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Home Apple Apple Watch guide to understanding and using HRV (Heart Rate
Variability)
* Apple
* How-To

APPLE WATCH GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING AND USING HRV (HEART RATE VARIABILITY)

By
Sudz Niel Kar
-
September 18, 2023
Facebook

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Heart Rate Variability is an important metric that many Apple Watch users often
ignore. HRV can provide you with good guidance regarding your health.

For example, if you’re taking steps to improve your fitness and overall health,
you should gradually increase your average heart rate variability over time.

A downward trend in your HRV over several days is worth paying attention to!

This could signify that you’re training too hard, not sleeping enough, getting
sick, eating poorly, encountering too much stress, or failing to hydrate
properly.

Higher HRV is associated with reduced morbidity and mortality and improved
psychological well-being and quality of life.

Contents [show]

* 0.1 Related reading

* 1 What is Heart Rate Variability?
* 2 How do you locate Heart Rate Variability information?
* 3 What is a good value for HRV?
* 4 Heart Rate Variability (HRV) relationship with other heart metrics on Apple
Watch
* 4.1 HRV and Heart Rate on the Apple Health app
* 4.2 Resting Heart Rate
* 5 Where can I locate Resting Heart Rate on my Apple device?
* 6 How Accurate is Apple Watch HRV?
* 6.1 Cardio recovery after workouts
* 6.2 Heart rate zone training
* 6.3 How do I see the HRV increase or decrease between two specific dates on
iPhone?
* 7 How can you improve your HRV?
* 8 Best apps for tracking HRV on your Apple devices
* 9 How to locate Beat-to-Beat measurements that drive your HRV
* 10 Final thoughts

RELATED READING

* Cardio Fitness levels feature on Apple Watch, here’s what you should know
* Low VO2 Max Score on Fitness Tracker? Here’s what you should know
* 3 best wearables to analyze, train, and improve your HRV
* Monitor your HRV (Heart Rate Variability) on Apple Watch using HeartAnalyzer

AS AN AMAZON ASSOCIATE, WE EARN FROM QUALIFYING PURCHASES USING LINKS IN THIS
POST.

WHAT IS HEART RATE VARIABILITY?

Apple defines HRV (Heart rate variability) as a measure of time interval
variation interval between heartbeats.

Your Apple Watch calculates HRV using a standard deviation of beat-to-beat
measurements (SDNN) captured by the heart rate sensor.

HOW DO YOU LOCATE HEART RATE VARIABILITY INFORMATION?

The best place to locate heart rate variability information is by using the
Health app on your iPhone.

The information is not readily available on your Apple Watch. Here’s how to
track the details around your Heart Rate Variability (HRV).

1. Launch the Health App on your iPhone.
2. Tap on the Browse tab at the bottom of your screen.
3. Next, tap on Heart and choose Heart Rate Variability.

This report shows your HRV for the current day, week, month, and year.

WHAT IS A GOOD VALUE FOR HRV?

The specific value of your individual HRV depends on many factors. HRV values
can vary depending on age, gender, sex, genetics, and chronic health conditions.

These are factors beyond your control.

However, other variables are within your control that influence HRV.

These are your Diet & Nutrition, Alcohol consumption, Sleep habits, stress,
volume and intensity of your workouts, and more.

The average HRV score is 59.3 (on a 1-100 scale), with 75% of users’ HRV scores
falling between 46.3 and 72.0. This is based on benchmark information from a
third-party app called Elite HRV.

A more detailed study shows you the Normal HRV by age and sex for a large sample
that you can use.

According to Harvard Health Publishing, a higher HRV may indicate better
cardiovascular fitness and greater resilience to stress.

Well-trained athletes and physically fit adults typically have a lower resting
heart rate because their heart is more efficient at pumping blood through the
body.

This also means a higher HRV since a slower heart rate increases variability.

HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER HEART METRICS ON APPLE
WATCH

Although a quick glance on your iPhone provides you with your HRV numbers, it is
always a good idea to understand how this metric relates to other heart metrics
available on your Apple Watch.

HRV AND HEART RATE ON THE APPLE HEALTH APP

Studies have looked explored the relationship between linear (time domain and
frequency domain) and nonlinear HRV parameters with heart rate using RR-interval
time series data from humans and animals.

The main finding:

There is an inverse correlation between HRV and your Heart Rate. A larger HRV
(R-R interval) was correlated with a lower HR. A low HRV (meaning less
variability in your heartbeats) indicates that your body may be under stress
from exercise or stressors impacting your day-to-day living.

Higher HRV usually means that the body can tolerate stress or is strongly
recovering from prior accumulated stress.

When you browse the Heart section in the Apple Health app, you see that the top
three metrics are heart rate, HRV, and Resting heart rate.

