Besides measuring heart rate and other metrics like steps, pretty much every fitness tracker and smartwatch measures heart rate variability, abbreviated as HRV. This measurement is the basis for recovery scores and stress readings, and you can usually find it as a standalone measurement in the “vitals” section of your chosen app. So let’s break down what this number actually measures, and how to interpret yours.
Heart rate variability refers to how rhythmically your heart beats. If the time from one beat to the next is always the same (at a given heart rate), you have low HRV. But if some heartbeats come more closely together, and some are more spaced out, you have high HRV.
That said, it’s of course possible to have a heart rate that is too variable. In a sense, that’s what an arrhythmia is. When I’m talking about HRV here—and when fitness apps report your HRV—they’re considering the teeny tiny differences from beat to beat in an otherwise normal(ish) healthy(ish) person.
What does a high HRV mean?
High heart rate variability (that is, high for you) tends to mean that you’re relatively relaxed and not too stressed. Fitness apps will bump up your readiness and recovery scores when your HRV measured during sleep is high.
Low HRV tends to occur when your body is working on something—recovering from hard exercise, fighting off a cold, experiencing lots of stress. If your HRV measured during sleep is low, you’ll get lower readiness or recovery scores. I find my HRV tanks when I’m sick or when I’ve been through a rough time either physically or mentally. (The day after a race or a weightlifting competition is always a low HRV day for me.)
What is a “good” HRV number?
So please don’t go around asking whether an HRV of 50 is “good.” Is it higher than usual for you? Then it’s good. Is it lower than usual for you? Then maybe it’s indicating that your body is under stress. If your typical HRV readings range from 35 to 50 (for example), then 50 is high for you.
There’s one more important caveat: when you look up HRV data, you’ll find that different studies and different devices each measure HRV differently. For example, this meta-analysis found the average HRV was 42, with a range of 19 to 75, when measured as rMSSD (root mean square of successive differences).
Whoop’s breakdown of HRV data from their users finds men have an average of 40 and women 37. They have graphs breaking down how this changes with age, and showing the variation for each group.
As I’ve found when comparing multiple devices on HRV, devices don’t always report the same HRV numbers, but usually you can follow similar trends on all of them. If you’re sick, they’ll all report low HRV. If you have a good day, they’ll all report high HRV. So pay more attention to the trend than the specifics.
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