Last week, EliteHRV released our podcast episode on the topic of how sleep can impact your HRV
As a result, I’ve gotten a slew of HRV & sleep-related questions that range from HRV 101 (“What is HRV?”) to advanced HRV (“My HRV is consistently in the 100s. How can I improve it with sleep-specific tactics?”)
No matter where you fall along the spectrum, one thing is certain: HRV is a fascinating topic and there's always more to learn!
As a reminder, HRV currently stands as one of the most effective ways to quantify that otherwise esoteric & subjective, “How do you feel?” question at-a-glance. It essentially illustrates how your nervous system balances the wide variety of stimuli it constantly faces. Or, as this recent article out of Harvard Health Publishing put it simply, Heart rate variability: A new way to track well-being.
Measured against your baseline, you can get a solid idea of whether your body is hanging out in a predominantly sympathetic state or parasympathetic state.
Because HRV is a notoriously complicated biofeedback tool, here are some simple (and hopefully humorous) visuals to illustrate:
1. SYMPATHETIC STATE: Lower HRV numbers tend to point to being in a physical and/or mental state that sort of looks like this:
*Reminder: You tend to get these lower readouts when you're stressed, run-down, hungover, sick, inflamed, experiencing an allergic response, etc.
2. PARASYMPATHETIC STATE: Higher HRV numbers tend to point to being in a physical and/or mental state which sort of looks like this:
*Reminder: You tend to get higher readouts when your nervous system is in more of a relaxed and recovered state as it relates to your own baseline readings.
On the topic of sleep and HRV, those of us who've been measuring our HRV for a while understand that the fastest way to knock down your nighttime HRV readings is...drumroll: alcohol. Such a bummer, I know. It doesn’t matter if you have the fanciest wines, finest batches of whiskey, etc. This post below from a longtime Oura ring-wearer illustrates what a couple of glasses of wine before bed did to her HRV scores.
To navigate the confusing world of HRV, I’ve compiled some simple resources below. I’ll also get into the sleep-specific HRV metrics in my new Sleep Reset course. If you aren’t already on the waitlist, definitely add yourself here.
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