The objective here is to answer questions submitted by my athletes related to HRV and specific things they have noticed or wondered about. If these questions are ones you have had or if there are ones you have had but are not answered, then please send them to me and I’ll do a follow up on what is discussed here. If you have not already read the previous two part of this HRV series, you can find them here and here.
Q: I am a healthy person but my HRV is still really low, what gives?
A: HRV is a very individualized measurement and therefore the baseline for each person will be a little different. A healthy person with a low HRV can happen for a few reasons. First is that its just the natural baseline of the individual. Another reason could be excessive or constant stress ongoing in their life. HRV drops as a result of stress, so a stressful lifestyle could be the culprit. A third possibility would be insufficient sleep. Something that most of us could get more of, enough sleep is critical for recovery and high HRV. IF you are sleeping less than six hours a night, it is very likely that is the main reason for sustained low HRV.
Q: What goes into HRV?
A: HRV is affected by pretty much everything. The amount you work, the sleep you get, the things you eat, the type of lifestyle you lead (stressful vs. unstressful), etc. Since HRV reflects how our body deals with stress, anything that causes stress, whether it be mental, emotional, or physical stress, all of it plays a role and affects our HRV.
Q: How do I improve my HRV?
A: The easiest way to improve it would be to sleep a minimum of 7 hours a night, eat a healthy and balanced diet, exercise regularly, minimize activities that cause unnecessary stress and take time each day to unwind a little bit.
Q: Why does HRV drop with age?
A: Well, HRV is a measure of how our body responds to stress. So as we get older, our body becomes less adaptable and durable. So just like as we age we can no longer lift as much or run as fast as we used to, same thing here; we can not adapt to the stresses of life as easily as we once could. This in turn leads to a natural reduction in HRV.
Q: Are extremes a cause for concern?
A: High or low baseline HRV’s are not usually a cause for concern. If your daily reading comes out as particularly low, that is usually a sign that your body is dealing with excessive stress and has not been able to fully recover. Taking an extra day or two to recovery will usually help this situation. If your daily HRV is very high, this is also a sign that your body might not be adapting to stress well. One way to interpret HRV is to see it as describing the ability of your body to regulate stress. So small changes in daily HRV are preferred to large ones because it represents good regulation of homeostasis while making controlled adaptations. Large fluctuations demonstrate a nervous system that is having a hard time maintaining homeostasis. For example, a heartbeat that is swinging between 42 and 120 beats per minute (excessively high HRV) is not as stable as one that is moving between 60 and 80 beats per minute.
Q: Best time to measure my HRV?
A: Either first thing in the morning or during the evening (if you have something like WHOOP or an Oura ring). There is some discussion as to which is the better measurement. Personally, I prefer the first thing in the morning option. But whichever one you go with, make sure your timing and tool for collection is consistent.
Q: Why is my HRV going down while I am tapering? I had one of my best performances in competition but my HRV was dropping leading up to it, was that not a sign of poor recovery?
A: We are not entirely sure why this happens. The likely reason for this is due to a “saturation” of the signals controlling the HRV. You could almost think about it as there is an overabundance of parasympathetic (rest and relax) signals coming to the heart, keeping the rhythm low. This doesn’t allow the HRV to get high. This can give the appearance of low recovery when in fact you are extremely well recovered.
If anyone feels like diving into more information on HRV, check out the HRV4Training website (www.hrv4training.com). Marco is a very smart guy and has been working with HRV for well over a decade, definitely a good resource to tap if you haven’t already.
