How is your internal eco-system?
Is your HRV high, is it low, and what does that even mean?
Testing your heart rate variability.
There are many apps now that work on most smart phones
which can measure your HRV – your heart-rate variability.
The app looks at the beat-to-beat variability in your heart and tells you about your overall heart health.
If your beats are too consistent,
if for example, your heart-rate is 72 for a minute and still 72 for the next minute, and 72 again and so on
It shows a lack of resilience and flexibility.
Flexibility and resilience are important for good health.
Ideally, the heart rate should be a little more complex, and variable.
Complexity is health.
An ecosystem, a rainforest or healthy, vibrant soil are all incredibly complex and resilient,
a cornfield is a mono-crop, but if a corn beetle gets in there,
there’ll soon be a lot of dead corn, that’s not very resilient.
Your HRV rate changes throughout the day and is also a great indicator of your state of health.
A very low HRV can be a sign of the body requiring rest,
which could be from a heavy workout the day before,
or from an impending fever and a sign that the body is working hard at fighting that fever and there is a lot of inflammation within the system.
As well as apps that can be used on your phone, there are wearables that track your HRV and other data.
Such as the Oura ring, the Whoop strap, some Garmin watches and many others.
Not all the data they track is that accurate.
The HRV can be pretty good and likewise for the heart rate,
they can track body temperatures and respiratory rates,
but none of the currently available sports wearables are accurate in their sleep data for measuring REM, deep sleep etc,
even though they sometimes make some wild claims about their sleep data.
However, that being said, the data provided can give you a reasonable idea, especially once they’ve established a baseline.
and it also helps you be more conscious of your activity and can lead to better habits.
Which is always a good thing.
Monday: Movement
Longterm sedentary behaviour results in many pains and problems for the body.
Regular movement throughout the day, ideally every 25 minutes is a great way to lessen the pain that many people endure
Upcoming events:
Free nutrition webinar at www.tonywinyard.com/webinar
5 week Habits & Health programme at www.tonywinyard.com/workshop
Take my quiz to unlock your personal key to healthier habits.
Find out if you are controlling your habits or your habits are controlling you—plus exactly what to do about it!
https://habits-health.com/
Blog posts weekly schedule:
Mondays: Movement
Tuesdays: Habits
Wednesdays: Nutrition
Thursdays: Breathing
Friday: Mindset
Saturdays: Sleep
Sundays: Personal Developmentv
