Which GARMIN devices currently have HRV status? The
HRV status is a new indicator released by Garmin with the release of the FR255 series and FR955 series. The Fenix7 series and EPIX series released earlier do not have this function. It is still unknown whether they will be upgraded in the future.
What is heart rate variability ?
Heart rate variability (HRV) is a physiological phenomenon that can be recorded, analyzed and interpreted to help understand how your body responds to life and environmental challenges.
Specifically, HRV refers to the amount of change in time between consecutive beats of the heart. When your heart beats at 60 beats per minute, the heartbeats are not evenly spaced one second apart. Look closely and you'll notice that some beats are slightly less than a second apart, and other times are slightly more than a second apart. This irregularity is completely normal for and healthy for .
uses precise recording equipment to easily record these small changes between heartbeats, and usually displays them in milliseconds. However, without physiological knowledge and analysis methods, HRV will be just a list of numbers.
Statistical analysis can find meaningful data in a large amount of data. RMSSD is a typical time domain indicator of HRV. It refers to the root mean square of the difference between adjacent RR intervals. This way of viewing HRV data is widely used by physiologists and exercise scientists to study topics such as the effects of training load and recovery processes. The HRV analysis methods used by different equipment manufacturers of
are not necessarily the same, so the data cannot be compared horizontally.
As a user, you don't need to be an expert in physiology or statistical analysis to benefit from HRV-based insights. However, if you want to know more, you can find a wealth of information.
Why does HRV provide such valuable insights? The activity of the heartbeat is controlled by our autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system regulates various physiological systems according to situational needs. This means that the changes in the beating of your heart from one moment to the next can be used as a window into the activity taking place within your autonomic nervous system.
Generally speaking, higher HRV is related to parasympathetic innervation within the autonomic nervous system, which indicates that your body is in relaxation or digestion mode. On the other hand, lower HRV is often associated with elevated sympathetic activity within the autonomic nervous system, which is a sign of elevated stress or a stress response.
currently understands that the ability to monitor HRV at night has always been a great feature of Boneng Polar watches. Boneng’s name is Nightly Recharge, and there is HRV under the parameter ANS. However, Boneng HRV does not monitor all night, but only after falling asleep. 4 hours, no monitoring for less than 4 hours.
How compatible Garmin watches measure HRV
The data used to calculate heart rate is recorded by the Elevate heart rate sensor located on the back of the watch. The sensor uses reflected light to monitor the pulse waves of blood pumped by the heart and flowing through veins. This means that technically your device is observing changes in pulse rate, which effectively reflects changes in heart rate in this analysis and usage scenario.
Compatible Garmin devices can continuously calculate HRV while you sleep. When you wake up, you can view the average HRV calculated from data for the entire sleep period. You can also view a chart that shows how your HRV changes while you sleep. This chart shows the HRV value every 5 minutes. The curve can be viewed on the watch side, CONNECT side, and PC side.
This method has significant advantages over other methods of measuring HRV only during part of the night, during specific sleep stages (such as Boneng Polar’s ANS), or at specific times of the day.
Since HRV is a statistical measurement, differences in measurement time and duration can affect the results. If a one-to-one comparison is made between HRV measurements from different protocols and different devices, there is no comparability.
Personal HRV baseline is important
Once you start using the device, you will be able to see your average HRV and nightly trends. Just wear the device while sleeping and the analysis will take place automatically.The data during the first few days of wearing are as follows. There is a nighttime HRV curve, average value, and maximum value, but there is no 7-day average (less than 7 days) and HRV status.
When it comes to understanding any HRV metric, it all starts with you. A normal, healthy HRV is not necessarily the same for you as it is for other people. Some people are born with higher variability, while others exhibit less variability. That's not all, what is normal for you can change over time.
