What is Heart Rate Variability (HRV)?

-Chantea Goetz

Heart rate variability is the change in the time intervals between consecutive heartbeats. Variations can be due to age, gender, athletic ability, circadian rhythms, core body temperature, and metabolism. 24-hour recordings are the gold standard. To measure the autonomic, cardiovascular, & respiratory systems a short-term reading of 5 minutes a day is sufficient. HRV is a critical indicator of health, resilience, well-being, and performance. Several research studies indicate that lowered HRV values lead to increased reports of diabetes, coronary disease, anxiety, depression, asthma, and poor performance. These aliments are due to autonomic dysregulation. HRV biofeedback positively effects the cardiovascular system, respiratory system, gastrointestinal system, performance, and behavior.

The benefits of using HRV biofeedback has the ability for people to become aware of their proper breathing rate, also known as resonant frequency. Proper breathing patterns can improve professional and athletic performance, improve focus and concentration, reduce anxiety and depression symptoms, improve overall health and mental well-being, while reducing risk factors for disease.

HRV biofeedback training involves slowing the breathing rate to achieve the RF breathe. For most people the respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is maximized when breathing at a rate of 6 breaths per minute. In order to obtain an ideal HRV there needs to be a balance between the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. When a person is over-stressed and under-recovered there will be a decline in performance. Some ways in which to separate emotional responses from physical actions are to practice mindfulness and meditation.

My Journey in BioHacking Functional Fitness-Jim Goetz​I work with people daily in order to help them achieve their goals and improve their way of life. What good is life if it’s a life that’s not worth living? Everyone deserves a happy and healthy life but many lack any clue on how to achieve this. Goals are an essential part of health and happiness. Without setting objective goals, having a plan and being accountable to this plan, success will not happen. 

What biohacking is and some thoughts on this were discussed in a recent interview I gave with The Vitamin Shoppe in their publication, What is Good. My journey is not unlike any other. However the plan I use to achieve my goals is highly researched. As goals may be and should be in different aspects of life, this article focuses on health and fitness goals. I began working out in the fourth grade. My grammar school teacher was not the best and as a result I became very unhappy. I found enjoyment through running, push ups, and sit ups. There was a burning sensation in either my legs, chest and arms or abs that was perplexing. The more I did, the more it burned. As an eight year old, this confusing sensation led to greater experimentation, which essentially meant to do more exercises. I would do these exercises daily, timing myself to see how long I could do them until the burn began and then how long I could push through the burn until I literally could not move that body part any longer. I was utilizing the most unscientific manner to increase lactic threshold and muscular endurance and function but for an eight year old, it made sense.My life was always filled with sports. Grammar school through high school it was cross country, basketball and baseball. In college it was baseball. Like most, I only did what the coach had me do. Like most I did not realize the coach had no clue himself in how to make better athletes. It was in undergrad when I changed majors to exercise science that I began to learn new techniques in how to improve athletic ability. Some ideas worked for me, some did not. For instance, increasing carbohydrate intake before and after working out caused a dissipation of the visual appearance of muscle. In other w