Heart Rate Variability Podcast

Hosted by Optimal HRV

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106

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Aug 2026

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EN-US

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Welcome to the Heart Rate Variability Podcast where we discuss the research and applications of heart rate variability.

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September 29, 20261 hr 4 min

This Week in HRV - Episode 57

Medical Disclaimer: The information shared on This Week in HRV is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your health routine. This week on This Week in Heart Rate Variability, we cover six studies that together sketch the future of HRV science. Each one points in a distinct direction: a new metric for measuring rhythm organization across a large psychiatric population, a systematic content audit of consumer HRV apps, a rigorous benchmark of five noninvasive sensor technologies measured simultaneously in the same subjects, a new mathematical framework that challenges the stationarity assumption underlying conventional HRV analysis, a nonlinear dynamical study of group physiological coordination using attractor reconstruction and neural network clustering, and a deep learning system that extracts HRV from facial video alone to detect driver drowsiness at nearly ninety-five percent accuracy. What unites these studies is not a single topic but a shared direction: the field is expanding its metrics, scrutinizing its tools, rethinking its assumptions, and reaching toward applications that would have seemed impractical not long ago. 1. Heart rate fragmentation in psychiatry: across age stages and association with conventional heart rate variability PUBLICATION: Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging AUTHORS: XinFan Zhang, AiMei Ye, Min Su, Hao Chai, YanYan Wei, YiYi Yang, YuXuan Xiong, Yin Cui, Dan Zhang, Xiong Jiao, HuiRu Cui, LiHua Xu, XiaoChen Tang, HaiChun Liu, MingLiang Ju, LingYun Zeng, ChunBo Li, LiYing Huang, Jin Gao, JiJun Wang, and TianHong Zhang KEY FINDING: Researchers analyzed resting three-minute electrocardiograms from 3,813 patients with schizophrenia, depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, or sleep disorder, ranging in age from 10 to 80 years, treated at the Shanghai Mental Health Center. The study derived both heart rate fragmentation indices—specifically the percentage of inflection points (PIP) and the related percentage of alternating segments (PAS)—alongside conventional HRV measures including RMSSD, SDNN, low-frequency power, and high-frequency power. Heart rate fragmentation increased systematically across age groups, while every conventional HRV index declined. That divergence is the central finding: aging appears to produce both less variability and less organized variability, and these are not the same thing. Partial Spearman correlations and multivariable linear regression confirmed that PIP retained independent associations with all conventional HRV metrics, even after adjusting for available covariates, with the strongest association observed for high-frequency power. Sex differences in fragmentation were confined to adolescence and early adulthood, with males showing higher PIP than females in those life stages, but these differences disappeared by middle and late adulthood. Diagnostic category had a statistically significant main effect on PIP, but the differences between diagnostic groups were modest and did not meaningfully interact with age. SIGNIFICANCE: Heart rate fragmentation asks a different question than conventional HRV metrics. While RMSSD and SDNN measure how much the intervals between heartbeats vary, fragmentation measures how organized that variability is. The consistent independent relationship between PIP and conventional HRV metrics suggests that fragmentation captures something about rhythm organization that amplitude-based measures do not fully account for. Because fragmentation can be computed from the same R-R interval data used in conventional HRV analysis, there is no additional measurement burden when adding it to existing protocols. Read th...

September 24, 20261 hr 2 min

Heart Rate Variability and Veteran Resilience with Tony Crescenzo

In this episode of the Heart Rate Variability Podcast , Matt Bennett talks with Tony Crescenzo, founder and CEO of Peak Neuro and a former U.S. Marine , about heart rate variability, trauma, resilience, neuroscience, and human performance. Tony explores how prolonged exposure to high-stress environments can affect the autonomic nervous system and why resilience requires a highly individualized approach. He also explains why HRV should be understood in context rather than viewed simply as a score where higher is always better. Matt and Tony discuss the neurological challenges faced by veterans and active-duty service members, the difference between resilience and recovery, somatic approaches to trauma, neuromodulation, and Peak Neuro's approach to combining HRV with brain activity and other physiological measurements. Tony also shares experiences from his Marine Corps career and discusses how they have shaped his current work in neuroscience and human performance. The conversation concludes with a look at the growing role of AI, neuroscience, and cognitive-performance technology in military resilience and the future of human optimization. Learn more: Optimal HRV — https://www.optimalhrv.com Peak Neuro — https://peakneuro.com For educational purposes only. This podcast is not intended as medical advice.

