"Everything from regulating your heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and digestion revolves around HRV. In fact, it is a direct indicator of your overall heart health at any point."
Chase Chewning
EFR 559: Ten Ways to Improve Your HRV
If you’ve been listening to Ever Forward Radio for quite a while now, you would have infallibly come across our discussions focussing HRV or Heart Rate Variability, an essential parameter to measure your heart health and stress levels at any point. While a higher variability of the metric signals that your body can push past strenuous exercises some more, a lower measure is an indication that it needs a break.
Today you’ll explore identified ways to improve your HRV – and all that they demand of you are simple, conscious changes in your everyday habits.
In a host-only episode of Ever Forward Radio, Chase uses his personal story and the science to teach you 10 simple tips that improve HRV. Referencing Mark Van Deusen’s article on Heart Rate Variability (Whoop), he touches on its nervous system origination, significance, stress impact, and applications so you can know why the HRV is a breakthrough metric for wellness. In addition, you’ll learn about the body’s regulatory processes of homeostasis and allostasis that are responsible for maintaining equilibrium despite internal and external changes (both central to your brain’s stress handling mechanism).
For those of you new to the whole HRV study or seeking some of the best toolset, supplements, and product recommendations to start with, Chase also shares the products he personally uses and how they help him in his wellness journey – do not forget to tune in!
Follow Chase on Instagram for more wellness tips @chase_chewning
Key Highlights
Training well doesn’t remotely imply overtraining. Smart HRV training involves giving your body enough time to recover to avoid straining.
Healthy nutrition at appropriate intervals is essential to maintain your body’s performance and sleep cycles.
In a WHOOP estimate, it was found that your hydration levels were in direct proportion to your body’s HRV. When sufficiently hydrated, your HRV levels could increase by 3 milliseconds (an ounce of water per pound is a healthy measure).
Alcohol severely suppresses your HRV – by up to 22 ms in just a day’s time.
Not only is it true that your body needs sleep, but it’s also true that your body needs to attune to a restorative, consistent sleep cycle.
Going outside, soaking in natural sunlight, and watching the daylight and dark are essential mood and HRV boosters. Natural sunlight is also a source of Vitamin D and can improve your alertness.
Cold thermogenesis is known to activate the parasympathetic branch of your autonomic nervous system and boost heart rate variability.
Controlled breathing helps decrease cortisol levels and aids in heart rate recovery almost immediately.
Mindfulness, meditation, and slow breathing are known to improve HRV significantly.
Gratitude Journaling induces positive emotions, causes a decrease in stress hormones and blood pressure and can effectively improve your HRV.
(Bonus) Tune in to find out!
(PS. Our giveaway is on! Review us on Apple Podcasts to participate – More about it in the episode!)
Notable Quotes
“Not eating close to bedtime within three to four hours will improve the quality of your sleep by allowing your body to focus on other restorative processes instead of digestion.”
“Mindfulness allows us to manage everyday physiological stress by reminding us to be aware and pay attention to the moment when we stress about the future or ruminate about the past.”
“Quality time with people that matter most to you contributes to supporting your emotional health, your mental health. It helps lower cortisol, lower stress, [and also] makes you feel good.”
Episode resources:
Ever Forward Radio is brought to you by Hero Loan
At Hero Loan, we know no one has done more for this country than our Veterans and active duty military -- and we want to give our nation's heroes a token of our appreciation.
That's why, from now until Christmas (12/25), we'll pay for your VA loan appraisal and give you a $500 gift card at closing when you close any VA loan with us. It's our gift to you!
This offer applies to both purchase loans and refinances-- so whether you're buying your first home, shopping for a lower rate, or looking to take out some cash equity we've got you covered.