You might observe that your HRV fluctuates significantly from one day to another. To identify any patterns, it's essential to focus on your HRV trend. The best way to analyze HRV is by comparing your readings with your baseline.
The Range of Natural Ups and Downs of HRV:
For an adult's standard HRV is between below 20 to over 200 milliseconds. To determine your personal average level, it is recommended to use a wearable device that measures your HRV in a controlled environment, such as during sleep. Then, it collects data over a few weeks to establish a baseline. By monitoring your HRV, you can improve your productivity, manage stress and sleep, and adjust your training routine, to say the least!
Short and Long-Term Trends of HRV:
By comparing your nightly average HRV to your baseline and monitoring any upward or downward trends, you can better understand how to approach your day. This can help you prioritize rest or prepare for challenges. In addition, analyzing your daytime check-ins compared to your baseline can provide insight into how meditation, stress, or exercise impacts your body's systems.
Monitoring Your HRV Trends:
Monitoring over several weeks can help you determine your HRV balance. This balance can indicate if you are effectively recovering from stressful periods such as training, illness, or stress. Finally, tracking these changes over several months can suggest insights into how significant life changes, such as starting a new job or becoming a parent, stress, or improved nutrition and sleep patterns, can affect your overall health.
Which Patterns Are Important for Me?
A one-off night HRV reading can offer you the following:
- A higher HRV score can indicate a day of rest, a cool bedroom, or engaging in "mindful" low to moderate-intensity activities like hiking or yoga.
- A low HRV score can be caused by factors such as dehydration, alcohol consumption, late meals or exercise, illness, intense workouts, acute stress, or sleeping in a hot room.