September 22, 20261 hr 3 min

This Week in HRV - Episode 56

Medical Disclaimer: The information shared on This Week in HRV is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your health routine. This week on This Week in Heart Rate Variability, we explore how deeply HRV is woven into the biology of mental health. Five studies examine this connection from very different perspectives: structural changes in the brain, biofeedback training for medical students, resting HRV and psychological distress, early prediction of post-stroke depression, and an AI model designed to anticipate depressive episodes in bipolar disorder. 1. Five weeks of daily HRV biofeedback changes the structural relationship between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex PUBLICATION: International Journal of Psychophysiology AUTHORS: Kalekirstos Alemu, Hyun Joo Yoo, Kaoru Nashiro, Jungwon Min, Padideh Nasseri, Christine Cho, Paul Choi, Shelby L. Bachman, Shai Porat, Shubir Dutt, Julian F. Thayer, and Mara Mather KEY FINDING: Researchers analyzed brain scans from younger and older adults who completed five weeks of daily biofeedback practice. Participants were assigned either to increase heart rate oscillations through slow, resonant breathing or to keep their heart rate relatively steady. In the HRV-enhancing condition, changes in left amygdala volume showed an inverse relationship with changes in the right orbitofrontal cortex—a pattern absent in the comparison condition. Coordinated structural changes were also identified across several prefrontal, motor, sensory, and parietal regions. Both younger and older adults demonstrated similar patterns of structural covariance, although the study’s smaller older-adult sample means the age-related findings should be considered exploratory. SIGNIFICANCE: Previous research has linked higher HRV to stronger functional communication between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. This study adds a structural layer to that evidence, suggesting HRV biofeedback may influence the coordinated physical architecture of brain regions responsible for emotional regulation. The findings support the neurovisceral integration model, in which the prefrontal cortex helps regulate amygdala-driven emotional and threat responses. They also provide a possible biological mechanism for the use of HRV biofeedback alongside established treatments for anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Read the full study 2. HRV biofeedback produces large reductions in stress, anxiety, and depression among medical students PUBLICATION: Physiological Reports AUTHORS: Gabriela Panayotova and Margarita Velikova KEY FINDING: Forty-seven international medical students were followed for approximately three months. Students with elevated stress or affective symptoms entered an HRV biofeedback program consisting of two supervised 30-minute sessions per week, while a separate group received no intervention. Within the biofeedback group, perceived stress, anxiety, and depression declined significantly, with large effect sizes ranging from approximately 1.28 to 1.86. Clinically meaningful improvement—defined as a reduction of at least 20%—was reported by: 87.5% of the biofeedback group on the Beck Anxiety Inventory, compared with 34.8% of controls 79.2% on the depression inventory, compared with 34.8% of controls 70.8% on a separate anxiety scale, compared with 8.7% of controls 62.5% on perceived stress, compared with 39.1% of controls During individual sessions, heart rate decreased b...

