#65: The Science of Heart Rate Variability (HRV), and Teaching the German Police Force Breathwork and how to Regulate Stress - Dr Marc Jarczok with Dr Tom Buckley

Dr. Marc Jarczok runs the Laboratory for Clinic-Experimental Stress Research within the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy at the University Medical Center in Ulm, Germany. Dr Marc is an international expert in HRV and using it to positively impact wellbeing and performance. As a rule of thumb, higher HRV is associated with better health and less variability has been shown to be associated with all-cause mortality  

Using principles of psychosomatic medicine, Dr Marc and his colleagues are teaching teams within the German Police Force about HRV, how to measure it, and how to regulate their physiology, emotions and decision making capability. We discuss the ability to bridge the gap between physiological and psychological factors, stress and emotional regulation, how the heart has a personality, and how to enhance cardiovascular health. 

Joining me in this discussion is regular podcast favourite, Dr Tom Buckley. Dr Tom is Director of Research at StriveStronger and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney. He specialises in the impact of stress on cardiovascular health and coaches high performers to optimise their physical and psychological state.

In episode Andrew, Dr Tom and Dr Marc discuss:

4:30 How Dr Tom and Dr Marc first met and started their intellectual love affair, Dr Tom’s spine-tingling heart transplant story and how emotions form in our organs

16:00 Emotional development in children and the bi-directional relationship between the heart, brain and HRT

25:00 Heart rate and capacity and the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system

41:00 Why Germany is so evolved and leads the way globally in psychosomatic medicine, HRV, and some of complications around measuring it

50:30 What to do if you are time-poor, experience Andrew and Dr Tom have in measuring HRV and the positive effects of breathwork

1:06:00 40-45 minutes of breathing is the sweet spot, learn how to set up a good breathing routine and the importance of regulating stress as you age

1:20:00 The amazing results Dr Marc’s studies are showing in the German Police Force 

1:35:30 'PQ and You' with Hugo Fonseca. Hugo is a regular podcast listener and previous participant of a Performance Wellbeing program with Andrew. Listen how Hugo lost 35 kg, positively impacted his family's wellbeing and literally turned his life around

To find the resources mentioned in this episode go to: https://www.andrewmay.com/performance-intelligence-with-andrew-may/

Find Dr Marc at his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-marc-n-jarczok-8194a77b/

Read more about his Research: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marc-Jarczok

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