What is Heart Rate Variability (HRV) & How to Monitor?

What is Heart Rate Variability & Why Does It Matter?

Heart rate variability (HRV) is the amount of time between each of your heartbeats. For example, if your heart beats once and then again one second later, the time between those beats might be 1.05 seconds, then 0.95 seconds, and so on. Even if your heart rate seems steady, there are tiny changes in the timing. These changes are totally normal and even healthy.

In fact, high HRV is usually a sign that your body is handling stress well, recovering from workouts, and getting good sleep. On the other hand, reduced HRV can be a sign of stress, poor sleep, overtraining, or even health issues.

At MyFitnessCoach, we believe that the best way to improve your fitness and overall well-being is by understanding your body better, and HRV is a great place to start.

How Does HRV Work in the Body?

To understand how HRV works, you need to know a little bit about your autonomic nervous system. This system controls things in your body that happen without you thinking about them—like breathing, digestion, and heart rate.

There are two main parts of this system:

• The sympathetic nervous system (the “fight or flight” side)
• The parasympathetic nervous system (the “rest and relax” side)

When these two systems are in balance, your HRV tends to be higher. If you're always stressed or tired, your sympathetic system takes over, and your HRV usually drops.

A strong parasympathetic activity, especially from the vagus nerve, can increase HRV and help your body recover faster. This is why deep breathing, meditation, and good sleep are so helpful for your heart.

What Does Low HRV Mean?

Sometimes, HRV goes down. This is called decreased HRV, and it may happen if your body is under stress. A reduction in HRV might be a warning sign that your body needs rest or recovery. It can even be linked to some health problems.

In fact, ventricular arrhythmia, a type of serious irregular heartbeat, has been connected to low HRV in some cases. That’s why it’s important to pay attention if your HRV stays low for a long term period.

Monitoring HRV can also help spot early warning signs of other problems, like high blood pressure or being at risk for certain heart issues.

How Do You Measure HRV?

Measuring HRV is easier than ever. You can use heart rate monitors, smartwatches, or even fitness trackers. These devices check the time between your heart beats in milliseconds.

For example, a normal HRV value might be around 50 ms, but this number can change a lot depending on your age, health, and how active you are.

Some apps and devices break HRV into time domain and frequency domain values. You don’t need to understand all the science, but the main idea is this: tracking your HRV over time helps you learn how your body is doing.

And guess what? The MyFitnessCoach app can connect with your wearables to track HRV, along with your workouts, food, sleep, and more. It’s your all-in-one fitness buddy.

Why Athletes and Beginners Should Care About HRV

Whether you're a top athlete or just starting out, HRV matters. It tells you how your body is recovering and if you're ready to push harder or if you need a rest day.

When you see your HRV go up, it usually means your physical activity, sleep, and stress levels are on the right track. When it drops, it might mean you're overdoing it.

That’s why MyFitnessCoach includes HRV tracking as part of your customized workout plan. It helps you work smarter, not harder.

What Affects Your HRV?

Lots of things can change your HRV. Here are a few:

• Sleep: When you sleep well, your body gets time to relax and recover. This boosts your parasympathetic nervous system and leads to higher HRV.
• Stress: More stress = lower HRV. Stress activates your fight-or-flight response, lowering HRV. Managing stress with calm activities can help bring it back up.
• Exercise: After intense activity, HRV may dip as your body recovers. Once you rest and recover properly, HRV usually improves and becomes stronger over time.
• Food: Eating balanced meals with plenty of nutrients helps your body function well. This supports heart health and can keep your HRV in a healthy range.
• Alcohol or caffeine: Too much alcohol or caffeine can stress your body and affect your sleep. This often leads to a drop in HRV and slower recovery.
• Age: HRV naturally decreases with age, but regular exercise, good sleep, and a healthy lifestyle can slow that decline and keep your heart strong.

How to Improve Your HRV

Here are simple ways to increase HRV naturally:

• Get more sleep (7–9 hours): Your body recovers the most while you sleep. Getting enough rest helps boost your heart rate variability and makes you feel fresh and focused.
• Do deep breathing and meditation: Slow breathing and calm thoughts activate your parasympathetic nervous system. This relaxes your body, reduces stress, and helps improve HRV naturally.
• Eat healthy foods: Nutritious meals fuel your body and keep your heart healthy. A balanced diet supports better recovery, energy, and heart rhythm control.
• Drink plenty of water: Staying hydrated helps your heart pump more easily. It also supports blood flow, body temperature, and better overall HRV levels.
• Stay active, but take rest days: Exercise is great, but rest is just as important. Giving your body time to recover helps HRV go up and prevents overtraining.
• Use MyFitnessCoach: Our all-in-one fitness app helps you track HRV, workouts, meals, and more. With guided plans and wearable syncing, it’s your perfect health companion.

How MyFitnessCoach Helps You Track and Improve HRV

Our app is built to be your fitness partner. With features like:

• Workout Logger
• Food Logger
• Customized Workout and Diet Plans
• Yoga, Pilates, and Meditation
• Fitness tracking with your wearables
• Build-your-own workouts
• Prehab-Rehab programs

Track your HRV with your fitness watch and sync it to MyFitnessCoach. Then follow your personalized plan to improve it. It’s simple, smart, and designed just for you.

Final Thoughts

Understanding what heart rate variability is, doesn't have to be hard. It's simply a powerful tool to help you know how your body is doing. It tells you when to rest, when to push, and how to take better care of your heart.

With the MyFitnessCoach app, you can track your HRV and use it to guide your workouts, recovery, and wellness routines—all in one place.

Start your journey to better health today. Download MyFitnessCoach and see what your HRV says about you!