RESTING HEART RATE

Your heart rate, or pulse, is the number of times your heart beats per minute.
Your resting heart rate is the heart pumping the lowest amount of blood you need
because you’re not exercising.

Therefore, you should closely monitor any trends in your resting heart rate.
Typically, the lower your resting heart rate, the higher your HRV.

According to the American Heart Association, a good time to check your resting
heart rate is in the morning after you’ve had a good night’s sleep or before you
get out of bed or grab that first cup of coffee.

A lower resting rate suggests that your heart muscle is in better condition and
doesn’t have to work as hard to maintain a steady beat.

Studies have found that a higher resting heart rate is linked to lower physical
fitness, blood pressure, and body weight.

This is one of the reasons why researchers suggest folks exercise, practice
mindful breathing techniques, and get a good night’s sleep. As you begin losing
weight and improve your physical fitness, your resting heart rate declines on
its own, and you should be able to see a good increment in your heart rate
variability.

Apple’s Health Metrics sharing process takes this even one step further. When
you set up health sharing, Apple Health notifies you if your loved ones’ resting
heart rate trends show any changes.

In this case, Apple’s algorithm looked at her 11-day average resting heart rate,
compared it with the last 18-day average, and automatically notified me that her
resting heart rate was moving in the right direction.

* How to set up and use an Apple Watch for parents or an older adult in your
care

You can set this up for your loved ones or if you are a caregiver for an elderly
person who wears an Apple Watch.

Marco Altini and colleagues have extensively researched the factors that drive
changes in resting heart rate and HRV.

The researchers suggest that HRV can capture day-to-day stressors within
individuals with high sensitivity and might be better suited for such day-to-day
stress assessment and management.

HRV might be used to infer changes in, e.g., training, while resting heart rate
might be better suited for observing changes in larger stressors, such as
sickness.

In summary, users should keep an eye on both resting heart rate and heart rate
variability.

Use HRV to monitor how training impacts your performance on a day-to-day basis,
and keep an eye on the resting heart rate trend, as this might indicate larger
stressors such as an impending sickness.

WHERE CAN I LOCATE RESTING HEART RATE ON MY APPLE DEVICE?

From the Health app, tap on Browse and then choose Heart. You find your Resting
Heart rate details on the third row of the screen.

According to Mayo Clinic, average resting heart rates range from 60 to 100 beats
per minute.

Generally, a lower heart rate at rest implies more efficient heart function and
better cardiovascular fitness.

For example, a well-trained athlete might have a normal resting heart rate of
closer to 40 beats per minute.

HOW ACCURATE IS APPLE WATCH HRV?

Is the Apple Watch HRV Accurate?

The Heart Rate and HRV readings that you get from your Apple Watch are pretty
accurate, according to numerous studies.

* A study in 2019 by Falters, Budts, et al. evaluated the accuracy of Apple
Watch measurements for heart rate and energy expenditure in patients with
cardiovascular disease and found that the Apple Watch measures HR with
clinically acceptable accuracy during exercise. The researchers also found
that the Apple Watch systematically overestimates EE(energy expenditure) in
this group of patients.

* Since Resting heart rate is a key component of the cardio metrics, we also
looked at some studies that evaluated the Apple Watch for accuracy when it
comes to rest state as opposed to exercise state. A 2018 Study by Hernando,
Roca, Sancho, and others established that Apple Watch measurements presented
very good reliability and agreement (>0.9). Furthermore, HRV indices derived
from the Apple Watch RR interval series were able to reflect changes induced
by mild mental stress, showing a significant decrease of HF power and RMSSD
in stress concerning relaxation, suggesting the potential use of HRV
measurements derived from Apple Watch for stress monitoring.

* Finally, a 2020 study looked at the various commercially available
smartwatches today for their accuracy of steps, heart rate, and calories
consumed and found that Heart rate measurement was more variable, with Apple
Watch and Garmin being the most accurate and Fitbit tending toward
underestimation. For energy expenditure, no brand was accurate.

Regarding heart rate-driven metrics, we believe the Apple Watch is pretty
accurate and has been validated in numerous studies.

Not only that, your Apple Watch heart rate sensor is pretty darn good as it can
also pick up a coffee-triggered Afib (atrial fibrillation) event!!!

CARDIO RECOVERY AFTER WORKOUTS

Apart from the heart rate variability metric, Apple offers other robust features
pertaining to health and fitness.

One of these features is the Cardio Recovery Score (added to watch OS 9.)

This score is an excellent tracker of your cardiorespiratory health. Please
check out the detailed guide around Apple’s new powerful heart health metric.

