55 years
Men: 40-75 ms
Women: 40-70 ms
Age Group 55-65 years
Men: 35-70 ms
Women: 35-65 ms
Age Group 65+ years
Men: 30-65 ms
Women: 30-60 ms
HRV is Highly Individualized
Heart rate variability is an extremely sensitive highly individualized metric. It fluctuates greatly throughout the day, from one day to the next, and from one person to another.
HRV is highly individualized meaning that a person’s heart rate variability (HRV) is unique to them and cannot be directly compared to others, as factors like age, fitness level, genetics, and stress levels significantly influence their individual HRV score; it’s more important to track personal trends in HRV over time rather than comparing it to others.
Key points about HRV being highly individualized:
No universal benchmark: There is no single “normal” HRV range that applies to everyone.
Factors influencing HRV: Age, gender, fitness level, sleep quality, stress levels, and even the time of day can affect your HRV.
Focus on personal trends: When monitoring your HRV, the most important thing is to track how your own score changes over time, rather than comparing it to others
Heart Rate Variability Trends are What Matters
When you begin using a heart rate variability monitor, you may notice that your HRV varies greatly from day to day. This can be attributed to the many factors that affect it (more on this shortly), and is perfectly normal.
HRV is not just about the single number on a given day, but rather the overall pattern or trend of your HRV over time that provides the most valuable insight into your stress levels, recovery status, and overall health; a significant drop in your HRV over several days is a more important indicator than a single high or low reading.
Key points about HRV trends:
Individualized comparison:
Comparing your current HRV to your own past readings is more informative than comparing it to someone else’s.
Early warning sign:
A downward trend in HRV can signal potential issues like overtraining, not sleeping enough, eating poorly, or failing to hydrate properly or illness before other symptoms appear.
Positive changes:
An upward trend in HRV indicates your body is adapting well to stress and is likely recovering well
Factors that Affect Heart Rate Variability
There are a great number of things that impact your HRV. Many factors can affect heart rate variability (HRV), including age, stress, diet, exercise, and medical conditions.
Physiological factors
Age: HRV decreases with age
Gender: Some studies say men have higher HRV, while others say the opposite
Hormones: Menstrual cycles can cause changes in HRV for women
Core body temperature: Changes in body temperature can impact HRV
Metabolism: Metabolic disorders can lower HRV
Lifestyle factors
Stress: Stress can cause a shorter HRV
Sleep: Poor sleep can disrupt HRV
Diet: An unhealthy diet can disrupt HRV
Exercise: Regular exercise can improve HRV, but overtraining can be harmful
Smoking: Smoking and passive smoking can decrease HRV
Medical conditions
Heart disease: Heart disease can decrease HRV
Lung disease: Lung disease can decrease HRV
Kidney disease: Kidney disease can decrease HRV
Asthma: Asthma can decrease HRV
Diabetes: Diabetes can decrease HRV
3 Tools to Measure HRV
- WHOOP Strap 4.0
- Apple Watch
- Oura Ring
15 Action Steps to Improve Heart Rate Variability
- Exercise and Train Appropriately.
Studies show that regular exercise is one of the best methods for improving your heart rate variability. Strenuous activity reduces HRV in the short term, so it is essential not to consistently take on too much strain without giving your body adequate time to recover.
Walking, especially at a brisk pace, can significantly increase your heart rate variability (HRV)
Moderate intensity:
Training that falls within a moderate intensity range, which is optimal for enhancing HRV allows for a balance between physical exertion and relaxation.
Parasympathetic activation:
By staying in a lower intensity zone, the exercise primarily stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for “rest and digest” functions, contributing to higher HRV.
Improved recovery:
Regular moderate intensity training can improve recovery abilities by enhancing the body’s ability to regulate its heart rate, leading to increased HRV
IMPORTANT: Gradually work into moderate Cardio if you have been sedentary for a quite a while
- Good Nutrition at the Right Times.
