heart rate variability, stress

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is a crucial part of internal involuntary regulatory processes. High ANS activity and balanced activity between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve systems represent the high adaptation capacity of the human body. This means that a human is able to deal more effectively and faster with all external and internal stress factors. It would be, therefore, beneficial to examine the ANS activity in order to monitor the acute state of homeostasis, which can be disrupted by various factors included physical or mental stress. The easiest way to carry out ANS activity quantification is through a heart rate variability (HRV) analysis. HRV can be influenced by numerous factors with age, diseases or exercise ranking amongst the most investigated. HRV is considered a potential marker of stress and health and provides evidence for the neural correlates that assist in underpinning this relationship.

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is a crucial part of internal involuntary regulatory processes. High ANS activity and balanced activity between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve systems represent the high adaptation capacity of the human body. This means that a human is able to deal more effectively and faster with all external and internal stress factors. It would be, therefore, beneficial to examine the ANS activity in order to monitor the acute state of homeostasis, which can be disrupted by various factors included physical or mental stress. The easiest way to carry out ANS activity quantification is through a heart rate variability (HRV) analysis. HRV is the conventionally accepted term for describing oscillation in consecutive RR intervals of cardiac cycles. Evaluation of cardiac autonomic regulation by means of HRV is a non-invasive, simple and frequently used measure, which has proved successful in experimental research as well as in clinical or sport practice. HRV can be influenced by numerous factors with age, diseases or exercise ranking amongst the most investigated. Evidence-based data exist about the close relationship between HRV and a number of civilizational diseases. In contrast, there are still certain doubts regarding spectral HRV component interpretation, HRV measurement reliability, use of the unified measurement protocol (orthostatic stimulation, Valsalva manoeuvre, etc.) and HRV analysis (time versus frequency domain methods). Further research is required in order to solve these problems and make this diagnostic tool fully understandable. Despite these facts, HRV is considered a potential marker of stress and health and provides evidence for the neural correlates that assist in underpinning this relationship.