Lockdown stress: a case study

We've talked many times about how HRV is a particularly useful marker as it captures stress regardless of the source. In the context of training, this is helpful because the way we respond to a stressor (for example a workout) can depend not only on the stressor itself (novelty, volume, intensity) but also on what other stressors are present (poor sleep, traveling, work-related stress, family worries, etc.) - and needless to say, our capacity to handle stress is limited. Measuring  HRV allows us  to capture our individual  response to everything that is going on from training to lifestyle, and make adjustments when necessary

The recent events with the global pandemic put most of us in a position that caused additional stress. Here is another clear example of how psychological stress can have a large influence on our physiology, even in the absence of training. Raul is a marathon runner from Spain, one of the countries hit the hardest by the global pandemic, and with the most strict contentment measures in terms of the enforced lockdown

We can see in the data below how after the first few days of the lockdown, the baseline starts to lower. Within a week or two, the baseline is below Raul’s normal values, a clear sign of high stress

This data once again speaks to how naive it is to think that HRV should only be associated to training, as we have discussed in our blog post on common misconceptions. As things slowly improve out  there, Raul's physiology is getting back where it was. Thank you Raul for sharing this data, and all the best for your training and health

Useful resources

• The Overview page in HRV4Training Pro: daily scores, baseline, normal values and context in one view
• Case studies
• Common misconceptions