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A few weeks of archery change heart rate variability in sedentary people

1 study · 34 archers measured

ForContextAgainst201820202022202420262019, for, n = 342019, against, n = 342019, context, n = 34
Each circle is a study: its position gives the year, its row whether it is for, against or context, its size how many participants it measured. Light circles are studies on other populations or without archers.

There is a single study, from Malaysia, in 2019: thirty-four sedentary young men randomly assigned either to eight weeks of traditional archery, three sessions a week of 42 arrows with a 40-pound bow at 10 metres, or to no change in their habits. In those who shot, the low-frequency component of heart rate variability rose from 2,019.7 to 3,418.1 (p=0.01) and the ratio of low to high frequency from 2.9 to 6.4 (p=0.02), while in the controls the ratio went from 2.8 to 3.7 without reaching significance. Nothing else moved, however: the standard deviation of the intervals stayed at 82 milliseconds, the high-frequency component did not change, and neither did the mean intervals during a pressure manoeuvre. The same study therefore points two ways, and three things stop us going further in any case. First, the authors only compared before and after within each group, never setting the two groups against each other. Second, the participants were overweight, with a body mass index around 29 and a third of their mass as fat. Third, there is the direction: a rising ratio is usually read as a shift towards sympathetic activity, although that reading is debated, so the result does not support the idea of archery as something that calms the heart.

Also phrased as: "archery for sedentary people"; "archery is good for the heart"; "heart rate variability and archery"; "archery and HRV"; "archery as a relaxing activity"

In practice

Archery is offered as a gentle activity for people who do no sport, a way of moving without getting out of breath that relaxes you and is good for the heart.

Evidence

  • 2019
    For Archers Published later

    34 sedentary Malaysian men aged 18-30, 17 assigned to eight weeks of traditional archery (3 sessions a week, 6 sets, 42 arrows, 40-pound bow at 10 metres) and 17 controls: in the archery group the low-frequency component rises from 2,019.7 to 3,418.1 (+69%, p=0.01) and the low-to-high frequency ratio from 2.9 to 6.4 (+120%, p=0.02); in the controls the ratio goes from 2.8 to 3.7 (p=0.22). The comparison is only within each group, never between the two.

    Effects of eight weeks traditional archery training on heart rate variability among sedentary youth · Mohd Azrul Anuar Zolkafi, Norsham Juliana Nordin, Mohd Azmani Sahar, Noor Aien Monsarip, Hayati Abd Rahman

  • 2019
    Against Archers Published later

    In the same study many indices do not move. In the archery group the standard deviation of the intervals goes from 81.9 to 82.6 milliseconds (p=0.92), the high-frequency component from 1,127.7 to 1,114.6 (p=0.97), and during a pressure manoeuvre the mean maximum interval goes from 920.5 to 905.7 milliseconds (p=0.69) and the minimum from 672.7 to 689.6 (p=0.55). Only the frequency-domain indices change, not the time-domain ones, and for this part of the result heart rate variability does not change.

    Effects of eight weeks traditional archery training on heart rate variability among sedentary youth · Mohd Azrul Anuar Zolkafi, Norsham Juliana Nordin, Mohd Azmani Sahar, Noor Aien Monsarip, Hayati Abd Rahman

  • 2019
    Context Archers Published later

    The participants were not lean sedentary people: in the archery group and the controls body mass index was 28.61 and 29.59 and body fat 33.4% and 33.8%, with about 1,115 minutes a week sitting and under 100 minutes of physical activity. The result applies to overweight young men, not to anyone who is sedentary.

    Effects of eight weeks traditional archery training on heart rate variability among sedentary youth · Mohd Azrul Anuar Zolkafi, Norsham Juliana Nordin, Mohd Azmani Sahar, Noor Aien Monsarip, Hayati Abd Rahman

Status history

  1. 2019 Contested A Malaysian group randomly assigns thirty-four sedentary young men to eight weeks of traditional archery or to no change in their habits. In those who shoot, the low-frequency component of heart rate variability rises (from 2,019.7 to 3,418.1) and so does the ratio of low to high frequency (from 2.9 to 6.4), but the standard deviation of the intervals, the high-frequency component and the mean intervals stay where they were. The authors only compare before and after within each group, the young men were overweight, and a ratio that doubles does not point to more calm. One study, with two indices that change and others that stay still: contested.

Related

Related articles

Research lines

Cite
APA

Campagna, M. (2026). A few weeks of archery change heart rate variability in sedentary people (Version 2). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/archery-heart-rate-variability-sedentary

BibTeX
@misc{campagna2026_arcohrvsedentari,
  author = {Campagna, Matteo},
  title = {A few weeks of archery change heart rate variability in sedentary people},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
  url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/archery-heart-rate-variability-sedentary},
  note = {Version 2; accessed 2026-10-16}
}

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