Expert in post-workout recovery emphasizes a specific indicator to monitor, contrasting it with your readiness rating
In the world of sports science, Professor Shona Halson, deputy director of the SPRINT Research Centre at ACU's School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, has made significant strides in understanding recovery and performance.
Heart Rate Variability (HRV), a measure of the variation in the intervals between heartbeats, is a key focus for Halson. A lower HRV, characterised by more monotonous or regular heartbeats, could indicate stress and is linked to higher mortality risk. On the contrary, a higher HRV is associated with better working memory, overall physical and mental health, and even reproductive health.
Halson finds sleep and HRV to be the most interesting metrics from a recovery perspective. She recommends aiming for between 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night and maintaining a consistent sleep-wake routine. Mental fatigue, she asserts, is as important to consider as physical fatigue.
Subjective feelings, such as tiredness, soreness, irritability, or lethargy, are more reliable predictors of an athlete's performance than data from fitness trackers, according to Halson. During her PhD, she found that subjective feelings were the best predictor of an athlete's performance. Asking simple questions, like 'How are you feeling?', she believes, is a far more reliable predictor of how an athlete would subsequently perform, compared to data from fitness trackers.
Lifestyle changes like regular exercise, a balanced diet, and enough sleep are great places to start for regulating the nervous system. Breathing exercises could also be beneficial for regulating the nervous system. Building mental stamina, mindfulness, or mental strength is key to performance, Halson states.
Health and fitness trackers, including the best smart rings, are focusing more on HRV for recovery. Fluctuations in HRV act as markers of the autonomic nervous system and physiological resilience. HRV is measured more accurately at night when external stressors like alarms are not present. Regulating the nervous system is crucial for those with low HRV, which can be achieved by better stress management.
Shona Halson's work has had a profound impact, having been the head recovery physiologist at the Australian Institute of Sport and leading recovery for three Olympic campaigns. Her insights offer valuable guidance for athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and anyone seeking to improve their overall well-being.
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