A healthy diet will benefit your HRV, but something many of us may not realize is that the timing of your food intake can affect it as well. Your body functions better when it knows what’s coming and regular eating patterns help maintain your circadian rhythm. Additionally, not eating close to bedtime (within 3-4 hours) will improve the quality of your sleep by allowing your body to focus on other restorative processes instead of digestion. - Hydrate.
Your level of hydration determines the volume of your blood, and the more liquid you have in your system the easier it is for blood to circulate and deliver oxygen and nutrients to your body. Drinking close to an ounce of water per each pound that you weigh is a good daily goal. Recommend adding quality electrolytes like Electrolyte Forte from Biotics Research. - Don’t Drink Alcohol.
Consuming alcohol has been found to decrease HRV by an average of 22 milliseconds the next day. Research has discovered that the lingering effects of alcohol in your system may continue to suppress your heart rate variability for 4-5 days. - Sleep Well & Consistently.
Getting 7-8 hours of sleep your body needs is a great start but equally important is making an effort to go to sleep and wake up at regular times each day. Sleep consistency will boost your HRV by helping to sustain your circadian rhythm and also enables you to spend more time in REM and deep sleep. - Natural Light Exposure.
Going outside in the sunlight after waking up in the morning and watching the sky change from light to dark in the evening trigger biological processes involved with regulating sleep/wake times energy levels and hormone production. This will also improve alertness, mood and vitamin D production. - Cold Thermogenesis.
Exposing your body to cold temperatures for brief periods of time (cold showers, ice baths, etc.) will stimulate the vagus nerve, which activates the parasympathetic branch of your autonomic nervous system and controls heart rate variability. - Intentional Breathing.
Studies indicate that slow, controlled breathing techniques can positively impact your HRV. - Mindfulness & Meditation.
Practicing mindfulness and/or meditation has been found to improve HRV. As with slow breathing techniques, both will help you reduce stress. Even dedicating just one minute per day to mindfulness exercises can have real benefits. - Gratitude Journaling.
The act of writing down things you’re thankful for each day can elicit a corresponding increase in heart rate variability. - Eat More Leafy Greens
A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition confirmed that people who ate lots of leafy greens—namely spinach (cooked or raw), kale, mustard greens, and lettuces had healthier HRV scores. - Spend Time in Nature
Research shows that spending time in nature improves HRV and reduces stress. The Japanese have a special name for this, “shinrin-yoku,” also known as “forest bathing” and there’s scientific evidence to back it. - Start a Yoga Practice
According to research, regular yoga practice can significantly increase heart rate variability (HRV) showing increases of around 10-20% in HRV after an 8-week yoga program. - Try the Acem Meditation Technique
A study published in the European Journal of Preventative Cardiology found that doing just 20 minutes of Acem meditation could increase HRV. To perform this type of meditation, sit in a chair and close your eyes. Next, mentally repeat a meditation sound (you can use a word with meaning, such as “calm,” or a string of letters with no meaning at all). Let your thoughts and feelings flow freely—the technique does not require clearing the mind. Repeat the word until your time is up. - Use a Weighted Blanket
Weighted blankets can help improve HRV while you sleep. The research found that those who wore the blankets had higher HRV scores than those who didn’t.
Beyond using heart rate variability as a fitness metric, it also has many applications when it comes to our overall health and wellbeing.
Research suggests that improving heart rate variability (HRV) can positively impact lung, heart and kidney function, as a higher HRV often indicates better autonomic nervous system balance, which can lead to improved breathing, cardiovascular and kidney health.
Tracking your HRV is of great value to use in orderto gain a pulse on your health or potential decline of health.
Carefully monitoring your HRV will allow you to see a possible downward trend in your HRV and then make small adjustments to your lifestyle which can result in an increase of your HRV metrics thereby helping you enjoy “the best performance of your life!”
God bless,
Dr. B
