Let’s say I go run a 10K or do as many push-ups as I can and then sit and meditate. Presuming I’m healthy and young, approximately how long will it take for my blood pressure and heart rate to come back to their baseline if I don’t provide further excitation?
What if I’m almost hit by a car or wake up from a scary nightmare, provided I don’t further add to it, how long until I’m back to baseline?
When parts of the brain increase in activity, more blood gets routed there. How long would it take for brain blood flow, especially to the amygdala, to come back to baseline after I almost get hit by a car or wake up from a nightmare?
Yes, I know, a lot of it is “It depends” but if that’s your answer, please provide a typical range and what factors it depends on. If you have anecdata to contribute, that may not single-handedly answer the question but it could be useful when combined with other inputs.
Define “baseline” -
Resting heart rate (HR) - typically measured when you first wake up but before you even sit up.
HR will change somewhat based on whether you’re lying down, sitting, or standing; the more vertical you are, the higher your HR will be. The better shape you’re in, the quicker you’re HR will recover & return to that lower baseline #.
Take two people, identical age, height, & weight. One has lots of lean muscle mass (muscle is heavier) because he is a runner/cyclist/whatever that regularly does aerobic exercise while the other is a couch potato, maybe a weight lifter (which isn’t a cardio workout). All other things being equal, the first one should have their HR return to baseline faster.
I regularly do cardio workouts, significantly stressing my HR. I know I can go over the generic guideline HR (220-age). I can drop 20ish points in ≈ 2 mins & get down to the HR before I started, dropping 60-70 points in 6-8 mins; however, respirations have not recovered yet & the next set is tougher because I’m not fully recovered yet.