* How to check your Cardio Recovery scores on your Apple iPhone

HEART RATE ZONE TRAINING

Finally, heart rate zone-based training is a powerful Apple Watch feature that
can improve your metabolic health.

Although this powerful training aid has been available on Fitbit and Garmin for
some time now, Apple introduced it in watchOS 9.

The ability to create your own custom workouts in HIIT and track the same based
on heart rate zones is quite powerful. Please make sure to review the two
detailed guides below.

These step-by-step comprehensive user guides have been designed to help you get
the most out of these new heart health features in watchOS 9+ and offer guidance
around how and when to use them.

Did you know that training in Zone 2 and above can dramatically improve
mitochondrial health?

* Complete Guide to Apple Watch Heart Rate Zones
* How to use custom workouts and workout views on your Apple Watch

HOW DO I SEE THE HRV INCREASE OR DECREASE BETWEEN TWO SPECIFIC DATES ON IPHONE?

From the HRV graph on your Health App, if you want to see the HRV between
specific days of the week or between specific dates in a month and how much it
increased or decreased between the date ranges, you need to use two fingers and
tap on the graph.

When you tap on any graph on an Apple iPhone using two fingers, it typically
shows your displayed chart’s average.

In this instance, since we are trying to find out the average HRV and the
increase/decrease between the two dates, place your fingers on both dates and
tap them together.

Now, it displays your Average HRV and the increase or decrease between the two
selected dates or time intervals.

HOW CAN YOU IMPROVE YOUR HRV?

Whoop provides an excellent guide on HRV, calling out the six specific things
one can do to improve Heart Rate Variability.

INTELLIGENT TRAINING.

Please don’t overdo it and push too hard for too many days without allowing your
body to recover. One training aspect that seems to improve HRV, according to
many users, is sprint training.

Try implementing some form of sprint training/conditioning (at a maximum of 2-3
days a week).

You don’t need to do long sprint sessions, but keep them hard and fast.

A good example sprint session could be 4x100yd sprints w/ 45 seconds rest (and
try to sprint each 100yds in 20 seconds or less). The sprints need to be fast!

HYDRATION.

The more hydrated you are, the easier it is for your blood to circulate and
deliver oxygen and nutrients to your body.

Aiming to drink close to one ounce of water per pound of body weight each day is
a good goal.

AVOID ALCOHOL.

One night of drinking may negatively affect your HRV for up to five days.

STEADY HEALTHY DIET.

Poor nutrition adversely affects HRV, as does eating at unexpected times.

QUALITY SLEEP.

It’s not just the amount of sleep you get that matters but also your sleep
quality and consistent sleep.

Going to bed and waking up at similar times each day is beneficial.

AUTO-REGULATION.

Trying to get your body on a consistent schedule (particularly with sleep and
eating) is helpful.

Your body does things more efficiently when it knows what’s coming.

PRACTICE RESONANT BREATHING AT LEAST TWICE A DAY.

Slow your breathing rate to around six deep breaths per minute for you to gain
control over your breathing.

Taking these slow and deep breaths each minute is called resonance breathing or
Resonance Frequency (RF) breathing.

Practicing resonant breathing benefits and calms our nervous system, heart rate,
heart rate variability, and blood pressure.

Yoga is another great practice for improving your HRV! Check out this article
for more details: Improve your Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and overall wellness
with yoga and fitness trackers.

BEST APPS FOR TRACKING HRV ON YOUR APPLE DEVICES

Although many third-party apps can integrate your Health data and provide a
synopsis of your overall health, here are some apps that have made HRV a science
and art in understanding its impact on your training and recovery.

1. Welltory App on your Apple Watch and iPhone helps track your performance and
recovery. It uses HRV and other heart rate information and detailed workout
information to analyze and produce insights that can guide you.
2. HRV4Training – Heart Rate Variability (HRV) insights help quantify stress,
better balance training and lifestyle, and improve performance. The app also
provides clear correlations that help you evaluate factors related to
physiological changes and help you adjust your lifestyle accordingly (a good
one is typically sleeping quality).
3. EliteHRV is another handy HRV and training-focused app that provides you
with some benchmark information HRV-focused training.

HOW TO LOCATE BEAT-TO-BEAT MEASUREMENTS THAT DRIVE YOUR HRV

From the HRV graph screen on the health app, scroll down to the bottom of the
screen and find ‘Show All Beat-to-Beat Measurements.’

Once you tap on this, it shows you the dates for which the B2B measurements have
been sampled.

Tap on a specific date from the ranges, scroll down to the bottom of your screen
again, and tap on ‘Beat-to-Beat Measurements.’ This shows you the Beats per
minute details.

FINAL THOUGHTS

In summary, although genetic factors contribute to about 1/3 rd of your overall
HRV level, you can still improve your HRV by improving your health, fitness,
stress management, and recovery skills.

