Hidden Stressors: How to Reduce Stress That's Silently Draining Your Energy with Dr. Torkil Færø

Watch my full conversation with Dr.Torkil Færø here 👇

Ever feel exhausted but can't quite figure out why? You might be experiencing hidden stress that's draining your energy without you even realizing it.

I recently sat down with Dr. Torkil Færø, author of the bestselling book "The Pulse Cure," who revealed something shocking: most of us are stressed without even knowing it.

His journey began after his father passed away at 73 from cancer. Dr. Færø realized that continuing his "normal" lifestyle might not only cut a few years off his life – it could potentially rob him of 20 years of healthy living.

The Detective Story Inside Your Heart: Clues on How to Reduce Stress

"I was expecting to see only calm, only parasympathetic, restful mode in my measurements," Dr. Færø explained during our conversation. "I was never scared, never fighting, never fleeing away from anything."

What he discovered was eye-opening.

His body was under significant stress from sources he never suspected.

"I found out that I had a lot of stressors. But they were hidden, they were surprising. It was alcohol, nicotine, certain foods would stress me enormously... and if I slept poorly one night, that would lead to a lot of stress in the daytime," he shared.

Even as a medical doctor, he had never considered these as significant stressors activating his sympathetic nervous system.

This revelation became the foundation of his bestselling book, which has now been translated into eight languages.

The Sixth Sense We Never Developed

Why can't we feel this stress in our bodies? Dr. Færø offers a fascinating evolutionary explanation.

"We have excellent eyesight. We can see 1 million colors. We can smell a trillion different smells and taste a lot of different tastes because those are the senses that we needed throughout evolutionary history," he explains.

These senses were critical for detecting external threats – predators and enemies.

But we never developed an accurate internal sense for stress levels.

"I would challenge people if they can feel the difference between 80 and 60 in heart rate. You wouldn't feel the difference," Dr. Færø points out.

This is why wearable devices like Garmin watches, Oura rings, and Whoop bands have become so valuable – they provide the sixth sense we never evolved to have.

The Age Divide: 40 Is the Magic Number

One of the most striking insights Dr. Færø shared is how our bodies change as we age.

"There's a quite steep fall in heart rate variability from your 20s down to your 40s, and then it flattens out," he explains.

This is why many people can "get away with" poor habits in their youth but start experiencing health problems after 40.

"Before you're 40, your body takes care of you. After 40, you have to take care of your body," Dr. Færø states emphatically.

This explains why only exceptional athletes like Tom Brady and Cristiano Ronaldo can stay at the top of their game past 40.

The Surprising Stressors You're Missing

During our conversation, Dr. Færø revealed several overlooked stressors that might be affecting your health:

Food intolerances: "Your heart rate will respond if you eat something that you don't tolerate."

Late night meals: These can significantly stress your system.

Alcohol consumption: Even moderate drinking stresses your body more than you realize.

Poor sleep: A single night of poor sleep can elevate stress levels throughout the following day.

For women, there's an additional factor to consider: "The week before menstruation, it's easy to get too stressed, too much cortisol, too little progesterone," Dr. Færø explains. This is why some female athletes now use heart rate variability tracking to adjust their training intensity according to their menstrual cycle.

How to Reduce Stress Naturally

The good news is that Dr. Færø offers several evidence-based strategies that help us learn how to reduce stress and improve recovery:

Breathwork: "The most important is breathwork, that you're able to breathe slowly and calm yourself down through slow breathing." This sends an ancient biological signal to your body that there's no danger present.

Cold water immersion: This is "very effective against inflammation," which is why many athletes use cold therapy after workouts to recover faster.

Finding your personal calm: Whether it's reading, meditation, or listening to music, discover what gets your system into the parasympathetic state where you recover better.

Dr. Færø notes that the best performers in any field – athletes, business leaders, musicians – are also the best at recovery. "The rest time is not just a waste of time that's in the way of productivity or performance. It is a way to perform better."

The Natural Blueprint for Modern Living

Our bodies evolved for a specific lifestyle that looks nothing like our modern routine.

"Our machinery is ancient and is adapted to the life on the Savannah of Africa a hundred thousand years ago," Dr. Færø reminds us.

Studies of modern hunter-gatherers show they are "moderately active for two to three hours a day, maybe 17,000 steps. And then they rest the rest of the day."

This contrasts sharply with our modern lifestyle, where we spend "97 percent of the time indoors, outside of the sun, outside of nature."

The Democratization of Healthcare

Perhaps the most powerful aspect of heart rate variability tracking is how it shifts healthcare from reactive to proactive.

"What these wearables do is take the power from the doctor and the healthcare system and put it into your own hands," Dr. Færø explains.

Instead of waiting for a doctor's appointment every few months, you can monitor your own health dashboard daily and make immediate adjustments.

This represents "a quite huge shift in healthcare, this opportunity by these wearables and continuous glucose monitors to take charge of your health in a way that was not possible five, ten years ago."

Key Takeaways

1. Hidden Stress Is Real: Many of us are chronically stressed without knowing it. Wearables can reveal these hidden stressors that deplete your energy.

2. The 40-Year Threshold: After age 40, your body becomes less forgiving of poor health habits. This is when proactive health management becomes crucial.

3. Recovery Is Performance: Rest isn't wasted time – it's essential for peak performance in every area of life. The best performers are also the best at recovery.

Whether you're an athlete looking to optimize performance, someone struggling with unexplained fatigue, or simply wanting to add healthy years to your life, understanding and tracking your heart rate variability could be the key to unlocking better health and energy.

For more information, you can follow Dr. Torkil Færø on Instagram at @dr.torkil or grab his book, The Pulse Cure.