Because it reflects stress and nervous system health, heart rate variability also seems to be a strong indicator of mental health. A 2023 research review found that, across most studies, heart rate variability tends to be lower among people with anxiety and depression, compared to people without these diagnoses. Someone with clinical anxiety is in “a continuous state of stress or duress,” says Larsson. “There, you see a continuously reduced level of heart rate variability,” signalling that their body is stuck in fight-or-flight mode.
Heart rate variability might provide insight into how well you are ageing
Other research has found that people with conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder, dementia and schizophrenia often have lower-than-normal scores. In some cases, when people with psychiatric diagnoses receive treatments such as psychotherapy or transcranial magnetic stimulation, their heart rate variability subsequently improves, suggesting the nervous system is working better, according to a 2025 research review. (Other studies, however, have shown that psychiatric treatments, such as certain antidepressant medications, can lower heart rate variability as part of their broader effects on the nervous system.)
These conclusions must be taken with caution, however. Many studies of heart rate variability and mental health are small, unreplicated and subject to a common problem in the field: there are lots of ways to measure heart rate variability – monitoring people for five minutes compared to a full day, say. Some devices are also more accurate than others, which makes it hard to standardise findings.
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