From my experience, my breathing first thing in the morning (sitting upright, at rest) is that I’m breathing at a naturally low rate anyway (but maybe not quite as slow and deliberate as when using your Biofeedback app). So what I’m sort of saying is that maybe the two readings aren’t very different anyway. Just my observation. Thank you for the articles (and the apps).
thanks James! I think it is normal to be a bit more aware of our breathing when taking the measurement, no worries there. Even if your breathing is a bit slower or deeper, that's fine, protocols with guided breathing for resting measurements would still use 7-8 breaths-minute, which is much lower than our resting breathing rate normally.
The important part is not to make an effort to take really slow and deep breaths as in a biofeedback exercise (closer to 5-6 / minute) - when we try this, we can see how different they are, not something that happens naturally even when relaxing and being more self-aware, it's an actual exercise.
Typically with a few days or weeks of measurement we manage to establish a routine and protocol that is reproducible over time and more or less the same each day, making the data meaningful.
If I don't standardize my breathing, I feel like I'm just measuring my breathing rate... Perhaps that's the actual useful metric, but then why bother with HRV?
I've added a few notes to the article as well, the biofeedback is very far from what any of use would do when resting, even in a situation of self-awareness as a measurement. I think this is eventually an overrated problem with near no practical implications (as shown by the examples and the research covered in the blog above), but of course, as always, individual variability applies
Guess I need to work on my natural breathing: When I try to relax and breathe naturally, I end up with 6-8 breaths per minute, which appears to be low enough to affect HRV 🙃
From my experience, my breathing first thing in the morning (sitting upright, at rest) is that I’m breathing at a naturally low rate anyway (but maybe not quite as slow and deliberate as when using your Biofeedback app). So what I’m sort of saying is that maybe the two readings aren’t very different anyway. Just my observation. Thank you for the articles (and the apps).
thanks James! I think it is normal to be a bit more aware of our breathing when taking the measurement, no worries there. Even if your breathing is a bit slower or deeper, that's fine, protocols with guided breathing for resting measurements would still use 7-8 breaths-minute, which is much lower than our resting breathing rate normally.
The important part is not to make an effort to take really slow and deep breaths as in a biofeedback exercise (closer to 5-6 / minute) - when we try this, we can see how different they are, not something that happens naturally even when relaxing and being more self-aware, it's an actual exercise.
Typically with a few days or weeks of measurement we manage to establish a routine and protocol that is reproducible over time and more or less the same each day, making the data meaningful.
Thank you!
If I don't standardize my breathing, I feel like I'm just measuring my breathing rate... Perhaps that's the actual useful metric, but then why bother with HRV?
thanks Eric, this feeling doesn't seem to be backed by data :) Some pointers here: https://www.hrv4training.com/blog2/to-pace-or-not-to-pace-that-is-the-question
I've added a few notes to the article as well, the biofeedback is very far from what any of use would do when resting, even in a situation of self-awareness as a measurement. I think this is eventually an overrated problem with near no practical implications (as shown by the examples and the research covered in the blog above), but of course, as always, individual variability applies
Guess I need to work on my natural breathing: When I try to relax and breathe naturally, I end up with 6-8 breaths per minute, which appears to be low enough to affect HRV 🙃