Our Secret Ingredient - HRV

Reva Wellness - our secret weapon for health, performance and productivity

At Reva Wellness we have a secret weapon against stress and burnout. The same weapon can be used to grow your superpowers by promoting optimal health and brain size (metaphorically).

It’s a little different from other Wellness programs. A little bit of extra spark.

Why?

Because we can literally measure your stress levels to see how stressed you are. We can see your stress, sometimes before you can!

And it’s not through the typical questionnaires or performance reviews. This is science!

What is it?

It’s HRV!

Cool… But what is it?

Ok, we all know “Heart Rate” – How many times your heart beats in one minute.

But our heart isn’t a clock or a metronome. The timing of the beats is not consistent.

HRV is literally the variation of time between consecutive heartbeats. The measurement is expressed as a whole number after some calculations behind the scene!

It is a reflection of the factors that influence the rhythm of the heart.

🤓 OK, let’s dig a bit deeper into the physiology of it…

Your heart rate variability reflects the state of your autonomic nervous system.

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is the communication pathway for unconscious bodily functions such as the heart rate, as well as others like breathing rate, pupil dilation and digestion.

The ANS is divided into two main branches – the sympathetic (SNS - fight or flight response) and the parasympathetic (PNS- rest and repair).

So, when the nervous system receives information from its environment it responds. The response is to either to upregulate the sympathetic or parasympathetic activity. This is what creates the time difference between each beat – the interplay between SNS and PNS.

The environment can be…. Anything! From serious stress (where you can actually feel that your heart rate has increased) to just breathing in then out!

That’s what it is…. But what does it mean?

The relationship between the current heart rate variability, day to day variation as well as the actual heart rate can provide insight into the state of the body by the ‘health’ of the nervous system.

HRV can be used medically, indicating disease. Or it can be used preventively, as a measure of the physical and mental capacity you have available to deal with stressors.

In general, although there are exceptions, a high HRV represents a high level of heart rate fluctuation, indicating that the body is responding well to environmental stimulus. It is functioning healthily, demonstrating adaptability and resilience.

If the HRV is low this suggests the nervous system is lacking flexibility. Usually, there is less variation when the sympathetic nervous system is dominating.

Low HRV

So, if low HRV is associated with increased Sympathetic activity, and Sympathetic activity increases heart rate and breathing etc, you may have concluded correctly that sounds pretty stressful, literally.

When the HRV is low, the body is not coping so well with the stress. It is not healthily bouncing between stimulated and relaxed states.

Low HRV is associated with numerous health conditions such as chronic fatigue, chronic pain, depression, fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome just to name a few. Low and lowering HRV leading to poor health outcomes, often results in lower work performance, a higher probability of work absences and importantly, general dissatisfaction and struggle to cope with everyday life!

HRV for you

Reva Wellness programs also monitor your HRV patterns. If your HRV is trending down this would indicate a decreasing capacity to deal with stress. From there, we work with you to build your tolerance back up. Preferably, even better than before!