THE STRESS TEST

WHAT IF MEASURING YOUR WELLBEING WAS AS SIMPLE AS TAKING YOUR TEMPERATURE? SCIENTISTS ARE TESTING OUT HEART RATE VARIABILITY, TO SEE WHAT IT CAN TELL US ABOUT OUR MENTAL HEALTH…

- AMY FLEMING

Before COVID-19, loneliness was considered a national epidemic, and as bad for you as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. But by the middle of June this year, social isolation had become the ‘new normal’ for more of us, with 7.4 million British people having experienced ‘lockdown loneliness’, according to the Office for National Statistics. The knock-on effects that stress and loneliness could be having on our physical health are potentially vast, although they can be hard to spot when we’re in the thick of challenging times. A panic attack is relatively easy to identify, but the slow and steady creep of rising blood pressure or inflammation is less obvious.

Step forward, a little-known health marker called heart rate variability (HRV). HRV is a measure of the degree of variation in time between heartbeats. Greater variation means we’re in a good place – resilient, in control of our emotions and ready for anything. Lower variation implies we need to prioritise self-care. This stress barometer of sorts can offer a window into the extent to which our mental health is manifesting in our bodies, and help motivate us to minimise our stress levels. HRV monitoring is increasingly offered through wearable devices, and understanding why it is relevant reveals some fascinating pathways between mind and body.