High HRV is generally considered an indicator of a healthy heart. Higher HRV has
been found in many studies to be associated with reduced morbidity and mortality
and improved psychological well-being and quality of life.

References:

1. Heart rate variability: How it might indicate well-being
2. Everything You Need to Know About Heart Rate Variability (HRV) from Whoop
3. How to make sense of your Apple Watch Heart Rate Variability (HRV) data
4. Resonant Breathing and impact of HRV Study

5. High-Intensity Exercise and Mitochondrial Biogenesis: Current Controversies
and Future Research Directions

Previous articleHow to put your Peloton Bike into recovery mode and clear cache

Next articleSpotify Launches a new HIIT workout service
Sudz Niel Kar
I am a technologist with years of experience with Apple and wearOS products,
have a BS in Computer Science and an MBA specializing in emerging tech, and
owned the popular site AppleToolBox. In my day job, I advise Fortune 500
companies with their digital transformation strategies and also consult with
numerous digital health startups in an advisory capacity. I'm VERY interested in
exploring the digital health and fitness-tech evolution and keeping a close eye
on patents, FDA approvals, strategic partnerships, and developments happening in
the wearables and digital health sector. When I'm not writing or presenting, I
run with my Apple Watch Ultra or Samsung Galaxy Watch and closely monitor my HRV
and other recovery metrics.

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7 COMMENTS

1. Maurício March 17, 2023 At 1:56 am

I might have missed something out here, but is there a way of getting HRV
continuously measured during sleep? The native watch monitor only shows like
2 measurements lasting 1 minute each. Thanks!

Reply
2. Melissa February 19, 2022 At 3:18 pm

Forget HRV–it’s a lie. I’ve been riding my Peloton for 6 years and based on
all of this stuff on HRV, I should be dead. It’s all so negative.

Reply
3. Irene Clark May 29, 2021 At 8:59 am

Can you monitor HRV with an Apple Watch 3?

I have read conflicting information about this online There is just no data
re HRV in the Health app on my paired iPhone.

Watch OS 7.x and iOS 14.x. If the Apple Watch 3 does not keep track of HRV,
is there an app that will do so?

This watch does everything else I want. Thanks.

Reply
* Niel Smith May 29, 2021 At 10:29 pm

Hi Irene,

Yes, Apple’s Series 3 watch should show your HRV data.

Are you seeing any data on your heart rate in general, like resting heart
rate?

First, let’s make sure your watch is set up to record your heart data:
Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch. Go to Privacy > Health. Tap
Heart Rate, then check if Heart Rate is on. If not, turn it on.

Then, make sure you wear your Apple Watch snuggly, so the sensor can pick
up your heart rate. Open the Heart Rate app on your Apple Watch to check
if your current heart rate, resting rate, and walking average rate show
up.

Then, wear your Apple Watch for most of the day over a series of days to
allow the watch and Health app sufficient data to show you an HRV report.

Also, open the Breathe app a few times per day and follow the animation to
focus on your breathing for a few minutes. Apple’s HRV algorithm uses data
from the Breathe app as well to calculate HRV.

We recommend you add Breathe app reminders by going to the Settings app on
your Apple Watch, tap Breathe, and set your Breathe reminders.

Reply
4. Edward March 25, 2021 At 6:02 pm

Great post, Niel. My name is Edward, cardiac anesthesia trainee at Tufts
Medical Center in Boston. I am trying to conduct a research using the Apple
Watch heart rate variability app on heart failure patients. This requires me
to access the raw RR intervals. Would you happen to know how to do this.
Your help would be much appreciated and acknowledged.

Reply
* Niel Smith March 26, 2021 At 9:22 am

Hi Edward,

Sounds like an interesting study!

Please see this study on HRV validation for healthy adults that also used
RR data–this study (and its authors) may point you in the right direction
on how to gather raw RR intervals from Apple Watch.

Reply
* Niel Smith March 26, 2021 At 4:06 pm

Ed, You should look at some of these tools. The HRV4 logger by Marco
Altini
https://medium.com/@altini_marco/how-to-make-sense-of-your-apple-watch-heart-rate-variability-hrv-data-89bf4a510438
is a good app to try. Unfortunately when you export data out of Apple
Health, it exports it as an XML output. Many tech folks use Python to
extract the details or use a third-party app such as HRV4 logger. for
large datasets, Kubios can help you design ramps with the data as well.
(Kubios.com). As of writing, RR intervals are made available in the
Apple health data and you can compute rMSSD values now. Earlier Apple
only allowed access to SDNN values. BTW..Bruce Rogers from University of
Florida, Gainsville has a great podcast out there discussing
D1alpha,Aerobic Threshold and such that is worth checking out.

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