Therefore, your own personal history is the most meaningful reference value for interpreting HRV data. Given this fact, recording your personal normal range of HRV values is an essential first step in making your HRV data actionable.
this takes time. In practice, this means you need to wear your Garmin watch for about three weeks before you have HRV status. While three weeks is the minimum time required to measure an individual's baseline, when data volumes become available, all analyzes can leverage several months of data to strengthen and validate baseline ranges.
Key concepts: Your HRV baseline is a range of values derived from your measurement history (for example, 33-45 milliseconds) that represents your individual normal level of variation. Your baseline is a baseline from which future HRV measurements can be meaningfully interpreted. The
benchmark value can be viewed on the watch. After wearing it for 3 weeks and 24 hours, the author's benchmark is 52-67ms, and the average last night was 47ms. The HRV status shows "unbalanced".
Once your baseline range is established, your nightly HRV will be used for your current training status and daily training readiness assessment.
Your baseline HRV range is not static, it changes over time. For example, you may notice that your normal range of variation becomes lower after a longer training period than when you were at your best. The normal HRV range also generally declines with age.
HRV Status Widget
As mentioned earlier, the on-device HRV Status Widget provides multiple perspectives to monitor your situation. The main page shows your current HRV status. Your status can be balanced , unbalanced , low or poor . At the bottom of the first screen you can see the average HRV measured the night before.
The picture below shows the HRV status from low to unbalanced to balanced for three consecutive days, indicating that the physical condition is gradually recovering. There is also a "bad" state that has not yet appeared. On the
watch side, the HRV data is displayed in three pages, and the content is more comprehensive than the data on CONNECT.
HRV Four States: Balanced, Unbalanced, Low, Poor
When your HRV status is in a balanced state, it means that your 7-day average HRV is within your personal baseline range.
Balance state : It usually indicates that your body maintains homeostasis, which means that the body can maintain a certain dynamic balance within the body.
Unbalanced HRV status : Means your current 7-day average HRV is outside your personal baseline range. Note that unbalanced HRV status can be higher or slightly lower in than your baseline in .
Given that higher HRV values are often associated with parasympathetic innervation within the autonomic nervous system, it is easy to assume that higher HRV is better from a good recovery perspective. But this is not always the case. There is growing evidence that there is a relationship between abnormally high HRV values in and overtraining relative to your personal baseline, especially when this overtraining is achieved through large amounts of low-intensity exercise. In these situations, your parasympathetic nervous system is overactive and working toward the goal of reestablishing homeostasis.
Low Status: If your 7-day average HRV is significantly lower than your baseline, your HRV status will change from Unbalanced to Low.
Poor status: Your personal baseline is dynamic and changes slowly with the trend of normal nighttime HRV values. If your personal baseline is below age-based standards related to physical health, then your HRV status will be classified as poor.When this happens, your baseline range will no longer be displayed. This is to avoid a situation where your HRV may be considered balanced and below healthy standards.
Can the HRV status reflect the physical condition? In actual experience,
experienced three HRV states due to different life conditions (stress, sleep, drinking, etc.). From a personal experience, it can indeed reflect the physical state. The training suggestions corresponding to the three HRV states are as follows:
Balanced: Normal training
Unbalanced: Recovery or Relaxation training
Low: Rest
The fourth poor state means that the personal baseline is lower than the standard of physical health for the same age group, which can be I understand that the physical fitness state is poor, and it is difficult for people who run regularly to experience this state. I wonder if it will cause illness. Some readers have experienced it, and you can share it.
wearing time
is recommended to be worn 24 hours a day, which can completely record various indicators of the body. But judging from the HRV status alone, it is required to be worn at least during sleep, excluding lunch breaks and naps.
Summary
The understanding of Garmin HRV status is summarized in the following points
1, night complete sleep cycle monitoring
2, HRV analysis uses the time domain analysis method RMSSD, the root mean square of the difference between adjacent RR intervals.
3. It takes three weeks to establish a personal HRV benchmark.
4. The wrist-based photoelectric heart rate can be measured without the need for a heart rate belt.
5. HRV status affects the evaluation of training status and daily training readiness.
Reference: Garmin official website