September 15, 202651 min

This Week in HRV — Episode 55

Medical Disclaimer: The information shared on This Week in HRV is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your health routine. This week on This Week in Heart Rate Variability, we explore the theme of Medical — studying HRV across populations dealing with identifiable disease states and clinical questions. From noise exposure in everyday life to smoking, cardiac surgery rehabilitation, rare autoimmune disease, AI-powered sleep staging, and physical activity in chronic lung disease, today's research spans the full clinical spectrum of what HRV can tell us. 1. Every 10 dB increase in environmental noise reduces SDNN by up to 16% over 160 minutes: evidence from the Apple Hearing Study PUBLICATION: Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology (Nature Portfolio) AUTHORS: Xin Zhang, Sung Kyun Park, Lauren M. Smith, and Richard L. Neitzel KEY FINDING: Using wearable-derived SDNN and sound-exposure data from roughly 980–1,180 participants per analysis in the Apple Hearing Study, hierarchical Bayesian distributed-lag models found that each 10 dB increase in environmental noise was associated with an overall SDNN reduction of 6.8% over a short-term (20-minute) window and 16.0% over a long-term (160-minute) window. Headphone sound produced smaller, more consistent reductions of 7.1–7.4% regardless of window length. Reductions were greater in older adults and those with tinnitus. SIGNIFICANCE: This elevates noise — including overnight traffic noise and headphone volume — to the same level of concern as sleep quality, training load, and nutrition in shaping HRV. The data also provides context for unexpectedly low morning HRV readings after noisy nights. Read the full study 2. Ambulatory monitoring reveals what office readings miss: smokers have heart rates nearly 7 bpm higher in daily life — and elevated diastolic blood pressure PUBLICATION: Hypertension Research (Nature Portfolio) AUTHORS: Yuya Akagi, Kimika Arakawa, Atsushi Sakima, Mai Kabayama, Ken Sugimoto, Yuichi Akasaki, Ako Fukami, Satoko Sakata, Hirochika Ryuno, Hiroyuki Kadoya, Toshiya Yamamoto, Hiroko Yoshida, Yoichi Nozato, Taisuke Ueno, Makiko Abe, Hisatomi Arima, Mitsuru Ohishi, Nobuhito Hirawa, Chisa Matsumoto, Shin-Ichiro Miura, Masaki Mogi, Akira Nishiyama, Akihiro Nomura, Takayoshi Ohkubo, Yusuke Ohya, Shigeru Shibata, Yasuharu Tabara, Koichi Yamamoto, and Kazuomi Kario KEY FINDING: This systematic review and meta-analysis of four non-randomized crossover comparative studies (104 participants total) compared ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate within the same current smokers during active smoking versus abstinence periods (1 day to 1 week). Twenty-four-hour diastolic blood pressure was 2.67 mmHg higher during smoking (95% CI 0.72–4.62), and daytime diastolic was 3.17 mmHg higher. Twenty-four-hour heart rate was 6.47 bpm higher during smoking (95% CI 3.98–8.96); daytime 7.19 bpm higher; nighttime 3.58 bpm higher. Systolic blood pressure showed no significant difference between periods. SIGNIFICANCE: This helps explain the long-standing office blood pressure paradox in smokers: they appear similar to non-smokers in clinical readings because they abstain before appointments and are at rest. Ambulatory monitoring reveals the true picture — persistent sympathetic arousal manifesting as chronically elevated heart rate around the clock. For HRV practitioners, this means a smoking patient's measured baseline is not their true autonomic baseline, and it positions HRV tracking as a motivational tool in cessation progra...

September 10, 202653 min

Brainwave Entrainment, HRV & Nervous System Optimization with Dr. Patrick Porter

In this episode of the Heart Rate Variability Podcast, Matt Bennett sits down with Dr. Patrick K. Porter, PhD, founder of BrainTap®, to explore the connection between brainwave activity, heart rate variability, breathwork, and nervous system regulation. Dr. Porter shares how his interest in brainwave training began at an early age and how decades of work in neuroscience-based performance ultimately led to the development of BrainTap. His background includes extensive work in brainwave entrainment and non-invasive approaches to supporting brain health and human performance. In this conversation, Matt and Dr. Porter discuss how HRV can be used as a practical measure of nervous system activity, why chronic high-stress states may affect cognitive performance and recovery, and how intentional practices can help shift the body toward more regulated states. They also explore: - Brainwave states including beta, alpha, theta, gamma, delta, and SMR - The relationship between HRV, brain activity, and autonomic regulation - Brainwave entrainment compared with neurofeedback - Breathwork practices for different times of the day - Vagal stimulation and simple nervous-system regulation techniques - BrainTap research related to pain, stress, cognitive performance, and recovery - Dr. Porter’s personal routine for supporting brain and nervous system health - How AI may influence the future of personalized brain fitness Dr. Porter also shares his perspective on where brain optimization is headed—from clinics and universities to schools, workplaces, and personalized digital coaching. Whether you’re interested in HRV, neuroscience, biofeedback, breathwork, stress regulation, or improving human performance, this conversation offers a fascinating look at how the brain and autonomic nervous system may work together. Learn more about Optimal HRV: https://www.optimalhrv.com Learn more about BrainTap: https://braintap.com This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

