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Submaximal exercise intensity modulates acute post-exercise heart rate variability

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Abstract

Purpose

This study investigated whether short-term heart rate variability (HRV) can be used to differentiate between the immediate recovery periods following three different intensities of preceding exercise.

Methods

12 males cycled for 8 min at three intensities: LOW (40–45 %), MOD (75–80 %) and HIGH (90–95 %) of heart rate (HR) reserve. HRV was assessed during exercise and throughout 10-min seated recovery.

Results

1-min HR recovery was reduced following greater exercise intensities when expressed as R–R interval (RRI, ms) (p < 0.001), but not b min−1 (p = 0.217). During exercise, the natural logarithm of root mean square of successive differences (Ln-RMSSD) was higher during LOW (1.66 ± 0.47 ms) relative to MOD (1.14 ± 0.32 ms) and HIGH (1.30 ± 0.25 ms) (p ≤ 0.037). Similar results were observed for high-frequency spectra (Ln-HF—LOW: 2.9 ± 1.0; MOD: 1.6 ± 0.6; HIGH: 1.6 ± 0.3 ms2, p < 0.001). By 1-min recovery, higher preceding exercise intensities resulted in lower HRV amongst all three intensities for Ln-RMSSD (LOW: 3.45 ± 0.58; MOD: 2.34 ± 0.81; HIGH: 1.66 ± 0.78 ms, p < 0.001) and Ln-HF (LOW: 6.0 ± 1.0; MOD: 4.3 ± 1.4; HIGH: 2.8 ± 1.4 ms2, p < 0.001). Similarly, by 1-min recovery ‘HR-corrected’ HRV (Ln-RMSSD: RRI × 103) was different amongst all three intensities (LOW: 3.64 ± 0.49; MOD: 2.90 ± 0.65; HIGH: 2.40 ± 0.67, p < 0.001). These differences were maintained throughout 10-min recovery (p ≤ 0.027).

Conclusion

Preceding exercise intensity has a graded effect on recovery HRV measures reflecting cardiac vagal activity, even after correcting for the underlying HR. The immediate recovery following exercise is a potentially useful period to investigate autonomic activity, as multiple levels of autonomic activity can be clearly differentiated between using HRV. When investigating post-exercise HRV it is critical to account for the relative exercise intensity.

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Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

ANS:

Autonomic nervous system

LF:

Low-frequency spectral power (0.04–0.15 Hz)

Ln:

Natural-logarithm transformation

HF:

High-frequency spectral power (0.15–1.50 Hz)

HIGH:

High exercise intensity (90–95 % heart rate reserve)

HR:

Heart rate

HRR:

Heart rate recovery

HRR60 :

Absolute difference in heart rate between end of exercise and at 60 s of recovery

%HRR60 :

Difference in heart rate between end of exercise and at 60 s of recovery, as a percentage of the final exercising heart rate

HRV:

Heart rate variability

LOW:

Low exercise intensity (40–45 % heart rate reserve)

MOD:

Moderate exercise intensity (75–80 % heart rate reserve)

nu:

Normalized units (normalized to total spectral power)

RMSSD:

Root mean square of successive differences of R–R intervals

RRI:

R–R interval

RRI60 :

Absolute difference in R–R interval between end of exercise and at 60 s of recovery

%RRI60 :

Difference in R–R interval between end of exercise and at 60 s of recovery, as a percentage of the final exercising R–R interval

SD:

Standard deviation

SDRR:

Standard deviation of R–R intervals

T30:

Negative reciprocal of the slope of the regression line of natural-logarithmic transformed HR during the first 30 s of recovery

TP:

Total spectral power (0.04–1.50 Hz)

VO2 :

Rate of oxygen uptake

VO2peak:

Peak rate of oxygen uptake achieved during an incremental exercise test

VT1:

First ventilation threshold

VT2:

Second ventilation threshold

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the participants who volunteered for this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Discipline of Exercise and Sports Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, C103, Cumberland Campus, Lidcombe, NSW, 2141, Australia

    Scott Michael, Ollie Jay, Mark Halaki & Glen M. Davis

  2. New South Wales Institute of Sport, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW, Australia

    Kenneth Graham

Authors
  1. Scott Michael
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  2. Ollie Jay
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  3. Mark Halaki
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  4. Kenneth Graham
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  5. Glen M. Davis
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Scott Michael.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the University of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC reference: 2012/478) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Additional information

Communicated by Massimo Pagani.

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Michael, S., Jay, O., Halaki, M. et al. Submaximal exercise intensity modulates acute post-exercise heart rate variability. Eur J Appl Physiol 116, 697–706 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-016-3327-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-016-3327-9

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