Extend Podcast with Darshan Shah, MD

38. Salim Najjar: Feeling Stressed & Tired? Your HRV Might Hold the Answer

Mar 1, 2025

Salim Najjar, an HRV expert and biohacker, shares his journey of optimizing health through heart rate variability. He emphasizes that stress is a signal to be managed rather than eliminated. Najjar discusses how HRV can predict recovery needs before you even feel fatigued. He provides actionable strategies for improving sleep and resilience through personalized nutrition and movement. Additionally, he redefines stress from a negative force to a catalyst for growth, highlighting the link between emotional processing and overall well-being.

36:12

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Salim Najjar

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Quick takeaways

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is a vital indicator of resilience and health, reflecting how the body adapts to stressors.

Embracing stress as a learning opportunity, rather than merely avoiding it, can enhance recovery strategies and overall well-being.

Deep dives

Understanding Heart Rate Variability (HRV)

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) serves as a crucial biomarker that measures how well the heart and nervous system respond to stress. A higher HRV indicates better resilience and recovery, contributing to overall longevity and health. This metric reflects the time variability between heartbeats, showcasing how the body adapts to external stressors. By monitoring HRV, individuals can gain insight into their physical and emotional well-being, allowing them to tailor lifestyle approaches for better health outcomes.

Intro

3min

Unlocking Health: The Role of Nutrition and HRV

3min

Understanding Individual Dietary Needs and the Power of Movement

3min

Understanding Heart Rate Variability and Recovery

16min

Reframing Stress: From Challenge to Growth

4min

Healing Through Emotion and HRV

8min

What if the key to peak performance and longevity isn’t just in your workouts, diet, or sleep, but in how well your body handles stress? Optimizing your health isn’t just about the latest supplements or fitness trends, it’s about understanding your nervous system, heart rate variability (HRV), and how small daily habits shape your resilience over time. Most people try to eliminate stress, but the real goal is building the ability to recover faster and adapt better.

In this episode, I sit down with Salim Najjar, an HRV expert and biohacker who took his health to the next level by learning how to regulate his nervous system. We break down why stress is a signal, not a problem, how HRV can predict when your body needs rest before you even feel it, and the most effective ways to improve recovery, sleep, and overall well-being.

Salim is a biohacker, entrepreneur, and founder of Sound Beverages, a company focused on functional health drinks. After years of pushing his body with extreme training and biohacking, he discovered the missing piece: HRV as a measure of how well the body adapts to stress. Now, he teaches others how to improve their HRV, manage stress more effectively, and use data to optimize performance and longevity.

If you’re looking for real, actionable strategies to train your nervous system, boost recovery, and perform at your best, this episode is for you! Let’s dive in.

We Also Discuss:

00:00 - 07:45 — Why HRV Is the Most Important Health Metric

07:46 - 14:30 — The Connection Between Stress, Emotions, and HRV

14:31 - 19:00 — Science-Backed Hacks to Improve HRV

19:01 - 24:30 — The Biggest Mistakes People Make When Trying to Boost HRV

24:31 - 27:30 — Tracking HRV: The Best Wearables and Tools for Accurate Data

27:31 - 30:00 — How to Use HRV Data for Better Performance & Longevity

Learn more about Dr. Shah:

Website: https://www.drshah.com/

Clinic: https://www.next-health.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darshanshahmd/

Learn More about Salim Najjar:

If you are ready to unlock your body's innate wisdom and tap into the transformative power of HRV, join Salim's mailing list for exclusive early access to his HRV Mastery program below: https://mailchi.mp/thathrvguy/br64h15j2n

Instagram: @thathrvguy

Website: www.thathrvguy.com