How to Improve HRV: 12 Strategies to Increase Your HRV

Evidence supporting the importance of heart rate variability (HRV) goes back for decades. Researchers and healthcare professionals recognize and measure HRV as a core metric that provides key insights into our health and wellness status.

Keeping track of your data will help identify your own distinct health trends. Heart rate variability is one of the best metrics for understanding your body’s readiness to perform.

This knowledge will equip you to make informed choices regarding potential healthy lifestyle changes and whether or not you’re on target in your current health status.

What is HRV?

Heart rate variability (HRV) measures the time variation between two consecutive heartbeats. It is controlled by the autonomic nervous system, which regulates involuntary body functions, including heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion.

A higher Heart Rate Variability (HRV) usually indicates better overall health and a reduced risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes, actively reflecting a person's health and well-being status.

Several elements can influence HRV, such as age, fitness level, sleep, and stress. HRV can also be affected by specific medications and medical conditions.

If you want to learn more about heart rate variability (HRV), you can check out: What is HRV? Your Complete Guide.

How Can You Improve Heart Rate Variability?

With a collection of individualized lifestyle changes and healthy habits, you can positively influence HRV, including regular exercise, proper nutrition, staying hydrated, avoiding alcohol, and getting quality sleep.

We will explore these behaviors in more detail below to better understand how to increase your HRV score.

Exercise Regularly

When we exercise regularly, whether cardio or strength training, we train our autonomic nervous system (also called ANS) to proceed from a rapid heart rate to one that slows down more quickly. Ultimately, this allows the heart to rest and recoup after exertion. Try to find balance in your exercise routine, as overtraining can decrease HRV in the short term. [1-2] 

Exercise Tip: Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise most days. 

Meditation and Mindfulness

Many individuals have found that engaging in mindfulness and/or meditation practices contributes to improvements in HRV scores. Similar to the effects of slow breathing techniques, these practices assist in reducing stress. Giving as little as one minute per day to mindfulness exercises can deliver real benefits.

Struggling to find sleep while stressed? Discover effective strategies for sleeping better during stressful times.

Increase Natural Light Exposure

Natural light exposure can enhance HRV (Heart Rate Variability) in several ways. Exposure to natural light can regulate the body's circadian rhythm, the internal clock regulating sleep and wake cycles. [3]  When the circadian rhythm is in sync with the natural light-dark cycle, it can improve the body's HRV. 

Plus, natural light can increase vitamin D production in the body. Vitamin D has been shown to enhance HRV by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress in the body.

Develop a Consistent Sleep Schedule

A consistent sleep schedule is crucial in increasing Heart Rate Variability (HRV) by enhancing various physiological processes. Consistent sleep patterns lead to improved sleep quality, which is integral for the body's restorative functions, directly affecting HRV.

This routine helps achieve a healthy HRV by regulating the autonomic nervous system and balancing the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems.

Also, a regular sleep schedule reduces stress and anxiety levels, factors known to lower HRV by promoting sympathetic dominance. Consistent sleep patterns optimize physiological processes, including heart rate regulation, by aligning with the body's natural circadian rhythms, which may increase HRV.

Although the parasympathetic nervous system is more dominant during sleep, the sympathetic system isn’t completely out of the picture. This system takes over during the REM stage. Proper management of this delicate balance of ANS systems helps us be more awake, alert, and vibrant during the day. [4]

Sleep Schedule Tip: Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep each night. But remember that the quality of sleep is just as important as the quantity of sleep.

Maintain a Healthy Diet

The foods and beverages we put into our bodies can affect HRV acutely and in the long term. A balanced diet most associated with higher HRV includes the Mediterranean diet, omega-3 fatty acids, and probiotics. [5] This can include fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and healthy fats.

According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, leafy greens such as mustard greens, spinach, kale, and lettuce can improve HRV scores. Researchers found that while the intake of fruit, fish, and other healthy foods did not affect HRV, consuming lots of leafy greens, iindividuals has healthier HRV scores.

Read More: Learn which foods can help you improve your sleep.

Explore Biofeedback Training

Biofeedback is a type of cognitive retraining used to assist in managing several aspects of health and wellness, including breathing, concentration, heart rate, and stress – all of which affect HRV. Biofeedback is even used to increase HRV in patients with heart problems. [6-7]

Manage Mental Stress

Chronic stress can negatively impact HRV. Healthy stress management techniques are critical to increasing our HRV. Such abilities really help us out when we need to be on high alert in anxiety-producing situations or environments. We know we need those periods of relaxation after our brains and bodies spend time in overdrive. [8]

Regarding relaxation techniques, no two people are exactly the same. We suggest choosing several types of stress busters to access when you need them. 

Here are a few examples of stress management techniques:

• Box Breathing
• Mindfulness
• Deep Breathing Exercises
• Meditation
• Yoga

To experience a calming meditation focused on breath awareness, try this 10-minute guided meditation session. It's a great way to relax and enhance your mindfulness practice. 

