Live Well Be Well with Sarah Ann Macklin | Health, Lifestyle, Nutrition The Most Effective Ways to Improve Your Heart Rate Variability | Sarah Ann Macklin & Andy Galpin | Be Well Moments
Nov 3, 2025
In this enlightening discussion, Andy Galpin, an exercise scientist and professor renowned for his expertise in human performance, joins Sarah Ann Macklin. They dive into the science of heart rate variability (HRV) and its connection to overall health. Andy emphasizes the importance of foundational habits like sleep, exercise, and nutrition over short-term hacks like cold plunges and saunas. He also clarifies that while these methods have their place, they shouldn’t replace core health practices for lasting improvements in HRV.
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Prioritize Core Health Habits
- Prioritize sleep, exercise, nutrition and weight loss to raise HRV significantly.
- Addressing these big habits produces far larger HRV gains than small hacks.
HRV As An Autonomic Balance Marker
- HRV reflects the autonomic balance between parasympathetic and sympathetic states.
- Higher HRV indicates more parasympathetic (rest) and lower HRV suggests sympathetic dominance (stress).
Cold Plunges Cause Rebound HRV
- Expect an immediate HRV drop during cold exposure followed by a multi-hour parasympathetic rebound.
- Use cold plunges knowing they cause a short-term sympathetic spike but later raise HRV temporarily.