Heart Rate Variability (HRV): Implications for Health and Wellbeing

[Vileplume]

I wrote an article about heart rate variability, a function that many wearables (like the Apple Watch) track:

Heart Rate Variability (HRV): Implications for Health and Wellbeing - Tyler Webb A Mind And Body Writer

by Tyler Webb Autonomic nervous system (ANS): regulates your body’s functions Our autonomic nervous system (ANS) regulates many of our subconscious physical processes, like our heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, digestion, immune response, mood, brain function, and sexual function. The ANS...

buildmindandbody.com

Personally, I've found HRV, or the standard-deviation-from-the-norm of our heart beats, to accurately reflect my mood, sleep, digestion, and cognition. In addition to the suggestions at the bottom of my article, I've also found a goat milk-based diet and thyroid supplementation to help increase my HRV.

Do you track HRV?

 

[Beastmode]

Peat via email last year on HRV:

"The “science” of the heart rate variability doctrine (developed by the lie detector industry) has no valid biological basis, it’s all a result of the heart’s intrinsic neural responses to altered filling pressure caused by breathing changes interacting with vascular resistance, etc."

However, I do practice breathing techniques that are linked to improved HRV scores. I want to get an Oura ring for the sleep tracking and potentially HRV scores to see how they relate to my "state," etc.

 

[Eberhardt]

Grounding improves HRV

https://earthinginstitute.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Emotional-stress-study.pdf

 

[Vileplume]

Peat via email last year on HRV:

"The “science” of the heart rate variability doctrine (developed by the lie detector industry) has no valid biological basis, it’s all a result of the heart’s intrinsic neural responses to altered filling pressure caused by breathing changes interacting with vascular resistance, etc."

However, I do practice breathing techniques that are linked to improved HRV scores. I want to get an Oura ring for the sleep tracking and potentially HRV scores to see how they relate to my "state," etc.

Thanks for sharing that Peat quote. Wouldn't "the heart's intrinsic neural responses to altered filling pressure" and "vascular resistance" provide useful indications of our state of health?

I would think that inflammation affects our intrinsic neural responses and vascular resistance, making HRV a useful measure of these things’ functionality.

 

[Vileplume]

Grounding improves HRV

https://earthinginstitute.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Emotional-stress-study.pdf

Nice. It does seem like walking barefoot in the grass has a pretty immediate stabilizing, anti-stress effect.

 

[Eberhardt]

Nice. It does seem like walking barefoot in the grass has a pretty immediate stabilizing, anti-stress effect.

yeah I think so. For practical reasons I mostly ground with extension cords as it is winter half the year and I wont to have more time grounded.

 

[Beastmode]

Thanks for sharing that Peat quote. Wouldn't "the heart's intrinsic neural responses to altered filling pressure" and "vascular resistance" provide useful indications of our state of health?

I would think that inflammation affects our intrinsic neural responses and vascular resistance, making HRV a useful measure of these things’ functionality.

I don't fully understand HRV so I'm still at the exploratory stage. I wonder if the breathing exercises are the real benefit more than the actual score? People who meditate (i.e- love and kindness ones) have been shown to increase HRV scores.) My reference is a neuroscientist that I've worked with, so I don't have the exact study to prove that.

When I meditate my heart rate lowers for a period of time during and afterward. However, I prefer my HR to stay within the 75-85 range as it reflects metabolic health. I wonder how my HRV score would shift in a process like this.

Still seems worth exploring.

 

[aliml]

Laying on your right side increases HRV more than being on other sides.

Comparison of effect of 5 recumbent positions on autonomic nervous modulation in patients with coronary artery disease - PubMed

Right lateral decubitus position leads to the highest vagal modulation in the controls, whereas the supine position leads to the lowest vagal modulation in the CAD patients. In addition to the right lateral decubitus position, both the right and left prone positions can be used as a vagal...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Eberhardt]

Laying on your right side increases HRV more than being on other sides.

Comparison of effect of 5 recumbent positions on autonomic nervous modulation in patients with coronary artery disease - PubMed

Right lateral decubitus position leads to the highest vagal modulation in the controls, whereas the supine position leads to the lowest vagal modulation in the CAD patients. In addition to the right lateral decubitus position, both the right and left prone positions can be used as a vagal...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Interesting! Maybe not surprising that it beats left side but still!

 

[aliml]

Interesting! Maybe not surprising that it beats left side but still!

Both the right and left prone positions can be used as a HRV enhancer but supine position lead to the lowest HRV

 

[Eberhardt]

Both the right and left prone positions can be used as a HRV enhancer but supine position lead to the lowest HRV

Well, most tribal people sleep on the side (and sleeps more often on the right side I think), so I shouldnt be surprised if natural sleeping positions are more healthy.

Thanks for the info