{"id":206763,"date":"2021-03-19T12:30:55","date_gmt":"2021-03-19T09:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/what-is-heart-rate-variability-hrv-on-apple-watch-and-why-does-it-matter\/"},"modified":"2021-03-19T12:30:55","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T09:30:55","slug":"what-is-heart-rate-variability-hrv-on-apple-watch-and-why-does-it-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-heart-rate-variability-hrv-on-apple-watch-and-why-does-it-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"#What Is Heart Rate Variability (HRV) on Apple Watch, and Why Does It Matter?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3eaea552e75\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3eaea552e75\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-heart-rate-variability-hrv-on-apple-watch-and-why-does-it-matter\/#What_Is_HRV\" >What Is HRV?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-heart-rate-variability-hrv-on-apple-watch-and-why-does-it-matter\/#What_Is_a_Good_HRV_Measurement\" >What Is a Good HRV Measurement?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-heart-rate-variability-hrv-on-apple-watch-and-why-does-it-matter\/#How_Accurate_Is_the_Apple_Watchs_HRV_Measurement\" >How Accurate Is the Apple Watch\u2019s HRV Measurement?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-heart-rate-variability-hrv-on-apple-watch-and-why-does-it-matter\/#How_to_Check_Your_HRV_With_Your_Apple_Watch\" >How to Check Your HRV With Your Apple Watch<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-heart-rate-variability-hrv-on-apple-watch-and-why-does-it-matter\/#Contact_Your_Doctor_If_Youre_Worried\" >Contact Your Doctor If You\u2019re Worried<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#What Is Heart Rate Variability (HRV) on <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">App<\/a>le Watch, and Why Does It Matter?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-714008\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/preview-2.png\" alt=\"preview showing HRV graph\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Heart rate variability (or HRV) is <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/research-topics\/5429\/heart-rate-variability-health-and-well-being-a-systems-perspective\">the latest hot health measurement<\/a>. It\u2019s being used by <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/trainright.com\/heart-rate-variability-hrv-endurance-athetes\/\">athletes to optimize their training<\/a>, and as a predictor of health\u2014including in <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/milmed\/article\/186\/1-2\/e34\/5989059\">a number<\/a> of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41746-020-00363-7\">studies on COVID-19<\/a>. Your Apple Watch tracks it automatically. Here\u2019s what you need to know about it, and why it matters.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"admonishment_note\"><p><strong>Note:<\/strong> The author of this article is not a doctor. This is a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> article explaining a feature of the Apple Watch. If you have any concerns about your health, contact your physician.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_HRV\"><\/span>What Is HRV?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Heart rate variability is <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.health.harvard.edu\/blog\/heart-rate-variability-new-way-track-well-2017112212789\">a measure of how much the time between two heartbeats varies from beat to beat<\/a>. It\u2019s controlled by your autonomic nervous system (ANS), which is responsible for breathing, digestion, and other unconscious bodily functions.<\/p>\n<p>The ANS has two big subcomponents: the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). The SNS reacts to stress and controls your body\u2019s \u201cfight-or-flight\u201d responses. The PNS, on the other hand, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.healthline.com\/health\/parasympathetic-nervous-system#function\">controls your body\u2019s \u201cfeed-and-breed\u201d and \u201crest-and-digest\u201d responses.<\/a>\u00a0It\u2019s what ticks over when everything is normal.<\/p>\n<p>HRV is a way of measuring ANS activity. When the SNS is active\u2014in other words, when you haven\u2019t slept too well, are fighting with your partner, or are otherwise a bit stressed\u2014the variation between heartbeats is lower than when the PNS is active. If you\u2019re relaxed and chilled out, your heart rate just bounces around a bit more.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, stress isn\u2019t the only thing that affects HRV. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.polar.com\/blog\/heart-rate-variability-hrv\/\">Age, gender, genetics, hydration, exercise, illness, and many more things influence it<\/a>. Stress is just one of the big factors that can do it.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_a_Good_HRV_Measurement\"><\/span>What Is a Good HRV Measurement?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There are no absolutes when it comes to HRV, only individual trends.<\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>, a higher HRV indicates that you are more relaxed and less stressed than a lower HRV does. However, what is an abnormally low HRV for one person can be a high one for someone else. Whoop, a manufacturer of heart rate trackers, has <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whoop.com\/thelocker\/what-is-a-good-hrv\/\">a useful graph on its site<\/a> showing the middle 50% of values for people at different ages: It\u2019s quite a large range.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, what you\u2019re looking for is changes in HRV. If your HRV drops lower over a few days, you might be more stressed than normal, not sleeping well, or <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/covid-symptoms-smart-watch\/\">even getting sick<\/a>. Or, you could just be working out a bit too hard and needing to take a day or two off.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Accurate_Is_the_Apple_Watchs_HRV_Measurement\"><\/span>How Accurate Is the Apple Watch\u2019s HRV Measurement?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>According to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC6111985\/\">a study comparing the Apple Watch to a dedicated heart rate tracker<\/a>, it\u2019s pretty accurate. An ECG from your doctor will always be the gold standard, but you can probably assume that your Apple Watch is not totally off base, at least as far as broad trends are concerned.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Check_Your_HRV_With_Your_Apple_Watch\"><\/span>How to Check Your HRV With Your Apple Watch<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Your Apple Watch automatically tracks your HRV while it tracks your heart rate throughout the day. There are a few <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Heart_rate_variability#Analysis\">different ways to measure the variation between beats<\/a>, but the Apple Watch uses SDNN, which gives a value in milliseconds.<\/p>\n<p>To view the data, open the \u201cHealth\u201d app on your iPhone and go to Browse &gt; Heart &gt; Heart Rate Variability.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-714005\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/IMG_8130.png\" alt=\"health app heart highlighted\" width=\"325\" height=\"703\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-714006\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/IMG_8131.png\" alt=\"health app HRV highlighted\" width=\"325\" height=\"703\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Here, you\u2019ll see a graph of your HRV. Tap \u201cD\u201d to see the daily measurements, \u201cW\u201d to see averages across a week, \u201cM\u201d to see them across the past month, and \u201cY\u201d to see the trends over the last year.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-714007\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/IMG_8132.png\" alt=\"HRV graph\" width=\"325\" height=\"703\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>There are also third-party apps, like <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/welltory.com\">Welltory<\/a>, that can help you dig deeper into the data.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Contact_Your_Doctor_If_Youre_Worried\"><\/span>Contact Your Doctor If You\u2019re Worried<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>HRV is an increasingly popular health measurement, but it\u2019s still quite esoteric, and there\u2019s lots of research yet to be done on it. We\u2019ve been very wary about linking out to any sources making bold claims about the benefits of religiously monitoring it.<\/p>\n<p>For now, your Apple Watch tracks it but does little else with it. That may change in the future. Still, you can keep an eye on your HRV and see how it varies over time with different activity and sleep levels as you continue about your daily life.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, if you\u2019re at all concerned about what you\u2019re seeing, contact your doctor im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>tely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/714004\/what-is-heart-rate-variability-hrv-on-apple-watch-and-why-it-matters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#What Is Heart Rate Variability (HRV) on Apple Watch, and Why Does It Matter?&#8221; Heart rate variability (or HRV) is the latest hot health measurement. It\u2019s being used by athletes to optimize their training, and as a predictor of health\u2014including in a number of studies on COVID-19. Your Apple Watch tracks it automatically. Here\u2019s what&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":206764,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/preview-2.png?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-206763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206763"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206763\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}