Bitesize Biohack: How To Improve Your HRV

Apr 10, 2025

Kristen Holmes, VP of Performance Science at WHOOP and a specialist in athlete performance, joins to discuss the fascinating world of heart rate variability (HRV). They explore how HRV reflects one's ability to handle stress and the surprising role of lifestyle choices, like sleep quality and diet. Kristen emphasizes the importance of sleep-wake regularity for both physical and mental health. Listeners will learn how individual history and habits can affect HRV, making it a key metric for well-being and performance.

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INSIGHT

HRV Reflects Stress Adaptation

Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects how well we adapt to stress and correlates with overall health.
Your baseline HRV depends on lifetime behaviors but can improve significantly with better health habits.

ANECDOTE

Kristen's HRV Improvement Journey

Kristen Holmes improved her HRV by 27 milliseconds over seven years through consistent health behaviors.
She started with a baseline in the high 60s and now maintains HRV around 80 in her late forties.

ADVICE

Stabilize Sleep-Wake Times

Consistently stabilize your sleep-wake times to significantly improve HRV and reduce injury and illness.
Sleep-wake regularity predicts workplace resilience, psychological functioning, and deeper sleep stages.

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Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is one of the most powerful biomarkers we have for understanding how well our body adapts to stress, and it's a core focus in my BioSyncing® Blueprint. But what actually moves the needle on HRV the most?

In this week’s bite-sized episode, I’m sharing a clip from my conversation with Kristen Holmes, VP of Performance Science at WHOOP. Kristen reveals the surprising lifestyle factor that had the biggest impact on her own HRV—one she tracked with elite athletes and validated through scientific research. Plus, I share the tool I’ve been testing to optimise my recovery and circadian rhythms: the Ultra Human Ring.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Sleep-Wake Consistency is Key: Regular bed and wake times predict HRV, workplace resilience, and even academic performance.
Circadian Rhythm Disruption = Lower HRV: Misaligned rhythms are linked to reduced deep sleep and increased stress load.
Tracking HRV Over Time: Your baseline is shaped by past behaviours—but you can improve it.
One-Minute Changes Matter: Even small shifts in sleep timing variability can impact your HRV and resting heart rate.
The Ultra Human Ring Advantage: No subscription, deep insights on sleep, recovery, and glucose—all in one place.
Scientific Backing: Referenced studies from Nature and Military Medicine support the HRV-sleep connection.
Women’s Health Insights: Kristen highlights how sleep regularity supports psychological and physiological resilience, especially in demanding environments.

TIMESTAMPS AND KEY TOPICS

0:00 – Introduction

1:20 – Lifestyle factors influencing HRV

2:09 – HRV as a measure of stress adaptation

2:48 – Kristen’s 7-year HRV improvement

3:16 – Angela confirms HRV baseline context

3:53 – Harvard study on sleep regularity and GPA

4:46 – Athlete data validates sleep consistency

6:11 – Sleep-wake consistency is Kristen’s top strategy

6:44 – Circadian disruption and mental health

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Get a free snapshot of your health and personalised report at www.yourtotalhealthcheck.com

Join The High Performance Health Community

A BIG thank you to our sponsors who make the show possible:

Save 10% on The Ultra Human Ring at www.ultrahuman.com/AngelaFoster

To listen to the full episode with Kristen Holmes - https://lnk.to/EP317

ABOUT THE HOST

Angela Foster is an award winning Nutritionist, Health & Performance Coach, Speaker and Host of the High Performance Health podcast. A former Corporate lawyer turned industry leader in biohacking and health optimisation for women, Angela has been featured in various media including Huff Post, Runners world, The Health Optimisation Summit, BrainTap, The Women’s Biohacking Conference, Livestrong & Natural Health Magazine.

Angela is the creator of BioSyncing®️ a blueprint for ambitious entrepreneurial women to biohack their health so they can 10X how they show up in their business and their family without burning out.

The High Performance Health Podcast is a top rated global podcast. Each week, Angela brings you a new insight, biohack or high performance habit to help you unlock optimal health, longevity and higher performance. Hit the follow button to make sure you get notified each time Angela releases a new episode.

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