The following is a quick post with the results of my heart rate variability measurements for the previous month. You may want to refer back to my introductory post Do You Have a Healthy Heart? and my Baseline Measurements post to have a better idea of what I am measuring.
Modifications to Methods
I am still using my Suunto t6d heart rate monitor to measure my resting heart rate every morning; however I have made a few changes. Instead of measuring in both a seated and standing position, I am now just measuring my seated resting heart rate. And I am measuring for 5 minutes instead of 3, and looking at a 3 minute window instead of a 1 minute window. These changes were made after consulting with two of the authors of studies I referenced in my first HRV post. They felt that a slightly longer measurement would give me a bit better insight.
And since I am no longer recording standing resting heart rate, I am not calculating my orthostatic heart rate (the difference between standing and seated) as it didn’t seem to be indicating anything very interesting.
Results
Over the past month, my seated resting heart rate averaged 75.8 (+/- 4.3) beats per minute. This number was almost exactly the same as the baseline number of 75.2 (+/- 3.8) beats per minute.
My heart rate variability (expressed by RMSSD – the root mean square of successive differences) went down to 25.6 (+/- 7.0) from 34.8 (+/-10.9). This is the wrong direction; however it isn’t completely surprising considering that I have dramatically stepped up my exercise habits over the past month (and may be slightly overtraining). What I hope is that my body adapts to the exercise and increases parasympathetic output which will lead to a much higher HRV measurement.
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