Want to get healthier? One of the most important factors to overall health is Heart Rate Variability (HRV).
A low HRV has been associated with an increased risk of depression, anxiety, cardiovascular disease, and even death.
Here are 8 ways to increase your HRV👇
What is HRV?
HRV is simply a measure of the variation in time between each heartbeat.
The greater the variability is, the better your body is able to perform and function. And vice versa for a lower variance.
1. Improve Sleep
Getting more deep sleep will increase your HRV.
To get more deep sleep, use a product that cools your bed such as the @eightsleep Pod Pro or cool down your bedroom.
The body’s temperature needs to drop by about 2-3 degrees Fahrenheit to get into deep sleep.
2. Exercise Regularly
Studies have shown that consistent exercise is one of the top ways to increase HRV.
Exercising at least 3-4 times per week on a regular basis is one of the best ways to improve your HRV and overall recovery.
3. Avoid Alcohol
Drinking alcohol has a significantly negative impact on one’s HRV.
When you have alcohol, the body works extra hard to process the alcohol during the night, which limits your ability to get into restorative stages of sleep, including Deep and REM sleep.
4. Cold Exposure
Studies have shown that exposing the body to cold temperatures has numerous benefits -- one of which is improving HRV.
The best way to implement cold exposure is to take cold showers or ice baths. You can also use Cryotherapy devices.
5. Avoid Caffeine after 2 pm
Caffeine has a half-life of 5 hours, which means it takes 10 hours to completely get out of your system.
Having caffeine in the afternoon or evening will reduce overall sleep quality, as you’ll get less deep and REM sleep, which will lower your HRV.
6. Stay Hydrated
It's easier for the body to circulate blood and deliver oxygen to your body when you have a proper amount of water in your system.
Staying hydrated throughout the day and after workouts is critical to increasing your HRV.
7. Eat Healthy
A healthy diet and intermittent fasting have both been shown to drastically increase HRV.
Eat healthy foods and try to avoid meals within 3 hours of bedtime. This allows the body to focus on restoring itself vs. spending energy digesting your most recent meal.
8. Get more light in the morning
Every cell in your body has a 24-hour clock -- this "clock" is known as the circadian rhythm.
Getting 5+ minutes of exposure to sunlight 30-60 minutes after waking up sets your circadian rhythm, which optimizes sleep patterns and increases HRV.
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Want to increase your lifespan? One of the best ways to increase your overall life expectancy is to lower your resting heart rate (RHR).
A high resting heart rate can lead to conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, and more.
Here are 5 ways to decrease your RHR 👇
1. High-Intensity Exercise
Every time you work out, you are training your heart to be stronger and more efficient at pumping blood throughout the body.
So when you’re in rest mode, your heart is more easily able to maintain a normal heart rate.
2. Get More Sleep
Sleep deprivation is associated with increased heart rate, an increase in blood pressure and higher levels of certain chemicals linked with inflammation, which can put extra strain on your heart.
Regular poor sleep can reduce ones overall life expectancy.
.@paulg is one of the greatest investors in the history of Silicon Valley. He has many great essays, one of which is called ‘13 sentences’.
If PG could tell startup founders anything, here is what he would say:
1/ Pick good cofounders
“Cofounders are for a startup what location is for real estate. You can change anything about a house except where it is.
In a startup you can change your idea easily, but changing your cofounders is hard.”
2/ Launch fast
“The reason to launch fast is not so much that it's critical to get your product to market early, but that you haven't really started working on it till you've launched.
Launching teaches you what you should have been building."
10 suggestions from @elonmusk about how to build a great company:
1/ Focus on the product vs. metrics
"If you're entering anything where there's an existing marketplace, against large, entrenched competitors, then your product or service needs to be much better than theirs...
...It can't be a little bit better, because then you put yourself in the shoes of the consumer...you're always going to buy the trusted brand unless there's a big difference."
During the past few months, as part of our Health Stack series for @eightsleep, I have interviewed high performers about their best practices for health and wellness.
Here are the top things I’ve learned so far 👇
1. Not everyone has the perfect sleep journey
Sleep is a universal pillar of health, and most people who want to be healthy and productive prioritize sleep in their lives...
...@SimonHuck shared with me his sleep struggles, and how he was able to mitigate his insomnia by visiting a sleep clinic, sleep journalling, and also reading the book, ‘The Sleep Solution’, which transformed his life: amazon.com/Sleep-Solution…
I have been tracking my metabolic fitness rigorously with @levels since May 2020
Not only did I discover berries affect my glucose levels the same way pizza does, but also found the impact sleep and workouts have on my metabolism
Here’s a bit of my learnings 👇
Fasting helps regulate my glucose levels
I fast 23hr/day on weekdays, eating only for dinner. On weekends, I fast 16:8.
This helps me regulate my blood glucose levels during the day & gives me the most energy. Here is a day with all day fasting + tennis, then dinner around 7pm
Getting enough sleep is essential
Studies have shown that sleep deprivation can cause an increase in glucose responses. I get 8-9 hours of sleep each night.