Heart rate variability - what is is, why is it important, how to improve, what to track
This question may have been answered already! Apologies if so. I recently started tracking heart rate variability with my fitbit watch (can't afford an Oura ring yet ;)). I was surprised to see that for the last three nights, the measurement has been quite low. I'm a 47 year old woman, with (according to charts I've consulted), a pretty good resting heart rate for my age and sex (although it could be better and has gone up during COVID), but my HRV was 25-26! I thought it was supposed to be double that for someone my age ... not sure what this means. Also, 3 data points does not a trend make so will wait until I have a month's worth of data. Are all devices the same in reliability and method to measure HRV? How is it measured via a device like a ring or watch? Why is it measured during sleep? Are other times of the day better to measure? In the meantime, upping my zone 2 exercise, and especially deep breathing, yoga, and meditation to calm a nervous system that might be in overdrive despite my best efforts. Thanks for wonderful work you do! Podcast and this opportunity to connect via membership has legitimately changed my life for the better.
Torn between adding muscle and calorie restriction for longevity
I consistently conflicted about how to approach the second half of my life. On one hand I hear a lot about caloric restriction being a key driver of longevity. On the other hand I hear about maintaining muscle mass as a key driver of longevity. For me it seems to be one or the other. I'm naturally lanky and caloric restriction seems to prevent me from gaining much strength/muscle. When I ramp up my calories I can put on some muscle but then I'm not getting the benefits of caloric restriction. How should I think about this from a longevity perspective?
zone 2 training, thoughts on which exercise
I've considered stationary bike, rowing machine, walk/run treadmill or outside (maybe even barefoot.) Any advantage to the "whole body" aspect of rowing vs the leg predominant other choices? I also assume you'll be covering heuristics short of full on lactate measurements, I'm 66, MD PhD, interested in longevity/vigor/healthspan and not particularly in competing.
Stress and Glucose levels
Dear Peter, Bob & Team. AMA #24 was a great podcast, thank you. This week has been my first week wearing the G6 CGM. I am non-diabetic but want to understand my glucose trends better and reduce variability. I was giving a presentation today (about 4pm and more than 3 hours after eating or drinking) and about 50 minutes into the presentation my alert went off as my glucose hit 8.3mmol or c. 160mg/dl. I have since gone back to Episode #54 with Kevin Sayer that covered briefly the impact of stress can have on both insulin and glucose. I have moderate to high anxiety with presenting, but was taken back by the impact and immediacy of that stress response on my glucose level. Can you share any insights on this and perhaps what that means for people with even low to moderate anxiety if they are regularly put into stressful situations at work or at home. It seems this group of people may struggle more with reducing glucose variability. Thank you very much.
Squatting vs Deadlifting
Hi Peter. It is well documented how much of a deadlifting fanatic you are, in particular because of their pivotal role in allowing you to compete in the centenarian olympics. But how does squatting fit into this? Do you see squatting as a complement to deadlifting or a substitute? I’m especially interested in how you view squatting as an alternative to deadlifting in the context of safety (i.e. for the average joe could the risk/reward trade off be better for squatting vs deadlifting given potential for injury of the latter?) Thanks!