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Posted on 02/21/2026 8:07:01 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Modern smart watches can measure an array of health indicators. Step counts and heart rates sit at the simpler end, while VO2 max and blood-oxygen levels are mainly of interest to committed health nuts. The newest addition to the category is heart-rate variability (HRV).
As its name suggests, HRV measures not how quickly the heart beats, but how regularly spaced those beats are. With heart rate a lower score is usually better, other things being equal, since it suggests a high level of cardiovascular fitness. When it comes to HRV, though, a higher number—that is, a more irregular pattern—is generally what you want.
HRV arises from the way the body regulates the heart. Left to its own devices, the heart will chug along at 100 beats per minute or so. That default rate is nudged up or down by the opposing halves of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which acts unconsciously to regulate things like body temperature, breathing and digestion.
One half—the sympathetic nervous system, often known as the “fight-or-flight” system—revs up the heart in response to things like exercise or fear or excitement.
Its control is mostly exerted through hormones in the blood and neurotransmitters in the brain. That makes it a blunt instrument, and as heart rate rises the time between beats becomes steadier.
The other half of the ANS—the parasympathetic, or “rest-and-digest” system—slows the heart down when it is time to relax. It communicates with electrical signals sent via the vagus nerve. That allows very precise control from moment to moment, which makes the time between heartbeats more variable. (Your heart rate speeds up slightly when you breathe in, for instance, and slows down as you breathe out.)
All else being equal, stress on the body boosts the sympathetic nervous system, and thus decreases HRV. All sorts of stress count, whether psychological or physical. A hard workout, for example, will cause HRV to fall for hours (or sometimes days) as your system recovers. So will lack of sleep, the common cold, a failing marriage or worries about money.
At a population level, higher HRV is a sign of an ANS that is in good nick, and a body that can adapt itself to the stresses of life. It is associated with a lower risk of heart attacks, and a higher chance of survival if you do have one. (It was in cardiology wards that HRV first proved its usefulness.) It is also associated with slower progression of dementia, less inflammation, a lower chance of depression, and more.
Most people will more interested in what HRV can tell them about their personal lives. The best way to think of it is as an “accumulated stress” score. For sporty types a low HRV may be a signal that the body is struggling with too much training, and a hint to go easier in the gym for a while. But the numbers need careful interpretation. A big day out on the bike will cause a low HRV in the morning. But so will beers at the pub afterwards (alcohol suppresses HRV), or the unexpected tax bill waiting at home.
Those nerdy enough to track HRV may therefore want to keep a journal to refer to alongside the charts. Knowing what the numbers are telling you, after all, is the difference between mere data and its much more valuable cousin—useful information. ■
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Bkmk
HRV is indeed interesting. I am a lifetime endurance athlete and still train regularly in my 70’s. I started watching my HRV 18 months ago. I was surprised that even when I was feeling good and fit from workouts, my overnight HRV was often low.
An accident kept me from working out for 10 days and my HRV steadily climbed into whatever the “proper zone” is. I now watch it as an indicator of over-training and find it useful.
Irregular heartbeat sounds like atrial fibrilation?
Bkmk...my hrv is too low
Life is a terminal illness. We all die. Keep your soul prepared to meet God. I am a horrific sinner and most likely condemned to hell when my last breath is drawn. But I sure want to make my peace with God. I accepted Jesus as my savior but I am still scared of my afterlife because I know I’m not going to a good place when I kick the bucket. Gotta face that and it is horrible .
Life is a terminal illness. We all die. Keep your soul prepared to meet God. I am a horrific sinner and most likely condemned to hell when my last breath is drawn. But I sure want to make my peace with God. I accepted Jesus as my savior but I am still scared of my afterlife because I know I’m not going to a good place when I kick the bucket. Gotta face that and it is horrible .
Please endeavor to follow Christ and do pray and repent of sins.
Why do you believe you will not be capable of making it to Heaven?
If you hadn’t accepted Christ as savior (that last word there means something), then you wouldn’t be worried about your fate after death. The fact that you do indicates you just have a clever enemy who is not only making you think Jesus’s work wasn’t powerful enough to rescue you, but that you are somehow the one and only person ever born on the planet that his grace can’t reach. He went through horrendous things to save us because we can’t do it. Don’t insult him by saying he’s too weak to do it. My only caution would be to be sure you did accept that sacrifice and understand what it means, and you have decided to turn from your own way and follow his.
He took ALL your sins upon Himself, past, present and future.
His blood marked your debt paid in full.
When God looks at you, He sees you covered in the blood of His Son.
Well said.
Satan is the accuser and the master of causing doubt
I do my best.
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