Take a 10-minute break with this midday yoga stretching video to rejuvenate yourself. It's perfect for refreshing your mind and body. 

Maintaining a Gratitude Journal

Have you come across gratitude journals online? If you want to enhance your HRV, including it in your daily routine would be beneficial. Research published in Psychosomatic Medicine discovered that HRV increased when people practiced gratitude journaling exercises.

Starting a journal is a simple task that requires little effort. All you need to do is grab a notepad and create an entry each day mentioning five things you are grateful for.

If you need more guidance, answer a prompt such as - What are you grateful for today? Who is someone you are thankful for and why? Is there any challenge you are facing that you are thankful for? Interested in how journaling before bed can improve your sleep? Explore the following nighttime journal prompts and tips.

Manage Alcohol Intake

Using alcohol for relaxation and/or sleep can be very deceiving. Although it can help people get to sleep initially, it invariably wakes them up later at night with little hope for good-quality sleep. Alcohol throws off the sleep schedule, which works havoc on HRV.

Did You Know: Some experts opine that the effects of consuming alcohol may decrease HRV for as many as 5 days. [9]

Stay Hydrated

Drinking water, foods containing water (think watermelon), and other healthy beverages increase blood volume in our system. This, in turn, increases blood flow and allows the heart muscle to more easily benefit from oxygen and other nutrients. Researchers have also found a correlation between dehydration (also known as hypo-hydration) and anxiety. [10-11]

It’s also recommended to manage your caffeine intake. In some individuals, it can interrupt sleep and overall recovery.

Curious about which drinks can enhance your sleep? Learn about the best drinks that can help improve your sleep, resulting in a better night's rest.

Intentional Breathing

By slowing down your breathing and taking deep, controlled breaths, you activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps to regulate the body's response to stress. When activated, it can lower your heart rate and blood pressure, reduce stress hormones such as cortisol, and increase HRV.

Deep breathing exercises include yoga, diaphragmatic, and box breathing, which can additionally help with lowering blood pressure. Research has shown that various controlled breathing techniques, such as slow and deep breathing, can improve heart rate variability and reduce stress levels and anxiety. [12]

Cold-induced Thermogenesis

This involves brief exposure to cold temperatures, such as cold showers or ice baths, stimulating the vagus nerve. This vagus nerve activation engages the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system, playing a pivotal role in regulating heart rate variability.

Improve Work-Life Balance

Work can be a significant source of stress for many people. It's important to balance work and other aspects of your life to improve your average heart rate variability (HRV). According to a study, having a long commute (more than 90 minutes) or working overtime (more than 60 hours per month) can lead to lower HRV scores. It's a good idea to minimize these factors when possible. [13]

Monitor HRV with Sleepme Sleep Tracker

Sleepme's sleep tracker calculates HRV scores throughout your sleep stages each night to get the most reliable and consistent readings possible. This also gives you an accurate understanding of your baseline to monitor your HRV trends over time in our sleep app.

Our non-wearable sleep tracker fits between your mattress and bed sheet, collecting data without having to wear or charge annoying straps or bands. Individualized sleep reports and other important health data are loaded onto the mobile app, so reports can be reviewed anytime.

Read our blog, Unlocking Better Health: The Benefits of Monitoring Your Sleep, to learn more about how tracking your sleep can enhance your overall health and well-being.

Additional Sleep Metrics

Other metrics our sleep tracker captures include the following:

• Daily Sleep Score
• Time in Bed
• Total Sleep (Light Sleep, Deep Sleep and REM Sleep)
• Sleep Duration
• Resting Heart Rate
• Respiration Rate
• Movements
• Out of Bed

Benefits of a High HRV Score

According to Harvard Medical School, learning about our individual heart rate variability is a non-invasive way to keep tabs on our autonomic nervous system. They have found that people with high HRV are more successful at switching gears from high-alert mode to periods of rest and relaxation than individuals with lower HRV.  

Thus, they tend to function much better in the following areas:  [14-17]

• Cardiovascular health
• Resilience
• Adaptability
• Manage stress levels
• Relaxation and sleep
• Disease prevention (e.g., diabetes, inflammation, psychological issues)

Did You Know: If you have a low HRV, it could be a sign that your body is not coping well with stress, whether it's due to excessive anaerobic or aerobic exercise, illness, chronic pain, or emotional events.

Final Thoughts

Improving your HRV can have numerous benefits for your overall health. Keep in mind that lower heart rate variability (HRV) is often linked to conditions like depression and anxiety, whereas higher HRV is commonly associated with improved heart health and more effective stress management.

As mentioned, there are many ways how to increase HRV, such as incorporating natural light exposure, controlled breathing exercises, and other stress-reducing techniques into your daily routine while reducing the risk of stress-related health issues. 

Additionally, monitoring your HRV patterns over time can help you identify areas for improvement and track progress toward your health goals. If you have concerns about your low HRV or overall health, it's important to consult with your primary care professional.

Remember, small changes can make a big difference in your HRV and overall health, so don't hesitate to implement these practices today with the help of sleepme's sleep tracker.