HRV - The Pulse of Long Life

Today I go back to one of my favorite metrics. HRV or heart rate variability. HRV is the variance with which your heart beats. More specifically, the variance in the pause between beats.

Your body sends billions of electrical and chemical signal throughout the day. The signals convey your state, mind, body, and soul.

What you see, touch, smell or even feel are all converted into electrical signals, which are then processed using memory.

HRV might easily be one of the most important of them all.

Think of your life. Meetings, negotiations, discussions, travel, sport, a health checkup. In every situation, your body has to respond to the situation.

If you are in a deep discussion, it may be your brain doing the heavy lifting. If you are playing a sport, your arms and legs.

But in all situations, your heart has to dutifully pick up the load to deliver oxygen.

The efficiency with which it does it affects your health in the long term.

HRV, or the variance between your heart beats, is by far the best signal that tells us how you are doing. It is the equivalent of body temperature.

Your physical state, let us simplify for now, drives your emotions. Your emotions and feelings drive your thoughts and actions.

So if your physical state is not ideal, it will affect everything you think, feel, and do.

So if you want to regulate your HRV, what can you do?

To start, measure. Measurement will give you an understanding of how you are doing. HRV is a personal measure. You need to understand yours. The best time to measure is the morning.

Learn how your HRV changes in different situations. When you are walking, stressed, sleeping.

Here is the secret: your breath regulates HRV.

If you wish to live long and healthy, which is my wish for you, your body fat, HRV, VO2Max and the strength of your muscles are the four best metrics to track.

Reach out to me on twitter @rbawri Instagram @riteshbawriofficial and YouTube at www.youtube.com/breatheagain