4 ms·
Heart rate variability (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_rate_variability https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_rate_variability) may also be an interesting me
by trevyn 9y ago
Heart rate variability (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_rate_variability https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_rate_variability) may also be an interesting measure here.
- nerdponx 9y agoWhen I did biofeedback therapy a couple of years ago, heart rate variability was the main proxy they used for relaxation. The goal for session was to obtain a steady heart rate.
- trevyn 9y agoCounterintuitively, it's actually the other way around -- at rest, more variability in your heart rate (over a roughly 20 second period) is correlated with lower levels of stress. Deep, slow, regular breathing tends to increase HRV, since heart rate is linked to respiration -- your heart beats a little faster when you inhale, a little slower when you exhale. It's desirable to have big, regular swings in heart rate, synchronized with your respiration. Thankfully, biofeedback protocols will typically hide these details, and just calculate a single metric for you to attempt to optimize.
- nerdponx 9y agoNo, I actually just remembered it wrong. I remember what the chart looks like now, and yes the goal was in fact to have your heart rate vary with breath. When I started the session, my heart rate would jump around almost arbitrarily. By the end, it would fall into a steady rhythm of rising and falling as I breathed.