Heart rate variability reflects self-regulatory strength, effort, and fatigue
Abstract
Experimental research reliably demonstrates that self-regulatory deficits are a consequence of prior self-regulatory effort. However, in naturalistic settings, although people know that they are sometimes vulnerable to saying, eating, or doing the wrong thing, they cannot accurately gauge their capacity to self-regulate at any given time. Because self-regulation and autonomic regulation colocalize in the brain, an autonomic measure, heart rate variability (HRV), could provide an index of self-regulatory strength and activity. During an experimental manipulation of self-regulation (eating carrots or cookies), HRV was elevated during high self-regulatory effort (eat carrots, resist cookies) compared with low self-regulatory effort (eat cookies, resist carrots). The experimental manipulation and higher HRV at baseline independently predicted persistence at a subsequent anagram task. HRV appears to index self-regulatory strength and effort, making it possible to study these phenomena in the field as well as the lab.
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High resting cardiac vagal control predicts persistence on a difficult anagram task.
“Segerstrom and Solberg Nes (2007) found that high resting CVC predicted persistence on a difficult anagram task.”
From Psychological flexibility as a fundamental aspect of health (2010) · cites this paper as Segerstrom and Solberg Nes (2007)
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BackgroundSelf-citation
- Authors
- Segerstrom, S. C., & Nes, L. S.
- Affiliations
- University of Kentucky (US)
- Corresponding author
- Segerstrom, Suzanne C.
- Venue
- Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2007-03
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 275-281
- ISSN
- 0956-7976 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9280
- OpenAlex
- W2033837921
- Cited by
- 606
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 42 · 2019: 53 · 2018: 39 · 2017: 41 · 2016: 46 · 2015: 43 · 2014: 35 · 2013: 28 · 2012: 25
- FWCI
- 12.87
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- heart rate variability, self-regulation, self-regulatory fatigue, autonomic regulation, task persistence, dietary habits, anagram task
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Electrocardiography, Physical Exertion, Fatigue, Female, Food Preferences, Heart Rate, Humans, Internal-External Control, Male, Motivation, Social Control, Informal, Students, Task Performance and Analysis
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