2018 Volume 45 Issue 2 Pages 79-85
Heart rate variability (HRV), fluctuations of the heart rate that are characterized by normal beat-to-beat changes in cardiovascular autonomic control, has been widely used in psychophysiology and related areas for investigating autonomic nervous system activity. This article focuses on high frequency (HF) and low frequency (LF) components of HRV, and briefly reviews their autonomic neural regulatory function and cardiorespiratory resting function, as well as the therapeutic effects of HRV biofeedback (HRVBF). The analysis of HRV provides a useful tool for evaluating cardiorespiratory resting function. Therefore, the use of HRV is expected to spread to daily settings such as workplaces and schools for maintaining and improving psychophysiological adaptability. Moreover, it is anticipated that technological developments related to HRV measurement and evaluation will progress. As a result, the responsibility for the proper management of knowledge regarding HRV and HRVBF will also increase. Therefore, further HRV studies are needed to elucidate the exact mechanisms for improving the cardiorespiratory resting function.
