What is HRV?
HRV stands for Heart Rate Variability, which refers to the variation in time between consecutive heartbeats and is controlled by the autonomic nervous system.
Technologies HRV Status feature records HRV data while the user sleeps and compares it to their individual baseline. When you wake up, your watch/ring gives a status based on how your HRV that night compared to your typical value
What HRV really means
HRV reflects how the heart’s rhythm is being modulated by the body’s regulatory system – esepcially the atunomic nervous system, which includes the sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest) branches. In simpler terms, a healthy heart doesn’t beat like a perfect metronome; instead, there is tiny variability in the timing between beats, which is essentially a good thing.
HRV is seen as an indicator of how adaptable and resilient the body is to stress, recovery, and change. Generally, a higher HRV (more variability) is associated with better recovery, greater autonomic flexibility and better health. Whereas, a lower HRV (less varaibility) may indicate that the body is under stress, or the autonomic regulation is impaired.
Typical HRV ranges are as follows:
- Low fitness/high stress –> <20ms
- Average helathy adult –> 20-50ms
- Fit/Active –> 50-100ms
- Elite Athlete –> >100ms
Why it matters to you
- Recovery awareness: Instead of just looking at how much you trained, HRV Status gives insight into how well your body recovered from all stressors (workouts + life).
- Training readiness: If HRV is lower than usual, it may signal that the body is still under strain — it might be a day to back off hard training or prioritize recovery.
- Individual baseline: Because HRV varies a lot between individuals, the key is your trend and how you compare to your own baseline — not some universal “good number”.
Heart rate variability (HRV) is an important indicator of how well your body is recovering and handling stress, but it’s not as simple as “higher is always better.” A higher HRV generally reflects better recovery and greater flexibility in the nervous system — meaning your body can adapt well to physical and mental stress. However, what truly matters is your trend over time, not one single number. HRV is highly individual, so comparing your values to someone else’s isn’t helpful; instead, track your own baseline and watch how your HRV changes day to day. It’s also normal for HRV to decline gradually with age, so focus on consistent progress and understanding your personal patterns rather than chasing a specific number.
Have questions? Email info@lpfit.ca
