What is HRV, should I care, and how to improve it?

November 12, 2022 7:16 AM

After years of using a Motiv fitness tracking ring, I recently got an Oura, which tracks HRV, among other things. My HRV is pretty much always in the red! I dislike getting a bad score on things, and so I would like to know how much this matters and how to improve it, if it does matter.

My tracking began in late July with an HRV score of 22ms. Since then, the highest ever was 57ms (Sep 5) and my lowest was 15 (Nov 6). Monthly averages have been 29 (Aug), 30 (Sep), and 23 (Oct).

There is not a lot of variation in my sleep (average of 7h to 7h15). I have a moderately active job that has me walking an average of 6-7 miles a day. I do very modest dumbell weight lifting (15 minutes, 7-10 pounds each arm) once per week.

I do not drink alcohol at all. I don't smoke or take any medications, except iron. I have a monthly cycle. I do intermittent fasting and therefore only eat between the hours of 1 pm and 7 pm. I have not had Covid.

Stress: not especially. I mean, I work full time and I am in an online school program and I have a partner and child, but I still have time to read books and watch tv and see friends. The only thing stressing me out is getting a bad grade on this HRV measurement! What the hell, man?

posted by xo to Health & Fitness (9 answers total)

There's some good writing about how HRV indicates the extent to which your body is ready to take on some new strain.

HRV is pretty personal - as with a lot of biometric data, it's key to get an understanding of what your baseline is, and to observe deviations from your baseline - and see if that's related to any other factors. Note the days when you eat really well, rest a little more, and get more sleep. Does your HRV go up? And so on.
posted by entropone at 7:39 AM on November 12, 2022

I've thought about getting an Oura ring - they look super cool. But from what I've read, the tracking isn't actually very good. Has that changed? I just mention because your lifestyle sounds extremely healthy, so a constant red on HRV sounds a little sketchy.
posted by invincible summer at 7:42 AM on November 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

I have a Garmin watch that tells me my "body battery," which is based on HRV, I think. Mine used to get pretty high during the day, but what made a big difference was when I started exercising a lot more and I cut down caffeine significantly (from 2 large cups + a can of Diet Pepsi a day down to maybe a couple of lattes a week). Since then, it stays pretty even. It's high after I exercise and then it comes back down again (much faster than it did before I increased my exercise frequency and intensity).
posted by synecdoche at 9:55 AM on November 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

I have a fitbit and I have a similar issue to you. I sleep roughly the same amount as you, I lift weights regularly, and I generally stay active -- but the HRV is like "HELLO YOU ARE FAILING AT LIFE, POSSIBLY ON THE BRINK OF DEATH."

The only variation I've found to consistently happen is:
- I do drink alcohol and if I stop for an extended period of time, the HRV gets a tiny bit higher
- If I do heavy heavy cardio (like an hourlong boxing class or something else) it also gets a tiny bit higher after I sleep (this seems counterintuitive to me)

So basically, I have no answers but this is at least another data point
posted by aaanastasia at 10:09 AM on November 12, 2022 [2 favorites]

Whoop offers a pretty good explanation of what HRV us, what are typical bands per age group for Whoop users (athletes, serious and weekend).

Cleveland Health offers a medical explanation as well.

TL:DR it varies by age and by fitness levels, should not be compared against other individuals but only to one’s own numbers to discern a trend. “… if you’re taking steps to improve your fitness and overall health, over time you should see a gradual increase in your average heart rate variability.“
posted by seawallrunner at 12:47 PM on November 12, 2022

If the change in HRV is not caused by something that you've changed in your life, it's possibly caused by external factors. Things like ambient temperature, noise, and light (esp. with the time change), can also affect your sleep.
posted by meowzilla at 5:08 PM on November 12, 2022

I've found that deep breathing exercises increase my heart rate variability dramatically. Breathe in deeply, hold for several seconds, breathe out, hold for several seconds, repeat. See what your device reports after a few minutes.
posted by metonym at 5:33 PM on November 12, 2022

Exert on the exhale.
posted by Oyéah at 6:29 PM on November 12, 2022

Be consistent about what you're doing when you assess HRV. Friends track theirs on wake-up each morning before even getting out of bed, to control as much of the stress and simulation out of the number.

It's tied to cardio, you may want to (in consulatation with a medic or trained coach) include some cardio sessions of the kind that load your heart and lungs over 10+ minutes with increasing intensity, then let them recover over 3-ish minutes before repeating the set a few times. (My resting heart rate and how fast my heart rate drops during one-minute recovery tie up nicely to HRV.)
posted by k3ninho at 1:44 AM on November 13, 2022