Case study of a Paralympic Medal-Winning Cyclist

Blog post by Marco Altini

In their recent paper, Dajo Sanders, David Spindler, and Jamie Stanley show a really well-presented case study of the impact of different stressors (heat, psychological, training) on resting HR and HRV (as well as self-reported parameters such as mood and motivation).

In the figure below, showing resting heart rate and HRV in relation to different annotations (for example health issues or training in the heat), we can clearly see how HRV is often more sensitive to stress, as it is associated with longer-lasting suppressions. This is in line with what we have reported in our recent analysis as well.

Resting heart rate and HRV data was collected using HRV4Training for one minute in the morning, as we covered last week in our article on guidelines for morning measurements.

Finally, note how the authors report daily values with respect to the smallest worthwhile change, what we call the normal range in the app. Comparing daily values to our normal range is the only meaningful way to assess if daily values are different from what is expected when no stressors have a large impact on our resting physiology. Small variations within our normal range should not concern us or lead to any changes.

You can enable the normal range in the Baseline view of HRV4Training once you login at HRV4T.com and start your free trial or purchase a Pro subscription.

​You can use code SCIENCE at checkout for a 15% discount on Pro.