“I want to track HR and HRV”

If you are interested in tracking your heart rate and heart rate variability with a wearable, it is important to monitor for sustained, meaningful changes.

Most wearables automatically sample heart rate and heart rate variability during sleep. Consider these pointers when tracking these metrics sampled during sleep:

1. Ensure that the sleep times are accurate (i.e., adjust bed or wake time if they do not align with your behaviour). This ensures that your HR and HRV data is sampled correctly.
2. There are several factors that may impact day-to-day changes in resting heart rate or heart rate variability. Work with your support staff to monitor for sustained changes in these metrics.
3. If your device does collect data during a manual “HRV test”, ensure you are consistent in your method and try to conduct the test at the same time of day.