September 8, 20261 hr 14 min

This Week in HRV — Episode 54

Medical disclaimer: The information shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as medical advice and should not be used as a substitute for professional guidance from a qualified healthcare provider. If you have questions about your health or a medical condition, please consult a licensed clinician who knows you and your history. This week on This Week in Heart Rate Variability, we explore the theme of Performance . Seven studies this week cover urban air pollution, shift work, weighted vests, functional clothing, ergogenic supplementation, elite athlete aging, and real-time exercise intensity classification with DFA-alpha-1. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK 1. Combined mask and headphone use significantly improves HRV during traffic exposure: a randomized crossover RCT PUBLICATION: Journal of Hazardous Materials AUTHORS: Meng, Qi, Wang, and Duan KEY FINDING: In a randomized crossover study, 51 healthy young adults (mean age 20, ~40% female) were exposed to four 2-hour conditions at a high-traffic site in Beijing: no intervention, KN95 mask alone, noise-canceling headphones alone, and both combined. Single interventions did not yield a significant HRV benefit. The combined intervention significantly elevated SDNN (+20.3%), RMSSD (+56.8%), SDSD (+62.0%), pNN50 (+61.1%), LF (+128.6%), and HF (+73.8%) relative to control. It also reduced the myocardial injury marker CK-MB by 27.6% and homocysteine by 79.5%. Females showed greater autonomic benefits than males. SIGNIFICANCE: This finding has real implications for urban athletes and anyone training in polluted environments. Wearing just one intervention (mask or headphones) alone did not provide significant protection, but the combined approach demonstrated robust cardiovascular protection during traffic exposure. Read the full study 2. Night shift workers show elevated heart rate fragmentation independent of traditional HRV changes: MESA Sleep cohort PUBLICATION: Chronobiology International AUTHORS: Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis Sleep study cohort analysis KEY FINDING: A cross-sectional analysis of 845 participants (mean age 64, 51% women) compared heart rate variability and heart rate fragmentation (HRF) across shift types. Night and rotating shift workers had significantly higher PAS - the percentage of normal-to-normal intervals in alternation segments - compared to day workers (+11.9%, 95% CI 1.8-22.0). Traditional HRV metrics showed minimal and inconsistent differences. Sleep duration modified the effect: the PAS difference was most pronounced in short sleepers (+20.4%) and reversed in long sleepers (-10.8%, interaction p=0.06). SIGNIFICANCE: The surprising finding is that traditional HRV showed almost no difference between night-shift and day-shift workers. But a newer metric called heart rate fragmentation - specifically PAS, the percentage of intervals in alternation segments - was significantly elevated in night/rotating shift workers. Sleep duration modulated the severity of that fragmentation, suggesting that this metric captures autonomic stress that standard HRV indices miss. Read the full study 3. Weighted vest use increases cardiovascular workload and transiently suppresses HRV during active wearing, with more pronounced effects in females: ATLAS RCT sub-study PUBLICATION: Physiological Reports AUTHORS: Bellman, PA Jansson, JO Jansson, Ohlsson, and Bergfe...

