The iHeart HRV app measures your Heart Rate Variability (HRV).

HRV refers to the variation in time between your heartbeats. The time between heartbeats varies with your breathing, and this variation is a sign of a healthy heart and autonomic nervous system. A balanced autonomic nervous system, with a good balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches, allows your body to adapt to different situations and perform at its best. When your sympathetic nervous system (fight-or-flight) is dominant, your HRV will be lower, indicating higher stress levels. When your parasympathetic nervous system (rest-and-digest) is dominant, your HRV will be higher, indicating lower stress and better recovery.

• The HRV results show you:
• Overall score: This score is out of 100. The higher the score, the more balanced your sympathetic and parasympathetic influences are.
• Poincare plot: This graph visually displays the variation in your heart rate. A tighter cluster of dots indicates less variation, and more dots outside the main cluster indicates more variation. Remember that variation is good when it comes to HRV.
• Frequency score (LF/HF ratio): This score gives insight into the balance between your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
• A high LF/HF ratio suggests sympathetic dominance, indicating that your fight-or-flight mode is activated.

A low LF/HF ratio suggests parasympathetic dominance, indicating that your rest-and-digest mode is activated.

• You can improve your HRV score by working on the same lifestyle factors that improve your Readiness Score on the Brain app, including regular exercise, stress management, adequate sleep, and hydration. Additionally:
• HRV training: Specific breathing techniques and biofeedback exercises can help to improve HRV.

Mindfulness practices: Meditation and other mindfulness techniques can help to reduce stress and improve autonomic nervous system balance.