This video explains what Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is and why it's important for overall health and well-being. HRV measures how well your heart adapts to life's ups and downs, acting as a stress meter. A high HRV indicates a healthy, resilient heart, while a low HRV suggests stress, fatigue, or underlying health issues. The speaker provides seven easy ways to improve your HRV, including laughing more, joyful exercise, meditation, spending time in nature, getting enough sleep, nourishing your body, and changing your response to stress.
Key Takeaways
1
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is a measure of how well your heart adapts to life's challenges and is like your heart's secret language or stress meter.
2
A high HRV indicates a happy, adaptable heart and a balanced nervous system, leading to reduced stress and better overall health.
3
A low HRV can signify stress, fatigue, poor sleep, or underlying health and psychological issues.
4
The autonomic nervous system, with its sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest) components, controls HRV.
5
Laughing more and having strong social connections can improve your HRV by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system.
6
Engaging in joyful exercise, rather than just grinding through workouts, is a highly effective way to enhance HRV.
7
Mindful breathing and meditation, especially slow, deep belly breathing, can significantly increase HRV and promote a state of calm.
8
Spending time in nature reduces stress and improves HRV by enhancing the parasympathetic nervous system.
9
Prioritizing quality sleep (7-9 hours) is crucial for body recovery and repair, directly impacting HRV.
10
Eating a diet rich in whole foods, omega-3s, and antioxidants, while avoiding sugar and processed foods, can boost your heart's variability.
11
Transforming your response to stress, practicing gratitude, and reframing challenges as obstacles to overcome can positively impact your HRV.
12
Wearable devices like smartwatches and rings, along with dedicated apps, can help you track and understand your HRV.
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0:01
good morning and welcome to another
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edition of today's nutrition where we
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look at what is hot in the news what's
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new in research or any topic that can
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help us lose weight feel great and live
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longer better well this is heart health
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month so I just thought I had to tell
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you about something that could make a
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world of difference in your health and
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how much you enjoy each moment this is
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pretty Cutting Edge stuff about things
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we can control control but I can just
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about guarantee you that you're not
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going to pay attention to this concept
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however in 20 years if you still are
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here you're going to be hearing a lot
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about it and your future self will have
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wished you paid attention and it's all
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about this heart rate variability or HRV
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for short I think it's pretty cool that
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literally this information can make your
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heart happy and measurably happy think
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of
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HRV as your heart's secret language a
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way for it to communicate just how well
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it is adapting to life the ups and downs
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it's kind of like your stress meter HRV
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isn't about how fast your heart bit
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beats or any kind of cardiovascular
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Fitness but it's about how flexible it
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can be to jump between beats it's kind
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of like your party DJ for your own heart
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knowing when to amp up the tempo and
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when to slow it down for a chill Vibe
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you know so a high HRV your heart's
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happy it's nailing the routine it's
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adapting on the fly or whatever life
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throws at it you are in the flow of life
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low HRV well it may be time to tweak
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your lifestyle playlist a little bit
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something doesn't feel quite right
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you're
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stressed I I was kind of watching mine a
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little bit when I had my aura ring a
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ring that is kind of a fitness tracker
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ring but I got a new ring that tracks
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lots of things big time and it gives me
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detailed information on my overall
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cardio vascular Fitness at first I was
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feeling pretty good about it you know
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maybe a little too good it rated my V2
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Max and resting heart rate as Superior
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for a 68-year-old woman Superior all
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righty then good deal well I'm a runner
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and I work out regularly so I was
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feeling just a little puffed up you know
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not good yeah but didn't last long cuz
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when I looked at my
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HRV
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it gave me a rating of
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poor poor wow I mean that sure got my
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attention it's like getting a bad grade
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at school so I really set out to improve
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it and here's why the
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HRV is how well your body and mind are
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adjusting to the Rhythm of Life it kind
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of takes the science of heartbeats to a
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whole new level the HRV might sound
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really complex real technical term
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that's only for medical professionals
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but it has some really deep and profound
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silent implications for your health your
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well-being and even your enjoyment of
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Life yeah so this variability is not
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just a sign of a robust heart but a
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window maybe to your overall mood and
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your overall health I'll touch just a
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bit on the science and how boosting it
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there then can really help lead your
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life to be filled with more vitality and
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joy so it's a measure of the variation
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in time between each heartbeat and
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that's control controlled by your
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autonomic nervous system that's the part
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of the nervous system that operates
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below the conscious level and it
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regulates breathing heart rate digestion
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hormones it has two main compartments I
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talk a lot about these you've got the
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sympathetic nervous system which
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accelerates the heart rate and gets
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ready for that fight or flight response
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and then you've got the parasympathetic
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nervous system which is the resting and
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digesting you know it's slowing the
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heart rate down it's taking care of
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long-term things sympathetic geared for
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stress short-term survival with tomorrow
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parasympathetic long-term balances
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hormones the immune system anything that
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has to do with longevity and happiness
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the higher your HRV the
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better you know if you're having health
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issues that are not responding think
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stress response hormones immune system
