Have you ever wondered how different life stressors effect the overall health of your body? The continuous overtime you are accepting at work or the argument you had with your friend last week are experienced by and impact our physiology. Life can be stressful at times, and these stressors can be good and bad. They come from many places such as exercise, diet, work, relationships, family, and the list goes on. These can have a big effect on the way we are feeling and the way our body is functioning.

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is a great measurement to monitor the body’s overall adaptability and response to stress – whether that stress be sports and performance based or overall wellness based. HRV is the measurement of the variation in time between each heartbeat. This measurement is controlled by the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS is part of the peripheral nervous system that controls involuntary visceral processes of the body including heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, digestion, and arousal. The ANS consists of both:

• the sympathetic nervous system which is responsible for our ‘fight-and-flight’ response.
• the parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible for our ‘rest-and-digest’ response.

These two nervous systems work together to maintain balance and equilibrium between our body’s systems. HRV can be used to assess and measure the overall activity of the ANS.

Why would we check HRV In Coeur D'Alene ID?

HRV can be a great way to monitor sleep, recovery, performance, and overall health and can give a good indication of the resilience and behavioral flexibility of a person’s nervous system and its response to life stressors. If the body is constantly under stress and in a sympathetic dominant state, the HRV can remain low even in times of rest and relaxation. Low HRV is a warning of the body systems and is linked to increased mortality and disease. Low HRV is also a risk factor for hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and chronic fatigue. It can also have a big impact on mood, anxiety, and mental health. Someone who is fit and healthy will naturally have a higher resting HRV. HRV is a good way to monitor overall wellbeing for a lifetime.

Life ends when the body can no longer ADAPT. Therefore, it is important to maintain a high level of adaptability for an improved quality and even quantity of life! Get checked by your family Chiropractor regularly to maintain a lifetime of high adaptability!