Heart Rate Variability

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a broad measure of overall health and fitness and a biomarker for homeostatic capacity (see below) as well as the potential for a healthy lifespan.  It specifically measures the variability of the time gap between heartbeats and can be calculated by a wide variety of hand-held devices.  Generally, a low HRV is unfavorable; it indicates dominance of your sympathetic (“fight or flight”) nervous system and can be associated with stress and inflammation.  Cardiologists have used HRV as a predictor of heart health; a low HRV is often an indicator that someone has or may develop a cardiovascular condition.  Low HRV may also suggest anxiety, depression or other health concerns and indicates a need for rest, sleep and recovery.  On the contrary, a high HRV is associated with activation of your parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) nervous system and relaxation and equanimity.  A high HRV indicates that your body has good homeostatic capacity and can recover easily from the stressors life inevitably brings.

Homeostatic capacity

Homeostatic capacity is our body’s self-correcting mechanism.  It is the biological system we rely on to recover from stressors and return to equilibrium by adjusting physiological processes.  It maintains constancy of our body’s internal environment – from the healthy functioning of cells to tissues to organs and eventually whole systems.  It also protects the body from changes in the external environment like temperature changes, for example.  If homeostasis fails, the disease process is initiated.  By focusing on improving homeostatic capacity itself rather than specific imbalances in our internal systems we can postpone aging with a better quality of life.

So, how can you increase your heart rate variability?  

Really, doing anything that dampens your sympathetic nervous system and activates your parasympathetic nervous system will improve your HRV and homeostatic capacity. One way to do this is to stimulate your vagus nerve, which relays information between your brain and organs.  Your vagus nerve has the ability to reduce heart rate and blood pressure and can have a calming effect on your body.  As part of the peripheral nervous system, your vagus nerve normally works without your conscious control. But you can willfully activate it if you know the right techniques.  Some non-invasive, research-based methods include:

  • Getting adequate sleep – especially after a stressful event
  • Regular exercise (but avoid overtraining)
  • Meditation
  • Yoga
  • Listening to soothing music
  • Breathing exercises emphasizing fewer breaths per minute and longer exhales than inhales
  • Biofeedback training
  • Using the iLs Total Focus System and the Dreampad

How does iLs help to improve heart rate variability and homeostatic capacity?

iLs’ therapeutic programs all involve listening to classical music conducted via vibration through the body.  This bone conduction delivery method seems to stimulate the vagus nerve and activate the parasympathetic nervous system.  A small pilot study conducted in 2014 demonstrated that 9 of 11 subjects improved their High Frequency Coupling, a measurement based on HRV after a 15-minute period using the Dreampad; some by 25% and others by more than 200%.

 

Click here for the pilot study on HRV and the Dreampad

References: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2903986/

 

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