“Every morning, take your HRV, see what that looks like, and then think about what just preceded that,” Steere recommends. “Did I have a really good night’s sleep? Did I have a couple glasses of wine the night before?”
Over time, as you get a sense of your baseline and how your heart rate variability changes depending on your health and behaviour, you can use that data to help you make decisions and track progress, Herzog says.
Maybe you were already feeling sluggish and your heart rate variability data drives home that your system is overtaxed and needs rest. Or perhaps you’ve just started a new exercise regimen but aren’t seeing physical results yet. Since heart rate variability tends to improve with exercise, a higher score could encourage you that your gym sessions really are working. Tracking it, if anything, “ends up really enhancing subjective awareness”, Herzog says.
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