Stress and Heart Rate Variability: A Meta-Analysis and Review of the Literature

Abstract

ObjectivePhysical or mental imbalance caused by harmful stimuli can induce stress to maintain homeostasis. During chronic stress, the sympathetic nervous system is hyperactivated, causing physical, psychological, and behavioral abnormalities. At present, there is no accepted standard for stress evaluation. This review aimed to survey studies providing a rationale for selecting heart rate variability (HRV) as a psychological stress indicator. MethodsTerm searches in the Web of Science®, National Library of Medicine (PubMed), and Google Scholar databases yielded 37 publications meeting our criteria. The inclusion criteria were involvement of human participants, HRV as an objective psychological stress measure, and measured HRV reactivity. ResultsIn most studies, HRV variables changed in response to stress induced by various methods. The most frequently reported factor associated with variation in HRV variables was low parasympathetic activity, which is characterized by a decrease in the high-frequency band and an increase in the low-frequency band. Neuroimaging studies suggested that HRV may be linked to cortical regions (e.g., the ventromedial prefrontal cortex) that are involved in stressful situation appraisal. ConclusionIn conclusion, the current neurobiological evidence suggests that HRV is impacted by stress and supports its use for the objective assessment of psychological health and stress.

Anxiety and Psycho-Physiological Stress Response to Competitive Sport Exercise

“…Compared to G N-ANX, the stress response to the exercise was higher in G ANX: G ANX exhibited (Selye, 1950) in immediate post-exercise, greater level in activation markers, and mental fatigue associated with a same level of physical fatigue and (Kim et al, 2018) in nocturnal post-exercise, an increase in sympathetic activation associated with a higher sleep fragmentation.…”

“…The heart rate variability dynamically informs about the regulation of the balance between the sympathetic and the parasympathetic ANS (Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology and the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology, 1996; Kim et al, 2018). When it is well-regulated (eustress), the stress expresses a physiological mechanism managing acute and chronic biological costs.…”

Assessment of visual fatigue under LED tunable white light with different blue components

“…HRV was greatly impacted by blue‐enriched white light since the proportion of LF and HF power to total power also increased significantly, as well as the decreases of SampEn and FuzzyMEn. HRV variation is controlled by a primitive part of the nervous system, ANS, and it represents the ability of the heart to respond to a variety of physiological and environmental stimuli . Based on our results, lighting conditions had a great effect on HRV, with greater increases of LF power and LF/HF ratio under blue‐enriched white light exposure than blue‐less white light as well as the more reduction of HFn and FuzzyMEn.…”

Prolonged bouts of sedentary time and cardiac autonomic function in midlife

“…The possibly complex explanation for the positive association between prolonged SED and rMSSD in this study includes both physiological factors and underlying confounders. Bodily stress (mental, physical) decreases HRV because of increased sympathetic activity and the withdrawal of parasympathetic activity . Presumably, the amount and type of stressors occurring during leisure time compared with work differ and partly affect this discrepancy.…”