Summary
Healthcare workers experiencing burnout show significantly reduced HRV compared to non-burned-out colleagues. HRV monitoring may help detect burnout early, before severe symptoms develop.
Methods
Cross-sectional study of healthcare workers during pandemic
Key Findings
- Burned-out workers had 20-30% lower SDNN and RMSSD
- HRV correlated inversely with burnout severity scores
- Reduced HRV preceded full burnout syndrome in some cases
- Recovery from burnout associated with HRV improvement
- Night-shift workers showed greater HRV disruption
Limitations
Healthcare-specific population, cross-sectional design
What This Means for You
If you're experiencing work stress, declining HRV may be an early warning sign of burnout. Use HRV trends to inform work-life balance decisions before reaching complete exhaustion.
Source
Read the original paper in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ↗
Added to HRV Zone: 2025-01-10