ESSENTIAL 5 · READING GUIDE
Measurement
Understand what a signal, questionnaire or composite index actually measures.
A curated introduction to the question, with a reason to read each selection. This guide is not a systematic review or an evidence ranking.
- 01
Start with the protocol: what should be considered when recording and reporting HRV?
2017 · Methodological reviewHeart Rate Variability and Cardiac Vagal Tone in Psychophysiological Research - Recommendations for Experiment Planning, Data Analysis, and Data Reporting
Sylvain Laborde · Emma Mosley · Julian F. Thayer
Frontiers in Psychology - 02
Question the interpretation: why is the LF/HF ratio not a straightforward measure of autonomic balance?
2013 · Methodological reviewThe LF/HF ratio does not accurately measure cardiac sympatho-vagal balance
George E. Billman
Frontiers in Physiology - 03
Compare a questionnaire: which experiences does the Recovery Experience Questionnaire assess?
2007 · Measurement studyThe Recovery Experience Questionnaire: development and validation of a measure for assessing recuperation and unwinding from work
Sabine Sonnentag · Charlotte Fritz
Journal of Occupational Health Psychology - 04
Move to a composite index: how do marker selection and scoring change the measure?
2022 · Systematic reviewAllostatic Load Measurement: A Systematic Review of Reviews, Database Inventory, and Considerations for Neighborhood Research
Shawna Beese · Julie Postma · Janessa M. Graves
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - 05
Ask about comparability: what can a multi-cohort analysis contribute to harmonisation?
2023 · Meta-analysisTowards a consensus definition of allostatic load: a multi-cohort, multi-system, multi-biomarker individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis
Cathal McCrory · Sinead McLoughlin · Richard Layte · Cliona NiCheallaigh · Aisling M. O’Halloran · Henrique Barros · Lisa F. Berkman · Murielle Bochud · Eileen M. Crimmins · Meagan T. Farrell · Silvia Fraga · Emily Grundy · Michelle Kelly-Irving · Dusan Petrovic · Teresa Seeman · Silvia Stringhini · Peter Vollenveider · Rose Anne Kenny
Psychoneuroendocrinology
Explore Measurement & Interpretation →
A way into the research.
Choose a question. Read the selections in order, then explore the full library.
Allostatic Load
From the cost of adaptation to the choices behind a multi-system index.
Recovery Science
Connect recovery at work, after lost sleep and in sport—while keeping the outcomes distinct.
Reserve & Resilience
Separate capacity from response, and follow how different fields define resilience.
Measurement
Understand what a signal, questionnaire or composite index actually measures.
Selected for a useful reading sequence. The order is not an evidence ranking.