Stress on Ultrahuman Blog

11 ways to improve heart rate variability (HRV)

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 17:41:22 +0000

Heart rate variability (HRV) has become an important measure of health and wellness. It’s a measurement of the time difference between your heartbeats, and greater variability shows your body is well-rested and prepared for life’s challenges.

A high HRV is an indication of your heart’s readiness to adapt well to your environment and has several benefits for overall health. But a low HRV is a sign of stress, illness, or poor recovery.

Low HRV and stress explained: The signal you should never ignore

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 15:58:27 +0000

Everyone has opened their Ultrahuman app and discovered their HRV is low. You might feel a little tired, but nothing out of the ordinary – so what does it mean?

Heart rate variability (HRV) can feel like an abstract score. But low HRV is more than just another stat in your Ultrahuman dashboard – it’s your body’s early-warning system. And when this warning light starts flashing, it’s time to take note.

Heart rate variability (HRV): What's normal – and how to increase it

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 12:01:32 +0000

Heart rate variability (HRV) has become a huge focus of wearable devices, and is the underlying marker for tracking wellness, recovery, and stress.

HRV is a measurement of the time between heartbeats. A high variance between heartbeats is a sign that your body is well adjusted and prepared to handle whatever life has in store.

But a low variation in beats indicates poor readiness, which can be a signal that you need to check in with your body.

The vagus nerve and HRV: How to unlock your parasympathetic superpower

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 12:31:59 +0000

The vagus nerve may be one of the most powerful tools your body has for regulating its response to stress. Yet, most people barely know it exists, let alone that it can be tracked and trained.

Acting as the primary lever of your parasympathetic nervous system, the vagus nerve helps regulate several processes related to recovery, inflammation, digestion, and mood. And unlike many biological systems within the autonomic nervous system, you may have control over this one. However, it takes conscious effort.

Harness the power of breath: Protocols for your Autonomic Nervous System

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 10:53:43 +0000

Beneath the surface of our seemingly automatic breathing lies an intriguing interplay with the autonomic nervous system (ANS), a key part of our body’s control system.

The autonomic nervous system is a complex network of nerves that regulates involuntary bodily functions, such as heart rate, digestion, respiratory rate, pupillary response, and sexual arousal. The connection between breathing and the ANS is well-documented in modern research. However, diaphragmatic breathing has its roots in many ancient civilizations.

Emotional Eating & Metabolic Health

Sat, 15 Oct 2022 06:07:00 +0000

Emotional Eating and Metabolic Health

Emotional eating is the habit of consuming food as a response to negative emotions. Also widely known as comfort eating and stress eating, it is important to understand that stress is only one potential cause of emotional eating. It is generally used to describe eating in response to sadness, stress, frustration, nervousness, and even boredom. Emotional eating occurs in the absence of hunger. It refers to the ingestion of food to regulate one’s emotional states.

6 Intriguing Facts About The Love Hormone

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 11:25:00 +0000

Oxytocin, popularly known as the love hormone, cuddle hormone and attachment hormone, is what we release when we express affection for another person through touch, hugs, kisses or sex.

The more oxytocin we release, the stronger and more lasting the attachment. This goes beyond human relationships to include the bond we share with our animals. Every time you pet or lovingly gaze into your dog’s eyes, your oxytocin levels shoot up. Animals pick up on the outward signs of this change and this deepens your bond with them.

The Impact Of Stress On Metabolic Health

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 04:23:00 +0000

Stress is a physiological reaction that every individual has to deal with from time to time. According to medlineplus , stress is a feeling of emotional or physical tension. It can come from any event or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or nervous.

The human body is constantly being subjected to stressors in different forms—physical, mental and social. The main objective, once the stressor has been removed, is to recover and bring all systems back to their resting state via homeostasis (the capacity of the body to maintain the stability of its internal state).

Stress Eating: Why it's so easy

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 17:03:00 +0000

We seek comfort when stressed; there’s no denying that, and it’s entirely in our nature to do so. Who doesn’t want the warm comfort of their bed after a stressful day at work?

Or some music to relax to, or even a soothing hobby. We all have our “go-to” comfort needs when seeking to manage or alleviate stress, with varying differences.

For some people, the answer to their stress is food. We don’t always eat to satisfy our hunger; many of us also turn to food for comfort, stress relief, or reward ourselves.

Understanding Burnout and how to combat it

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 16:40:00 +0000

Imagine Lauren Summers; she is a go-getter, always motivated, full of energy and enthusiasm, solving every task at work with vigour. But by early this year, she was utterly worn out to be a different person. She was physically, mentally and emotionally drained due to constant and prolonged stress. She used to jump out of her bed to tackle the day with a renewed sense of optimism, but lately, it’s an arduous task even to manage to pry herself away from the sheets. Lauren Summers now suffers from burnout, which leaves many people feeling empty and completely exhausted due to being exposed to constant stress levels.

HPA Axis Dysfunction

Sun, 03 Apr 2022 12:14:00 +0000

The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis governs our central stress response system. It reflects the dynamic intertwining of the central nervous system (CNS) and endocrine system and defines the tight hormonal coupling of the hypothalamus, the anterior pituitary and the adrenal cortex. The HPA axis is controlled by a set of direct influences and feedback interactions that governs the adaptation response to stress and regulates several critical physical processes encompassing the digestive system, the immune system, sexuality, mood and energy balance.

Role of Sugar as a Migraine Trigger

Fri, 15 Oct 2021 05:00:00 +0000

Defining Migraine

Migraine is a neurological disease that causes a pounding headache that usually occurs on either side of the head and can last from 4 hours to almost 72 hours. Headaches are divided into two categories; primary and secondary. Migraine comes under the primary category which means that it is NOT caused by an underlying condition and there is no blood test to diagnose it. (1 )

Symptoms of migraine

Migraine symptoms vary from person to person, but in most cases, they occur in 4 stages: Prodrome, Aura, Attack, and Postdrome.