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How To Improve Your Heart Rate Variability (HRV) - Dr Leah Lagos

Dr Leah Lagos is a clinical psychologist, HRV performance coach and an author. Heart Rate Variability is one of the most important new metrics that people are using to gauge heart health, longevity and fitness, but improving it can be a minefield. Thankfully Dr Lagos has spent decades optimising the HRVs of some of the world's highest performers and today we get to hear her best advice. Expect to learn what HRV is and what it means for your overall health, what HRV’s relationship is to your brain function and heart health, the best way to improve your HRV, what most people get wrong when trying to optimise their HRV, the most surprising factors that can impact your HRV and much more… - 00:00 The History of HRV 03:42 Why HRV Lowers During Stress 06:57 What Determines HRV Range? 11:11 The Link Between HRV & Brain Function 15:52 Is it Beneficial to Hack Your HRV? 24:31 Finding Your Ideal Breath Rate 30:22 How We Should Breathe Throughout the Day 35:07 Impact of Nasal Breathing on HRV 39:08 Is This More Beneficial Than VO2 Max? 44:30 What People Get Wrong With HRV 48:13 Recommended Vagal Practices 51:51 Common Pitfalls in HRV Training 55:00 Where to Find Leah - Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/ Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic here - https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

Chris WilliamsonhostDr Leah Lagosguest
Aug 23, 202455mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Train Your Heart, Change Your Mind: Mastering HRV With Breath

  1. Dr. Leah Lagos explains heart rate variability (HRV) as a core marker of autonomic flexibility, resilience, and cardiovascular health, and traces its evolution from a clinical risk metric to a performance-optimization tool.
  2. She distinguishes between baseline HRV (your innate autonomic capacity) and moment-to-moment HRV “hacks,” arguing that long-term, structured resonant frequency breathing can permanently improve the former.
  3. Her 10–12 week protocol uses individualized slow breathing (around 5–6.5 breaths per minute) with visual pacers to train baroreflex function, enhance parasympathetic dominance, and improve cognitive control, stress recovery, and performance under pressure.
  4. Throughout, she emphasizes individualized responses: HRV ranges are personal, different lifestyle factors and interventions affect each person’s HRV uniquely, and the goal is to discover and train your own “elite self” physiology rather than chase others’ scores.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Treat HRV as your personal resilience fingerprint, not a leaderboard score.

HRV values are highly individual and reflect your autonomic range, sensitivity, and current stress load; comparing your numbers to others (especially elite athletes) is largely meaningless compared to understanding your own patterns and triggers.

Train baseline HRV with structured resonant breathing, not just quick hacks.

Lagos’ research shows that 10–12 weeks of breathing at your individual resonant frequency (about 5–6.5 breaths per minute, 15 minutes twice daily with a visual pacer) increases baroreflex gain and parasympathetic dominance, making your nervous system more precise and resilient even when you are not consciously breathing slowly.

Use bottom‑up physiology to “let go” of stress when cognition fails.

Because rumination and ‘just let it go’ advice are mostly beyond conscious control, training the autonomic nervous system via HRV biofeedback and breathing gives you a physiological off‑switch for stress that talk-based methods alone often can’t provide.

Leverage HRV to enhance cognitive control and decision-making.

Higher, well-trained HRV is linked to better prefrontal function and “cognitive dexterity” — the ability to focus deeply, pause before reacting, inhibit unhelpful impulses, and flexibly zoom in and out on problems — which is critical for leaders, athletes, and performers.

Use short, structured breathing bouts as in‑day calibration tools.

Outside of formal training, Lagos recommends ‘power fives’ (five slow breaths, often 4 seconds in and 6 seconds out) before stressful tasks, during transitions, or when you notice racing thoughts or elevated heart rate, to quickly return to your optimal baseline state.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

HRV is a measure of who you are – what amplifies you and what takes away from your natural gifts.

— Dr. Leah Lagos

People think about stress as, ‘Am I stressed or am I not?’ What we really should be talking about is your agility in handling it.

— Dr. Leah Lagos

First you have to teach the autonomic nervous system how to let go.

— Dr. Leah Lagos

If you do exactly what I’ve asked – 10 weeks, twice a day, 15 minutes – it works.

— Dr. Leah Lagos

It’s not just a change of heart, but a change of life.

— Dr. Leah Lagos

Definition, history, and clinical significance of HRVAutonomic flexibility, stress response, and the reptilian immobilization hypothesisBaseline HRV vs. short-term HRV “hacking” and performance statesResonant frequency breathing and baroreflex gain training (10–12 week protocol)HRV’s relationship with brain function, cognitive dexterity, and inhibitionLifestyle and behavioral factors influencing HRV (sleep, alcohol, exercise, supplements, therapies)Measurement pitfalls and best practices for tracking HRV with wearables

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