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everything if you can't get well there's
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something going on underly underneath
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you know you cannot get well until your
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HRV is where it should be a higher HRV
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is a healthy responsive heart that can
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deal really well with any kind of stress
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and environmental change anything
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conversely a lower HRV that's stress
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that's fatigue that's poor sleep that is
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underlying health or underlying
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psychological
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issues cool huh so HRV matters because
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it's an incredibly accurate barometer to
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your body's flexibility it's
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resilience High HRV that's a balanced
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autonomic nervous system and optimal so
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it's associated with reduced stress
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anxiety better cardiovascular health
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improve physical performance positive
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emotions psychological resilience
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physiological resilience it's kind of
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like your happiness meter or your stress
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meter so here's the Scoop a high HRV is
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like having a super power it is like you
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are rocking stress resilience you're
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adaptable you got a happy Vibe it's
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linked to everything from cooling down
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stress to boosting your mood sharpening
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your focus keeping your heart young and
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spry it's kind of like your body's way
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of saying Bring It On world I got this
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what challenges do you have for me today
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so I started to pay close
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attention to my sleep versus my
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non-sleep HRV and trying to do different
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things to increase my daytime HRV my
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nighttime was pretty good I'd worked on
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that you know the sleep I've I've really
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made great progress in getting good
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quality sleep but the daytime poor like
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30 to 40 yuck you know but so I tried
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different things for instance when I got
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a massage my
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HRV shot up to
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100 I was pretty excited I called one of
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my kids immediately and they said wow
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Mom you must be
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stressed okay Insight so since it's not
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practical to live on a massage table
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your whole life I figured I got to do
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this automatically you know train my
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nervous system because it does take a
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little training to teach the body to
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chill quickly after it's been exposed to
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some stress so here are six easy things
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that I'm going to give you that can get
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your HRV higher all the time number one
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I love this one laugh and love more yeah
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enjoying a good laugh and having deep
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meaningful relationships can actually
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improve your HRV the blue zones around
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the world knew this areas of the world
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where people easily live to 100 100
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years old it's those positive social
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interactions Good Times laughter
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stimulates the parasympathetic nervous
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system the resting and digesting the
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part of the autonomic the automatic
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nervous system that promotes good health
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so laughing a lot spending quality time
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with loved ones and maybe it's okay to
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spend a little time on those
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heartwarming social media pet videos
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okay and then there's also there there
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was this book that was written a long
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time ago it's by Norman Cousins
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who he was a I oh gosh what was he was
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um oh a very famous magazine it might
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have been the New Yorker he he was an
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author for that and he traveled all
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around the world with uh just
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documenting news stories so he was in
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Vietnam a long time documenting all of
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the war he came back he had a fatal
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disease okay the book is called anatomy
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of an illness because it documents how
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he cured himself of this fatal Disease
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by laughter I think he went he got a
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hotel room and he rented the Three
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Stooges yeah it's pretty pretty
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interesting story so think of laughter
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as your heart's favorite tune one that
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it can't help but dance to remember it's
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been said that laughter is good medicine
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second things get moving especially with
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joy exercise is one of the most
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effective ways to enhance HRV but the
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key is you got to find joy in the
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movement whether it's dancing in your
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living room hiking through nature
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playing a sports a sport that that you
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lose track of time when you're playing
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it choose activities that fill you with
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happiness exercise is key but forget the
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grind find activities You' love you know
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gets your heart pumping puts a smile on
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your face and you're not just working
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out you're living life well I love
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running so free but do whatever you love
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do that walk your dog pickle ball all
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good okay third thing breathe
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and
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meditate mindful breathing and
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meditation you know I guess you'd have
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to say it's like a sweet thank you note
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to your parasympathetic nervous system
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even gentle exercise like yoga
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taii or simple daily breathing exercises
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can significantly increase
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HRV and it Fosters this resilient state
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of calm and balance few it's a day to
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focus on this slow deep belly breathing
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watch the magic
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unfold that relaxed belly breathing is
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fantastic meditation and breathing
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exercises aren't just Serene they are
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powerful there's like teaching your
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heart to go through those smooth
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transition between life's highs and lows
