Heart Rate Variability: Your Superhero Metric

No matter who you are, everyone on the planet desires to have the capacity to do more.

To have more energy..

To be more present & focused..

To be able to lift more, run further, jump higher, or perform their favorite activity just a little bit better.

People who want to lose weight start tracking their calories and their weight, and what happens?

They optimize for the results. It becomes a game. They change their lifestyle to 'score better' and lose weight as a result.

So what if there was a metric for our resiliency?

For our 'human battery' per se?

A metric that could quantify how much energy, and the quality of that energy which we wake up on a daily basis that - when we begin to optimize for - allows us to double or even triple how much we accomplish in a given week, while eliminating the effects of stress and burnout on our life.

The Super Hero Metric? HRV.

Heart Rate Variability.

The distance of time measured between heartbeats.

The higher the Heart Rate Variability - aka the more inconsistency in the time between heartbeats - the more rested, recovered & resilient you are to stress.

It is also our best quantifiable metric to measure the state of our Nervous System. The more strain we have put on our Nervous System, the lower our HRV will be. The more we rest, recover & have good habits - our HRV will rise.

So what is a 'good' HRV?

Your HRV can fall anywhere between 20-200. Here is a graph on the averages per age group from Whoop - one of the leading HRV tracking devices on the market:

The average HRV for an adult falls around 65. That does not make this a 'good' metric. For me personally, I expect my HRV to stay at least above 90 - and when I'm really dialed in on my practices I see my HRV sitting near 110.

So what impacts our HRV? And how can we optimize it?

Breath quality

As a culture, we are pretty terrible at breathing. Many people are not consciously aware of our breath, and never learned how to breath effectively and efficiently. Poor breath quality looks like shallow chest breathing using the mouth. High quality breathing looks like deep, slow inhales and particularly exhales through the nose. The single most impactful tool I have found to regulate my nervous system is Box Breathing. I perform 20 minutes of box breathing in the morning, again in the afternoon, and often before bed as well. Personally, I use this YouTube Video - and often will just play it in the background of whatever task I am doing to unconsciously shift my breathing patterns.

Exercise volume & Intensity

The nature of a hard workout is that it puts the body in a stressful state. This is great, and has many incredible benefits for health and longevity. However, prolonged intense workouts without adequate rest & practices that counterbalance the effects of a hardcore lift, run or other butt-kicking movement will send the Nervous System into overdrive. HRV plummets as a result. For most of you, we're no longer highschoolers with pretty simple lives. No - we have a job, family responsibilities, and other aspects of life that impact us emotionally. As such, developing a relationship with working out (especially when we want to optimize for HRV) should empower us to show up for our other responsibilities, not leave us depleted.

I am a recovering over-exerciser. For many years, I power-lifted 6 days a week with no focus on flexibility or range of motion. As a result, my nervous system was always overworked and I was always feeling burntout. Personally, I have found 4 strength workout per week - focused on a balance of functionality, strength and range of motion to truly bring my Nervous System into balance. Furthermore, I like to add 2-3 yoga classes per week to counteract the years of contraction & tightness I've put on my joints from lifting.

Sleep

Sleep is probably the greatest influence on our HRV. I'm sitting here writing this from an airport following a red eye, with an HRV of 55 after getting 3 hours of sleep on the plane. Now, most of us won't often be in these extremes - however here are some principles that will help you get the awesome sleep quality that will give your HRV a mega-boost.

First, no electronics at least 1 hour before bed. On top of that, make sure the lights in your bedroom do not produce blue light (switch to a salt lamp, redlight, or another alternative). Why? Blue light that is emmitted from technology inhibits melotonin production which is essential to get the deep recovery your body craves during sleep.

To further increase sleep quality, make sure you finish exercising 3 hours before sleep and do not eat any heavy meals within 2-3 hours of sleeping. This will ensure your system is calm, relaxed, and ready to devote all of it's focus to healing without being overstimulated or focused on the breakdown of foods.

Block out all sleep disruptors: light & sound. Use a sleep mask or blackout curtains, and wear earplugs if you live in a noisy area. Anything that may disrupt your sleep quality will prevent you from entering that deep sleep zone that is most critical for recovery.

Stress

Knowing how to manage stress is HUGE for managing your HRV. The best ways to do this is to intentionally break up your day with practices that allow you to re-center and ground yourself. My general rule of thumb is for every hour, 50 minutes of focus, and 10 minutes of one of these practices: box breathing, walks outside (preferably without shoes to get the amazing benefits of grounding), air squats or other light exercise, yoga, cold shower, or break out into a one man dance party. All of these practices may seem different, but the common thread is that they soothe the nervous system by giving our brain a break and allowing stagnant energy to move through (and out) of the body.

What NOT to do? 'Push through'. The way to ensure stress and burnout catch up to you is by sprinting until you have zero left in the tank. Take breaks before you feel you even need them, and your battery will stay fuller for longer.

Diet

One of the biggest factors that influences our HRV is inflammation. Inflammation is caused by poor sleep, exposure to tons of wifi and artificial light, and many other environmental factors - including food.

There are hundreds of philosophies on 'how to eat' nowadays, which we will avoid here today. We will use the 80/20 rule - and focus on the few things you can do to lower inflammation in the body significantly. 1. cut out refined sugar. Sugar is extremely inflammatory, and also causes big fluctuation in blood sugar which drastically affects mood, energy levels, and sleep quality. 2. cut out refined carbs. these are things like boxes of Cheezits, Cereals, White Bread, big brand pasta, etc. If people weren't capable of eating it 100 years ago and it comes in a fancy box - it's probably a refined carb. Not all carbs are bad (depending on who you ask), but my general rule of thumb is sticking to carbs like sweet potatoes, whole wheat or chickpea pasta, beans/legumes, and sourdough bread. Additionally, I eat high quantities of quality animal based proteins, fruits, and vegetables.

Another way to ensure you keep inflammation low in your body is consuming antioxidant rich foods. This includes berries, coffee, green tea, dark chocolate, avocados, dark leafy greens, and nuts.

Hydration

Being hydrated improves circulation and make it easier for your blood to deliver oxygen to the body. This can have a direct impact on your training, health, and overall stress. When you stay hydrated, you will naturally have more energy and will experience better recovery.

The takeaway?

If you focus on honing in each of these areas of your life, you will see your HRV rise dramatically - potentially 2x or 3x 'ing your human battery. You'll be more focused, more present, and more capable to crush all of your human responsibilities.

Onward my friends!

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What's your biggest takeaway or concern? Reply back, or let me know in IG @delaneymcguire_ I'd love to hear it.

Delaney McGuire