What it measures
The heart does not beat like a metronome. The gap between beats changes constantly, lengthening as you breathe out and shortening as you breathe in, and shifting with the balance between the two branches of the autonomic nervous system: the sympathetic, which drives fight-or-flight, and the parasympathetic, which drives rest and recovery. High variability reflects strong parasympathetic tone and a system that can adapt. Low variability reflects a system under strain.
What affects it
Sleep quality, stress, illness, alcohol, dehydration, training load, age, fitness and breathing pattern all move HRV. It is highest in fit, well-rested younger people and falls with age, which is why comparing yourself with your own baseline matters more than comparing with population norms.
How it is used
In sport, to decide whether an athlete is recovered enough to train hard. In health, as a marker of stress load, recovery and, in research, cardiovascular risk. In Ayurvedic and integrative assessment, as an objective measure of nervous system state alongside traditional pulse reading, which is what VedaPulse does.
How it is measured
Chest straps and some wearables measure it overnight or during rest. Clinical devices such as VedaPulse record five minutes of pulse or ECG data in a resting state and analyse the pattern. Measurements should be taken under consistent conditions: rested, seated, breathing normally, not after caffeine or exercise.
What it is not
A diagnosis. A single low reading means nothing; a downward trend alongside symptoms is worth acting on.
At Omnia
VedaPulse assessment at our Chiswick clinic measures HRV as part of an Ayurvedic consultation and uses it to track how your nervous system responds to treatment and lifestyle change.