What HRV really tells you about stress

Have you ever noticed that some days you cope easily with life’s demands, while other days even small challenges feel overwhelming?

That difference often isn’t about motivation or mindset — it’s about how adaptable your nervous system is under stress.

Heart Rate Variability, or HRV, is one way we can understand that adaptability. It looks at the natural variation in time between heartbeats, which reflects how well your nervous system can switch between activity and recovery.

When your nervous system is flexible, it can move smoothly between:

• Action and focus (often called “fight or flight”), and

• Rest and recovery (“rest and digest”).

A higher HRV generally reflects greater adaptability.
A lower HRV doesn’t mean something is wrong — it simply tells us your system may be under load from things like stress, poor sleep, illness, emotional strain, or physical tension.

What many people don’t realise is that your spine protects your central nervous system, which coordinates how your body responds to stress. When spinal movement is restricted or under strain, the nervous system can have more difficulty adapting efficiently.

This is why, in our clinic, we look beyond symptoms like back pain or headaches and pay attention to nervous system function as a whole.

For women in midlife, hormonal changes can add another layer to this picture — influencing stress tolerance, sleep, energy, and emotional resilience. HRV can help make sense of why stress may feel different during this stage of life.

HRV isn’t a score to chase or judge yourself by. It’s a guide — offering insight into how your body is coping and what kind of support might help.

Over the coming months, we’ll be sharing more about stress resilience, nervous system health, and how to support your body through different life stages, including our upcoming February Health Reset community event.