September 1, 202648 min

This Week in HRV - Episode 53

Medical disclaimer: The information shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as medical advice and should not be used as a substitute for professional guidance from a qualified healthcare provider. If you have questions about your health or a medical condition, please consult a licensed clinician who knows you and your history. This week on This Week in Heart Rate Variability, we open a new themed month by looking at where heart rate variability is headed next. Six studies map the future of the field — from a unifying theory of cardiovascular instability built on Shannon entropy, to the regulatory and technical realities of validating consumer wearables, to a meta-analysis quantifying how far photoplethysmography still is from true electrocardiography-derived HRV, to a virtual reality study, a forest-based multimodal field study, and a deep dive into the asymmetric structure of the heartbeat itself. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK 1. Shannon Entropy in Heart Rate Variability: A Unified Indicator of Electrical and Hemodynamic Cardiovascular Instability PUBLICATION: Medical Research Archives AUTHORS: Orazio Antonio Barra KEY FINDING: This systematic review pooled 22 published studies that applied Shannon entropy of RR intervals to atrial fibrillation and tilt-induced syncope. Entropy declined progressively across both conditions — roughly ten percent at baseline instability, fifteen to twenty percent approaching pre-crisis, and twenty-five to thirty percent as crisis became imminent — with entropy showing better specificity than other HRV indices while holding onto its sensitivity. SIGNIFICANCE: Entropy looks less like a metric tied to one specific condition and more like a general-purpose marker of autonomic complexity loss that shows up consistently whether the underlying instability is electrical or hemodynamic. This is a synthesis of existing studies rather than a new trial, so it should be read as a strong, well-supported hypothesis rather than a validated bedside tool. Read the full study: https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/7606 2. Validity, Reliability, and Regulatory Considerations for Consumer Devices in Clinical Research Data Collection PUBLICATION: Applied Clinical Trials Online AUTHORS: Lauren Crooks, Greta Marie van Schoor, Anthony Everhart, Bill Byrom, and Thijs Sondag KEY FINDING: This article maps the validity, reliability, and regulatory landscape for consumer wearables used in decentralized clinical trials. Heart rate accuracy can approach ECG-level concordance under favorable conditions, but motion artifacts, device-to-device variation, and demographic performance gaps can cause aggregate agreement statistics to mask large individual-level errors. Only an estimated 11% of devices on the market have been rigorously and publicly validated. SIGNIFICANCE: Regulators are converging on "fit-for-purpose" validation rather than universal accuracy claims — asking whether a specific device is accurate enough for a specific clinical question, not whether it's accurate for everything. That's a useful discipline for anyone using consumer devices outside a formal trial, too. Read the full study: https://www.appliedclinicaltrialsonline.com/view/validity-reliability-regulatory-considerations-consumer-devices-clinical-research-data-collection 3. Accuracy of Photoplethysmography-Derived Pulse Rate Variability Compared with Electrocardiography-Derived Heart Rate Variability: A Systematic R...

August 27, 202640 min

Lieven Van Linden talk the English Release of Fully Charged and Continued Work in HRV

In this follow-up episode of the Heart Rate Variability Podcast, Matt Bennett reconnects with Lieven Van Linden to discuss the newly published English version of his book, Fully Charged . Since their last conversation two years ago, Lieven’s work has continued to evolve at the intersection of leadership, nervous system regulation, sustainable performance, and HRV. Lieven shares how his engineering background shaped the framework behind Fully Charged , applying process improvement thinking to human performance. Rather than treating energy, resilience, and leadership as vague concepts, his model looks at the body as a system with inputs, processes, outputs, and measurable feedback. HRV plays a central role as a biomarker for nervous system health, recovery, and available energy. Matt and Lieven also explore what has changed since the book's original publication, including new English-language chapters on artificial intelligence and women's energy levels. Lieven reflects on the slower-than-expected adoption of HRV technology in Europe and the growing conversation around AI health coaches. While AI can support education and insight, Lieven emphasizes that human connection remains essential for lasting behavioral change. The conversation also moves into Lieven’s personal evolution. After years of extreme endurance racing, he has shifted toward freediving, which challenges him in a very different way. Rather than pushing through suffering, freediving requires relaxation, self-regulation, inner awareness, and trust in the body.

