Heart Rate Variability: What It Means and Why We Measure It

At The Resilience Lab, we believe that true health isn’t just about feeling good in the moment. It’s about understanding how your body adapts, recovers, and performs over time. One of the most powerful tools we use to measure this adaptability is Heart Rate Variability (HRV).

What is Heart Rate Variability?

Heart Rate Variability refers to the natural variation in time between your heartbeats. While most people think of heart rate in terms of beats per minute, HRV looks deeper at the small differences between each beat. A higher HRV generally means your body is more adaptable, resilient, and able to handle stress. A lower HRV often indicates that your system is under strain, whether from poor sleep, chronic stress, illness, or even overtraining.

In simple terms: HRV is a window into your nervous system and how well your body is balancing stress and recovery.

Why We Measure HRV in Our Office

When you come in for care at The Resilience Lab, HRV is one of the key scans we perform because it gives us an objective measure of your overall health and adaptability. Here’s why it matters:

• It reveals how your body is handling stress. Whether physical, emotional, or chemical, stress affects everyone. HRV shows us if your body is adapting well or struggling to keep up.

• It helps guide your care. By tracking HRV over time, we can see how your system is responding to chiropractic adjustments, lifestyle changes, and other care strategies.

• It provides a personalized baseline. Everyone’s HRV is unique. Having a measurement specific to you allows us to create care plans tailored to your needs, not just generic recommendations.

• It connects to long-term health. Research links higher HRV with better cardiovascular health, mental resilience, and overall longevity.

  
  

Simply put, measuring HRV gives us a clear picture of how resilient your body truly is.

How You Can Improve HRV

The good news is HRV isn’t fixed. You can improve it through consistent habits and intentional recovery. Some of the best ways to support HRV include:

1. Chiropractic Care & Movement

Restoring proper joint and muscular function helps reduce physical stress on the body, which can improve nervous system adaptability. Pairing adjustments with intentional movement and mobility work creates lasting benefits for HRV.

2. Prioritizing Sleep

Quality sleep is one of the strongest drivers of HRV. Aiming for 7–9 hours per night, keeping a consistent sleep schedule, and limiting screens before bed all make a big difference.

3. Breathwork & Stress Management

Deep breathing, meditation, and mindfulness practices help activate the parasympathetic “rest and recover” side of your nervous system, boosting HRV. Even a few minutes a day can add up.

4. Smart Training & Recovery

Exercise supports HRV, but overtraining can lower it. Finding the right balance of strength, conditioning, and recovery days ensures your body adapts in a healthy way.

5. Nutrition & Hydration

Whole, nutrient-dense foods and proper hydration keep your system fueled and stable. Blood sugar swings, processed foods, and dehydration can all push HRV down.

6. Daily Consistency

HRV thrives on routine. Consistency with sleep, exercise, meals, and stress management builds resilience that shows up in your numbers.

The Bottom Line

At The Resilience Lab, we use HRV because it’s one of the clearest ways to measure how well your body is adapting to life’s stressors. It tells the story behind the scenes, how resilient your system truly is, and it gives us a roadmap to help you move better, recover faster, and live stronger.

Improving HRV isn’t about one quick fix. It’s about consistent, intentional choices that build resilience day after day. And that’s exactly what we’re here to help you with.