Cardiovascular training reduces the resting heart rate and
measuring it upon awakening has always been a method to evaluate the response
to training. A higher HR at rest repeatedly can be a sign of overtraining or
any other health problem. Given that FC is very labile and depends on many
factors, it is not the best parameter to evaluate adaptation to training. The
Variability Heart Rate (VFC) or Heart Rate Variability (HRV), unlike the FC
itself, is a good parameter to evaluate adaptation to training and the degree
of physical and mental well-being. We
mentioned it months ago when we talked about the parameters that evaluate
performance but today we will go deeper into it.
In a healthy person, the beats occur with
"apparent" regularity; if we palpate our pulse, we think that the
beats occur rhythmically, but in reality, the time between one heartbeat and
the next varies from beat to beat, but this variation is so small, of
milliseconds, that it is impossible to perceive it. This "imperceptible
irregularity" of the FC is the variability of the HR and can be measured
at rest with any electrocardiographic record. Currently, many pluviometers have
the software to measure it and there are mobile phone applications that, linked
to a chest strap, get the VFC. This allows it to be measured easily and
reliably during sports practice.
The HR and the VFC are related to each other and are the
result of the balance between the sympathetic nervous system and the
parasympathetic one at heart level. In a situation of physical and mental rest,
activation of the parasympathetic system that reduces HR and increases HRV
predominates. With exercise or stress, the sympathetic nervous system is
activated which is what prepares us for action and flight, increasing FC and
reducing HRV. The sympathetic system triggers very quickly in the face of any
physical or mental stress, preparing the body immediately for the stimulus to
face a danger and preserve survival. This is good and necessary but to a
certain extent. Currently, we are not hunters in a jungle, and we live in
civilisation (although sometimes we are uncivilised) so often the organism
interprets as threat situations that really are not and then stress, anxiety,
etc. appear.
HRV does not have a "normal" value but rather each
person has their "personal variability" that varies according to
their physical or mental state and therefore, it makes no sense to compare our
HRV with that of another person.
Practical Utility Of HRV In Sport
Currently, it is not only used in high-performance centers
and elite athletes to assess adaptation to training and prevent or detect
overtraining. Since there are pulsimeters and mobile phone applications that
allow it to be obtained easily and reliably, it is increasingly used in sports
at the amateur level.
Training well done and assimilated increases and helps to
Maintain Heart Rate Variability (HRV), both at rest and in exercise, three
weeks after its onset. On a practical level, we could apply the VFC to our
sports routine in the following way: In a week we will take three measurements
of the HRV at rest and three during the exercise, and we will obtain an average
of the three values of rest and exercise. Every three weeks, we will repeat
these measurements and compare them with the initial reference values. If the
values, both at rest and exercise, increase progressively every three weeks, it
means that our performance improves. A reduction in HRV indicates that we are
not responding adequately to training and that we may be overtrained or have a
physical or mental health problem.
Usefulness OF HRV In Medicine And Psychology
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines a Healthy
Lifestyle Solution as "A state of complete physical, mental and social
well-being and not only the absence of disease."
There are studies that have shown a close relationship
between this global well-being and the variability of HR. High HRV values are
related to states of the physical, the mental and social well-being of the
individual, that is, health, as defined by WHO.
In this line, HRV is used to evaluate the prognosis and
effectiveness of treatment in different organic and mental diseases. In
psychotherapy centers to combat stress and anxiety, it is used as a method to
evaluate the effectiveness of the therapy. An increase in HRV throughout
follow-up implies a good response to therapy and a better prognosis.
The Third Brain
If someone began to doubt my sanity when I spoke of the
existence of a second brain in the intestines in the article on probiotics,
when I told him that we have a third brain in the heart, he would start
thinking that I would boil and like hallucinogenic mushrooms. Well, my friends,
I do not take drugs or lose my mind. As unlikely as it seems, science has shown
that we have a third brain in the heart. In the nineties, scientists in the
field of neuroradiology discovered that the heart has sensory properties and a
sophisticated network of more than 40,000 neurons to receive and process
information from the outside and act before the cerebral cortex. The brain of
the heart is the first to treat the information it receives from outside and
"react". The "intelligence" of the heart is very fast,
intuitive and practical because it does not go through the complex circuits of
memory. Once the outside information is processed, it sends orders to the brain
and the rest of the body in four different ways:
- Nervous impulses (neuron-neuron connection): The heart sends more information to the brain than it receives through neuronal connection and can inhibit or activate certain parts of the brain.
- Biochemical impulses (hormones): The heart produces hormones with effects at the level of the organs and the brain such as the atrial natriuretic peptide that ensures the hydroelectrolytic balance of the body and at the cerebral level, is a driver of motivated behaviour, helps to increase the motivation to reach our goals. It also produces oxytocin, the hormone of
- Electromagnetic impulses: The heart generates an electromagnetic field that wraps the body in 360 degrees with a range between two and four meters outside it and 60 times more powerful than the one generated by the brain. Feelings influence the quality of this field, positive feelings generate ordered waves and negative ones generate chaotic waves. It may seem like science fiction, but this magnetic field around people exist, has been measured and quantified in the laboratory. Surely more than once you have metaphorically used the phrase that someone transmits good or bad vibrations ... Well, it is much more than a metaphor, and it is a physical reality.
- Through the variability of CF we have talked about, the heart sends signals to the brain and the rest of the body. And this is why VFC has so much to do with our physical and psychic state. There are two patterns in terms of the graphic representation of the VFC. When the person has positive thoughts and enjoys well-being, the pattern of their VFC is of broad and regular waves. Physical or mental stress produces a disordered and chaotic pattern.
Physiological or Cardiac coherence is spoken of when all the
physiological functions - respiration, digestion, hormonal function, etc. - and
the brain waves are synchronised with the heart rate and its variability. In
this state all the organic functions are developed harmoniously, being more
efficient and efficient. The waves of brain activity are also synchronised with
variations in heart rhythm, so that "the heart drags the head", the
thought is more orderly and clear and has greater ability to make decisions,
manage emotions and stress. This coherence can be acquired through meditation
techniques or relaxation. And it is very important for the performance and
various health conditions of the athlete since athletes put to the limit - and
often surpass it - to our body and our mind. Meditation and relaxation not only
gives us mental and organic benefits but also favours our athletic performance.
The popular phrase "think with the heart" has a
scientific basis. And is that popular wisdom is very wise...
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