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next thing number four being in the
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Great Outdoor doors Nature has a unique
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way of soothing the soul and as it turns
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out improving HRV spending time outside
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away from the hustle bustle of Modern
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Life it reduces stress and enhances the
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parasympathetic nervous system so
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whether it's a walk in the park a day by
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the Sea a walk in the woods or even the
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dentist not the dentist I don't know if
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that does anything for HRV but a good
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checkup would but the
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desert Nature's Serenity improves your
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heart's Rhythm a walk in the woods has
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scientifically measurable benefits for
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up to a week later there's even research
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on camping getting far away from
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technology and city noise all those
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stress symptoms you know insomnia
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digestive problems anxiety depression
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brain fog can resolve by just being in
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nature sleeping in nature it heals
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naturally number five sleep your way to
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a happy heart my favorite and something
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I've really had to work on but you can't
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ever underestimate the power of a good
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night sleep quality sleep that I write
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about in my book get out of hormone hell
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it is crucial for allowing the body to
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recover and
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repair soothing bedtime routine ensuring
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your bed is Prim for rest keeping it
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dark keeping it cool avoiding the blue
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light and aim for 7 to n hours every
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night I watch Daily how this impacts my
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HRV when I was just traveling across two
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time zones and dealing with flight
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delays and odd hours HRV really tanked
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but as soon as I got back on my regular
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schedule it quickly corrected number six
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no surprise nourish your body it's kind
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of like eat drink healthy things and be
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merry what you eat influences your HRV
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so a diet rich in Whole Foods omega-3
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fatty acids and antioxidants boost your
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heart's variability sugar processed food
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anything with a bar code watch out it
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could be the devil and it can cause
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hormonal upheavals that can destroy a
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good night's sleep nutrition is your
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heart's fuel seven laugh at stress
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stress less smile more while eliminating
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stress isn't entirely possible changing
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how you respond to it can transform your
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HRV It Isn't So Much the stress as how
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we respond to it adopting even a playful
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attitude towards life's challenges
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finding humor in small things and
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practicing gratitude gratitude I'd have
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to say is the absolute abute most
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powerful tool there is when you reflect
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on what you're grateful for you can't be
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stressed that approach is going to
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mitigate any impact of stress on your
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heart finally transforming stress into a
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challenge just a mental
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reframe any kind of a little obstacle
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that needs to be overcome is then not so
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much of a chore it's something that can
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ruin your day when it gets thrown at you
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it's all about reframing
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now if you want to measure your heart
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vate heart rate variability it just got
15:35
a whole bunch easier you know we've got
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these watches like the Apple watch the
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Fitbit and the Garmin they all do those
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and they provide feedback you know so
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you know when you eat late you exercise
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late or on your phone that's going to
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affect it you know and uh there's then
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there's apps that you can download one
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is called Elite HRV and the other one is
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HRV for the number four training they're
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going to give you detailed reports
16:04
recommendations they even offer guided
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breathing that mindfulness breathing and
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then there are biof feedback devices um
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I I like the heart maths inner balance
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and it helps guide you through exercise
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to achieve coherence that's a state of
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Harmony between your heart your mind and
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your em emotions they call it coherence
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and they've performed thousands of
16:33
research projects on it by learning
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control that heart rate variability you
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are going to change a lot of things I
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got mine right off Amazon for about 99
16:44
and then my favorite the smart Rings
16:46
whether you get the AA ring or the ultra
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human ring they're going to track it all
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even your temperature so easy to wear
16:54
you know non-obtrusive love it finally
16:57
they've got the these virtual reality
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headsets that are movies that take you
17:02
to
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Serene virtual environments kind of like
17:06
a unique stress Escape you know a novel
17:09
high-tech way to to unwind so heart rate
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variability reflects how you respond to
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your lifestyle your emotions and your
17:18
overall health simple changes in your
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life those those activities that will
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bring you Joy relaxation and connection
17:27
so it's not just a number it's ways to
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enrich your life a high HRV laughter
17:34
love movement
17:36
mindfulness you know so however you do
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you know belly breathing dance like
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nobody's looking your heart and your
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HIV will thank you for it so wear your T
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tracker download the app do some deep
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belly breathing for several minutes
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several times a day if you want and
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you're going to step into a life where
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every day is a chance to dance to the
18:00
beat of health happiness and heart
18:04
driven Joy so thanks again for listening
18:07
to another edition of today's nutrition
18:10
I hope you learn something that will
18:11
help you or someone you love you can
18:13
listen to other episodes on my website
18:15
Deb for.com on YouTube or any place you
18:19
listen to podcasts have a great day
18:22
dance select no one's looking and let
18:24
your heart lead the way to a life lived
18:27
in vibrant joyful color
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Heart Rate Variability- The Window Into Your Resilience
Deb Ford DCN RDN
42 views
Feb 20, 2024
18:31
Think of HRV as the heart's secret language – a way for it to communicate how well it's adapting to life- the ups and downs of life. It’s your stress meter. HRV isn't about how fast your heart beats, or just cardiovascular fitness but, about how flexibly it can jump between the beats.