August 25, 2026Episode 5242 min

This Week in HRV - Episode 52

Medical disclaimer: The information shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as medical advice and should not be used as a substitute for professional guidance from a qualified healthcare provider. If you have questions about your health or a medical condition, please consult a licensed clinician who knows you and your history. This week on This Week in Heart Rate Variability, we open our second themed month with a focus on medical health. Six studies map how heart rate variability behaves under real medical strain — from a rigorous methodological look at glucose sensing, to a two-decade cohort tracking cardiovascular mortality, to hidden autonomic signals in normal brain recordings, to the flattening and even reversal of breath-heart coupling in brain-injured intensive care patients, to a call for multi-window autonomic assessment in critically ill cancer patients, and finally to autonomic flexibility as a biomarker for fatigue in multiple sclerosis. A quick reminder that this is the newly curated, theme-based format we kicked off last month, and this week's center of gravity is medical health. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK 1. Re-evaluating heart rate variability biomarkers for glucose sensing: the impact of age normalization and subject-independent validation PUBLICATION: BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making AUTHORS: Md Basit Azam, Sarangthem Ibotombi Singh KEY FINDING: In a rigorously validated model built on data from forty-three men with type two diabetes, heart rate variability features derived from the electrocardiogram showed a modest but significant association with hemoglobin A1c (R-squared of about zero point two two), while none of the six tested age-normalization methods improved model performance — suggesting age-related decline in heart rate variability was not confounding the signal. SIGNIFICANCE: This study is a piece of methodological conscience in the wearable glucose monitoring space. It shows that heart rate variability carries a real but modest signal for glycemic status, that honest subject-independent validation is essential, and that a fashionable statistical correction is not worth adding until you have checked whether it actually helps. Read the full study: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13169770/ 2. Differential associations of resting heart rate and heart rate variability indices with cardiovascular and coronary heart disease mortality risk: the prospective KORA study PUBLICATION: Scientific Reports AUTHORS: Kolade Oluwagbemigun, Dan Ziegler, Alexander Strom, Margit Heier, Gidon J. Bönhof, Michael Roden, Wolfgang Rathmann, Christa Meisinger, Annette Peters, Stefanie M. Hauck, Agnese Petrera, Moritz F. Sinner, Stefan Kääb, Barbara Thorand, Christian Herder KEY FINDING: In a prospective German cohort followed for more than two decades, higher resting heart rate was associated with greater cardiovascular and coronary heart disease mortality across the whole group, while the relationships between heart rate variability indices and mortality differed by glucose status — including an S-shaped, nonlinear association between the root mean square of successive differences and cardiovascular mortality in people with type two diabetes. SIGNIFICANCE: The metabolic context changes the meaning of the measurement. The same heart rate variability index does not convey the same message in a person with normal blood sugar as in a person with diabetes, and greater variability is not always better. Long-cohort work like this reframes heart rate variability as a context-dependent marker rather than a univ...

August 18, 202644 min

This Week in HRV - Episode 51

Medical disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider before making any changes based on this content. Welcome to This Week in Heart Rate Variability. This is the next installment in our newly curated, theme-based format, and this week's theme is mental health: what the rhythm of the heart can—and cannot—tell us about the mind. Across seven studies, a single thread keeps surfacing: the body's story and the mind's story refuse to line up neatly. Sometimes lower heart rate variability marks distress; sometimes it does not move where we most expect it to; and in at least one striking case, higher variability marks not health but trouble. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK 1. A meta-analysis of heart rate variability and psychopathology: An investigation guided by the hierarchical taxonomy of psychopathology framework PUBLICATION: Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science AUTHORS: Tam Pham, Carly J. Johnco, Ana Neves, Wilson P. H. Lim, Gladys J. Heng, Rachel Ygnacio, Miriam K. Forbes KEY FINDING: Pooling 430 studies (732 effect sizes across roughly 62,000 people), lower resting heart rate variability was associated with most of the psychopathology hierarchy — including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and major depression — but not with obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Associations were strongest in psychotic conditions and consistently stronger in more severely symptomatic samples. SIGNIFICANCE: Reduced heart rate variability looks less like a disorder-specific fingerprint and more like a transdiagnostic marker of systemic dysregulation tied to illness severity — a fever, not a rash. It may be most useful for gauging overall strain and tracking change over time rather than sorting people into diagnoses. This is a meta-analysis of largely cross-sectional data, so it shows association, not causation. Read the full study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42490257/ 2. Heart rate variability and risk of agitation in Alzheimer's disease: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study PUBLICATION: Brain Communications AUTHORS: Kathy Y. Liu, Eric A. Whitsel, Gerardo Heiss, Priya Palta, Suzanne Reeves, Feng V. Lin, Mara Mather, Jonathan P. Roiser, Robert Howard KEY FINDING: In 120 participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study whose dementia was attributed solely to Alzheimer's disease, higher heart rate variability was associated with greater agitation risk, with the strongest signal coming from the change in vagally mediated variability over roughly two decades. The associations were adjusted for cognitive status, resting heart rate, demographics, comorbidities, and medications affecting the autonomic nervous system. SIGNIFICANCE: The meaning of heart rate variability is context-dependent: in a brain undergoing neurodegeneration, an increase in autonomic signal may reflect a loss of regulatory control rather than resilience. This is a candidate marker of propensity for agitation, not yet a clinical tool. Observational design and a small subgroup mean this is association, not causation. Read the full study: https://academic.oup.com/braincomms/article/5/6/fcad269/7311113?login=false 3. Physiological correlates of interoception and the effect of heart rate variability biofeedback ...

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