HRV Heart Rate Variability - How to get more energy?

Slonvinton

I have started using the Welltory app and this uses HRV to score your Health, Energy and Stress each day. My HRV is awful, nearly always in red (with the actual reading in the teens). I do feel as awful as the app is telling me I do- which is at least making me feel seen.

The question is what to do about it. As I undertstand it a low HRV means my body is stuck in fight or flight and the parasympathetic nevous system is not engaging to allow rest and restoration. There seems to be some involvement of the vegas nerve, but Im honestly too brain fogged to really have much of a grasp on this let alone having a plan what to do.

I need to regain energy so I can get my house ready to be rewired so Im getting a bit desperate. Everytime I overdo it I ended up bedridden for days, weeks or months… apparently this means I have "chronic fatigue".
My CPN seems to think this indicates ME Ive yet to have a proper diagnosis though…. he hasnt given any tips on how to get morew energy. I seem to be getting more knackered as time goes on and I dont know if part of that is the stress over needing to be ready to rewire.

Does anyone have any advice?

Rachel_Scope

Hi @Slonvinton. I'm not familiar with the Welltory app or the ins and outs of HRV. I struggle with fatigue and what I've learned is when to rest. I've had to accept that I'm unable to do as much as I used to and that my body needs some recuperation time. My doctor told me to have a 1 hour nap each day; are you able to do that?

Stress definitely contributes to tiredness as our minds have a million things swirling around and we struggle to make sense of it. What do you do for self-care?

Slonvinton

I dont really do much for self care.

I dont know how to address it all. I try to get the basics done, but Im not really managing keeping clean and fed properly (though thats an ongoing thing for last decade due to many other chronic health issues). Basically struggling to survive many bouts of very bad anaemia due to not being able to cook… I wonder if that has caused this new situation with fatigue- I dunno my GP was so useless I deregistered (temporarily just a break of feeling I should try to get help and wasting energy trying to get help). I think Im going into crisis mode with that decision I seem to be more knackered by the day. Welltory seems to think my health is ok, its just stress and energy that are awful (often in 90% range for stress and in low teen% for energy).

Community_Scope

This sounds very stressful @Slonvinton, is there another GP that you can register with in your area to have an appointment with and hopefully get some support?

A member of the team is going to pop you over an email in a little bit, please keep an eye out for it

Slonvinton

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1080741#Comment_1080741

There is but Im hoping the break from a GP is going to be helpful.

Ive still got the CPN so Im not completely cut loose from NHS- he is encouraging me to sign up with new GP, but I dont want to yet. He hasnt really given me any advice on the fatigue, right now Im spending increasing amounts of time in bed just because Im too tired to function. There seems to be an aspect of getting up, bending that is making me feel fatigue- often I feel like the day is going to be more energy filled than it is until I stand… but the Welltory app readings seem to indicate the truth even before I stand up etc. So it seems to be physical…. the HRV is what the app uses to generate the readings.