051: The Power of Heart Rate Variability with Dr. Torkil Færø: Listening to Your Body’s Pulse

💫 Episode SummaryIn this episode of Real Food Mental Health, Cody Cox sits down with Dr. Torkil Færø—Norwegian physician, filmmaker, and author of The Pulse Cure—to explore how heart rate variability (HRV) can transform the way we understand stress, recovery, and overall well-being.Dr. Færø shares insights from his 26 years in medicine and his own personal journey to reclaim health after burnout. Together, Cody and Dr. Færø discuss how wearable devices like Garmin, Oura Ring, and Whoop can act as “a doctor on your wrist,” providing real-time feedback on stress, sleep, food reactions, and lifestyle balance.🩺 What You’ll Learn: What heart rate variability (HRV) actually measures—and why a higher HRV is a good thing How HRV reveals the balance between your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems Why Garmin stands out among wearable health trackers The surprising ways that food, alcohol, and sleep habits affect your HRV and stress levels How breathing exercises and slow exhalation can instantly improve HRV The eight lifestyle habits that can extend your life by up to 24 years Why taking personal responsibility for your health is more powerful than any prescription🌿 Key Takeaways Alcohol is the #1 stressor on HRV—minimize it to support recovery and longevity. Stop eating 3–4 hours before bed to improve sleep quality and HRV. Simple breathwork—four seconds in, six seconds out—can instantly calm your nervous system. HRV is a window into your physiology, showing how daily habits influence your inner balance. Lifestyle medicine is preventive medicine—what you do daily shapes your health decades from now.📘 About the GuestDr. Torkil Færø is a Norwegian general practitioner, emergency physician, filmmaker, and author of The Pulse Cure. His work bridges medicine, technology, and lifestyle science, showing how we can use wearable data to take control of our health.🌍 Website: thepulsecure.com📚 Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and major audiobook platforms.🔗 Resources Mentioned: The Pulse Cure by Dr. Torkil Færø Garmin Wearables and Body Battery metrics The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk HRV-focused practices like HeartMath and mindful breathingConnect with Cody: If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with anyone who might benefit from these insights. * Have questions or suggestions? Send Cody a message on Signal Messenger: cox.07* Follow Cody on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ for more tips and conversations about holistic nutrition, mental health, and family wellness.* To support Cody and the production of this podcast, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠ko-fi.com/codycox ⁠⁠⁠⁠* Visit his website at ⁠⁠⁠⁠beavercreekwellness.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ where you can read more about him and schedule sessions.