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Use Your Heart Rate Monitor to Improve Your Health (feat. Torkil Færø)
Episode 288
Have you ever wondered how much your body is telling you—and what you might be missing? Could looking at one more metric from your wearable device, like heart rate variability (HRV), unlock the secrets to better sleep, reduced stress, and improved overall health?
In this episode of Salad with a Side of Fries, Jenn Trepeck welcomes Dr. Torkil Færø, a GP, emergency physician, author of The Pulse Cure, and advocate for the transformative power of wearables in health optimization. Torkil shares his journey of exploring devices like Whoop and Garmin to uncover hidden stressors, track heart rate variability (HRV), and make meaningful lifestyle changes that dramatically improve health. From understanding the connection between HRV and chronic stress to identifying surprising factors like late-night meals and alcohol that impact sleep and recovery, this conversation dives deep into how wearables can enhance our understanding of the body. Dr. Færø also discusses HRV’s role in improving PMS symptoms, offers actionable advice for boosting HRV, and explains why personalized data is key to unlocking better health.
The Salad With a Side of Fries podcast is hosted by Jenn Trepeck, discussing wellness and weight loss for real life, clearing up the myths, misinformation, bad science & marketing surrounding our nutrition knowledge and the food industry. Let’s dive into wellness and weight loss for real life, including drinking, eating out, and skipping the grocery store.
IN THIS EPISODE:
- [6:04] Dr. Færø explains why he began to focus on wearables
- [11:26] Humans can’t sense our inner stress levels
- [14:55] Heart rate numbers are individual, and the connection between low heart rate and disease
- [23:34] Unexpected sources of stress and the sleep connection
- [29:21] How heart rate variability can improve PMS symptoms
- [32:45] Dr. Faero gives advice to see improvement in heart rate variability
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- HRV is a powerful tool for tracking stress and overall health. By using wearables to monitor HRV, individuals can learn how lifestyle choices—like diet, alcohol intake, and exercise—affect their bodies. A higher HRV typically reflects a restful, adaptive state, while a lower HRV may indicate chronic stress or other concerns. Notably, the focus is on individual patterns and baselines rather than comparing numbers with others, ensuring a personalized approach to health tracking.
- Wearables can uncover hidden stressors, like inflammatory foods or alcohol, that traditional medical training can overlook. By making informed changes, such as reducing alcohol intake, eating earlier dinners, and incorporating stress management techniques like breathwork or cold plunges. These tools serve as a modern extension of human senses, allowing users to “listen” to their bodies in ways evolution never equipped us for.
- Eating late or consuming alcohol can lower heart rate variability (HRV), resulting in less restorative sleep, even if total sleep hours are unchanged. To improve sleep quality, it’s essential to wind down 1–2 hours before bedtime through calming activities like meditation, dimming lights, and avoiding late-night meals or alcohol. Additionally, keeping the bedroom cool (around 67–68°F) enhances sleep quality, as seen through wearable HRV data.
- Wearables provide insight into stress and health management. Devices like Whoop and Garmin track HRV, offering data on recovery, stress levels, and readiness for physical or mental exertion. This information can help prevent burnout by signaling when stress levels are unsustainable and encouraging proactive adjustments like yoga, better sleep habits, or dietary changes. For women, these wearables have even been used to manage PMS symptoms by identifying stress patterns and adjusting activities accordingly.
QUOTES:
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Published on 11 months ago