So did your heart skip a beat as you waited all month with bated breath to find out what is meant by, “heart-rate variability” (HRV)? What part does HRV play in the relationship between exercise and good health, including “mental health?”
A couple of decades ago, those same questions caught the interest of Dr. Irving Dardik, a physician and surgeon, who was considered “off-beat” by many of his colleagues, because he developed a radical idea he called, the “Superwave Principle.” Essentially, it postulates that all matter in the universe—from the largest of heavenly bodies (such a Vy Canus Majoris, approximately two thousand times the size of our sun) to microscopic cells—moves in interconnected waves. Like the inter-connectedness of his wave principle, his interests varied in different ways…that were also similar. He frequently thought “outside the box.” As a surgeon, he pioneered (with his brother, another surgeon) a groundbreaking vascular transplant procedure, in which they used placenta tissue, because they discovered it was more flexible and rejected less often by the recipient. Then, being a good athlete he was offered the opportunity to become the doctor for the United States Olympic team. About this time, he made an interesting discovery that led him to apply his “Superwave Principle” to exercise.
Dr. Dardik noticed that the nature and extent of exercise seemed to have different effects upon health. In his experience, people who got sick most often with colds and fever seemed to be endurance athletes, those who ran long distances at the same unwavering pace. Their heart rates were steady, unvarying. And people who became ill the least were those who did very intense short-term exercise like sprinters and weight lifters. Their heart rates were more variable. Then a good friend of his, Jack Kelly (brother of the infamous Grace Kelly) who was a long-distance runner, died during a run. Devastated by his friend’s passing, Dr. Dardik became more committed to understanding the relationship between types of exercise and health. Why did endurance athletes become sick so often when they were believed to be the healthiest people? In contrast, why did others, many of whom could barely run two miles, become ill comparatively less often?
He noticed that in a hospital, one major predictor of whether someone is going to die or not is his heart rate. When a person’s heart rate slows down and becomes unwavering, this could indicate he is close to death. Curiously, those with the craziest heart rates, able to jump all over the place and recover well like young babies, are often extremely healthy. So he began training people to exercise in a unique way: exerting themselves to have big jumps up from their resting heart rate and then suddenly, teaching them through very slow exercise or actual rest to bring their heart down again to its resting heart rate. He found that when people varied their heart rate in this manner, exercising by alternately increasing then decreasing heart rate, their health improved greatly.
The idea Dr. Dardik was playing with, of course, is “heart-rate variability” or HRV.
HRV refers to the beat-to-beat alterations in heart rate or pulse, and has come to be reflective of emotional states and levels of stress. Research on HRV has revealed that higher HRV— when the space between each beat is uneven– is linked with better physical and emotional health and a reduced risk of stress-related illnesses, such as cardiac problems, asthma and diabetes. One of the ways you can achieve a higher HRV is through a type of biofeedback, which uses a computer to inform you of your HRV as a trained facilitator instigates a shift in your mood to a peaceful, calm emotional state. In addition, you can achieve a higher HRV with its attendant and sustainable positive emotional states by exercising in a specific way.
There are studies, which have demonstrated that exercising in a way that trains a higher HRV can improve physical, and emotional stability, peak performance, cognitive skills, mental clarity, enhanced creativity, a sense of peace and well being, and enhanced immune system function. At the same time, such training lowers stress and anxiety, blood pressure and depressive symptoms; and it often helps you burn more fat.
Some have come to call it “interval training”, and realize that such exercise is beneficial to your health. This type of physical activity can actually train your heart to increase HRV and thereby reap the benefit of the mental and physical attributes associated with this improved condition. Dr. Dardik synchronized interval-type training within the fluctuating waves of activity—high and low—that reflect optimal energy levels. Ever hear of “circadian rhythms?” So, for example, there are times of day during which he considered it best to exercise such as between 9:00 a.m. and noon, and between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. However, our schedules don’t always cooperate with circadian rhythms. So we compromise…
To boost HRV and improve your emotional and physical health, the following is suggested:
1- If you are new to exercise, be sure to consult your primary care physician as to an intended exercise regimen. Though exercise is often good for the heart, you should find out if you have any conditions, such as heart disease, which could be exacerbated through the vigorous exercise to be recommended below.
2- Join a local gym. Why? Because through such a membership, you will establish a regular exercise routine, as opposed to the occasional physical activity in which you might engage at home.
3- Your focus is aerobic exercise, three times per week. Weight training will improve muscle tone, bone density and…self-confidence. And you can do that as well. But the goal is to increase your HRV. A good apparatus for such training is often referred to as the “cross-trainer.” A treadmill will work as well, though it is more taxing on your knees and joints.
4- Allow up to twenty minutes for aerobic exercise. First, move at a slow, even pace for about five minutes. If the machine contains a heart-rate sensor, use it to track your heart rate. If not, purchase one and use it when doing this exercise. Then increase the intensity of your movements to achieve a maximum heart rate for about two minutes. A convenient formula often used for figuring maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age. So, for example, if you are forty-five, your maximum heart rate is likely about 175. Keep in mind that if you are not in good physical condition or used to exercising, you may have to settle for something that merely approximates this maximum rate. The number is not as important as the idea of fluctuating up and down. After a couple of minutes, drop your intensity to a virtual crawl, bringing your heart rate down to its resting rate, also known as “recovery.” Maintain this low level of exercise for another three minutes. Then repeat the process—two minutes of rigorous exercise to achieve as close to maximum heart rate as possible, followed again by three minutes of slow movements to achieve recovery. If you are able, repeat this process one more time. Then you can either go home, or lift weights first and then go home.
After awhile, you may notice some changes in mood, energy and focus, as you run your life differently… in a kind of offbeat way.