Generally speaking, a higher heart rate variability is a good thing — it’s an indicator that your body is adapting effectively and quickly to changes and stressful situations, and research has shown that it’s associated with higher levels of fitness and well-being.
For the most part, younger people have higher HRV than older people, and males may have slightly higher HRV than females. Elite athletes tend to have greater heart rate variability than non-athletes. This chart shows what the average range in HRV is for different age cohorts.
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However, it’s important to understand that HRV is highly variable between people; the average score can differ greatly from one individual to the next. Numerous factors such as age, sex, fitness level, lifestyle, diet, environment and genetics all can have a potential impact.
This makes is very difficult to say what a “good” or “healthy” HRV score is for any given person. Someone could be in excellent health, but have an unusually low HRV — or vice versa.
Rather than comparing yourself to others and worrying about what is “good” or “normal”, it’s much wiser to keep an eye on your own HRV trends, and see how they change over time. If you’re making efforts to improve your overall health and fitness — including making time for a regular meditation practice — you should see your HRV begin to rise.
Conversely, a downward trend in HRV might be an indicator that your body is under more stress than usual, which could be the result of inadequate sleep, overtraining, poor nutrition, or a taxed immune system. When you see your HRV dropping lower than normal over a couple sessions, it might be a sign that you need to give yourself a little extra care.
Keep in mind that your heart rhythm is incredibly complex. If you have concerns about your HRV score, a healthcare provider is the most qualified to look at your heart rate and advise you on what you can and should do about it.