Markus 39 years, Architect
Small Changes, Big Impact: How Tracking My Heart Helped Me Feel Better Than Ever
I’m Markus, a 39-year-old architect, running my own business and, until recently, believing I had a pretty good handle on stress. Long hours, tight deadlines, and constant mental juggling were just part of the job. I thought I was managing it well, until I decided to measure my heart rate variability (HRV) with Autonom Health.
A friend had mentioned HRV as a way to track stress and recovery, and my curiosity got the better of me. I signed up for a quick short-term measurement. I felt fine, but the results suggested otherwise, elevated stress levels, reduced vagal activity, and signs that my body was operating under a constant state of strain. My doctor recommended a deeper look with a 24-hour HRV recording. I was skeptical, but I agreed.
The process was simple. I wore a small HRV recorder throughout my day, logging my activities via the Autonom Health app. It didn’t interfere with my work, my meals, or my sleep. It was easy to forget I was even being monitored.
But when the results came in, I couldn’t ignore them. My biological age was 50.75, nearly 12 years older than my actual age. My burnout risk was alarmingly high. Only 9% of men my age had lower parasympathetic activity. My sleep quality was marked in red, showing it was far from restorative.
Seeing my HRV results translated into a lifefire spectrograph, a visual representation of my body’s energy reserves, was a wake-up call. It wasn’t just numbers; it was a real-time reflection of how depleted I was.
Sitting down with my doctor, the conversation was sobering. My lifestyle, late nights, back-to-back projects, little time for recovery, was pushing my nervous system into overdrive. My wife had been telling me for years that I needed to prioritize sleep, but seeing this data made it undeniable. I couldn’t argue with the numbers.
That day, I made a decision. I started small but intentionally:
At least 7 hours of sleep each night.
Cutting back on late-night work
Building recovery time into my schedule
Committing to a follow-up HRV test in six weeks
When I repeated the 24-hour measurement, the results were undeniable. My biological age dropped by 8 years. My burnout risk was now minimal. My sleep quality had improved significantly. My overall performance potential had increased.
For the first time in years, I felt in control of my health. The most surprising part? These were small, manageable lifestyle changes, but the impact was profound.
I always thought I was handling stress well. But HRV showed me that what we think and what our bodies experience are often two very different things. Measuring my HRV gave me insight,
awareness, and a concrete way to track my progress. It wasn’t just about stress, it was about recovery, energy, and resilience.
If you think you’re managing fine, like I did, I encourage you to measure, not guess. It might just change everything.
