What is HRV and Why Does It Matter?
So you are tracking your Heart Rate Variability (we’ll call it HRV from now on) and you’re curious about what it is and why it matters. We’ve got you!
HRV is defined as a valid, noninvasive measure of autonomic function with established pathological and psychophysiological attributes. That makes sense right? No need to discuss further?
Juuuuuust kidding. Let’s start with what autonomic functioning means. Our autonomic nervous system (think of it as our automatic bodily functions that don’t require us thinking about them) include things like breathing, heart rate, sweating, mouth watering, food moving through our digestive organs and more. Our autonomic system is the magic of how our body and organs work together without our brain needing to stress.
Heart rate variability means the variability between heartbeats. It is a super sensitive and personal measure of wellness and a great indicator of overall health, particularly since it can be easily measured while you sleep at night. If your HRV is low then it probably means you are facing a lot of stress physically and emotionally so it shouldn’t be super surprising as it will naturally fluctuate due to day to day stresses in life. Tracking your HRV simply means we monitor your progress over a long period of time to better understand trends and how to make improvements.
Now that we’ve got that part down you are probably wondering what that number means behind your HRV and it’s pretty easy to understand. The higher your HRV the better- it can range anywhere from 10-150 but the folks over 100 are probably in the Olympics). That said, there are a ton of factors that can impact your personal HRV which range from age, ethnicity, nutrition, pollution and the list goes on.
The important part: Why does this matter to you as a cancer patient? Overall HRV ranges wildly vary- even more so that your lowest daily heart rate. But it is important for you to understand your current HRV and compare it against yourself-- not the ‘average baseline’ which tends to be an imaginary person which is a baseless comparison for most people. Low HRV is linked with poor recovery outcomes for cancer patients and can impact your body’s ability to respond to life-saving drugs. The interesting part is that you don’t have to run a mile or go to the gym to improve your HRV score. Simple things like mindfulness, stress reduction, sleep and the time you spend doing things you love that make you joyful can improve your HRV.
So what is it that you can do today to improve your HRV and lead to a better life for you and your loved ones?
