Not reliably. A 2021 meta-analysis of 19 randomised trials found that mindfulness and meditation programmes did not raise resting heart rate Resting heart rate How many times your heart beats per minute while you are fully at rest. For adults it is usually 60 to 100 beats per minute, and lower in well-trained athletes. More about Resting heart rate variability (HRV) more than control conditions, while slow breathing does raise HRV clearly, at least while you are doing it.
What the meditation trials found
Brown and colleagues searched six research databases and pooled 19 randomised trials of mostly seated mindfulness or meditation programmes that measured resting, vagally mediated HRV Vagal tone The ongoing influence of the vagus nerve on the heart, which slows it down. It is usually estimated from HRV measures such as RMSSD and HF power. More about Vagal tone (Brown and colleagues, 2021). “Vagally mediated” means measures such as RMSSD RMSSD Root mean square of successive differences: an HRV metric built from how much each heartbeat interval differs from the next. It mainly reflects vagal activity. More about RMSSD and high-frequency ( HF HF power The share of heart rate variability in fast rhythms of 0.15 to 0.40 Hz, the range of normal breathing. It mainly reflects vagal activity when breathing is 9 to 24 breaths a minute. More about HF power ) power, which the 1996 Task Force standards tie mainly to the vagus nerve Vagus nerve The main nerve of the parasympathetic nervous system, running from the brainstem to the heart, lungs and gut. Its fast signals to the heart drive most beat-to-beat HRV. More about Vagus nerve (Task Force, 1996).
The results were:
- Overall: a small to medium effect in favour of meditation (Hedges’ g = 0.38), but the range of likely values included zero, so it was not statistically significant.
- Without one outlier: one trial reported a huge effect (g = 3.22). With it removed, the effect shrank to g = 0.19, still not significant.
- Mixed results: the trials disagreed a lot with each other, and the length of the programme, the setting and the type of control group did not explain why.
The authors concluded there is not enough evidence that meditation programmes raise vagal HRV more than control conditions. They called for larger, better-run trials, so the question is still open.
Slow breathing does raise HRV
Many people expect meditation to raise HRV because they see a big number during a session. The likely reason is breathing.
When you breathe slowly, at around six breaths a minute, your heart speeds up as you breathe in and slows as you breathe out, and those swings grow much larger. Lehrer and Gevirtz describe the swings growing to many times their resting size, often within a fraction of a minute, in almost everyone (Lehrer and Gevirtz, 2014). HRV measures exactly that beat-to-beat swing, so it jumps.
A 2022 review by Laborde and colleagues pooled 223 studies of slow breathing. Vagal HRV was higher during the breathing (172 studies), right after a single session (16 studies), and after programmes of repeated practice (49 studies) (Laborde and colleagues, 2022). The effect during practice is the clearest. The lasting effect rests on fewer studies.
So if a meditation slows your breathing to around six breaths a minute, HRV will rise during it because of the breathing. A meditation where you breathe normally may not move it.
What this means for your own data
- Do not take your daily reading during or right after a session. It will not be comparable with your other mornings. The breathing exercises answer explains why.
- To test a practice, look at your baseline Baseline Your own usual HRV level and range, built from weeks of readings taken the same way. Comparing a reading with your baseline says more than comparing it with other people. More about Baseline . Keep measuring at your usual time, and compare your 7-day average before and after several weeks.
- If HRV is your goal, slow breathing has better evidence. You can combine the two by pacing your breath during meditation. For other options, see how to increase HRV.
- Judge meditation by more than HRV. These trials only measured HRV. They say nothing either way about mood, stress or sleep.
When to talk to a doctor
Meditation and slow breathing are safe for most people. If they make you dizzy, short of breath or more anxious, stop and breathe normally, and ask a doctor or trained therapist before trying again. If you have a heart or lung condition, check with your doctor first. Neither practice should replace treatment for anxiety, depression or any heart condition.