Heart rate variability (HRV) has become a useful parameter for the quantification of autonomic nervous function. HRV has been quantified, either by time domain or frequency domain analysis. Time domain measures, such as CVRR and RR50, are easy to calculate but they only provide information related to parasympathetic activity. The spectral analyses, on the other hand, give us information concerning 3 oscillatory components. The high frequency band (the frequency between 0.15-0.5 Hz) is known as the respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and the middle frequency band (0.88-0.15 Hz) is attributed to baroreflex components. The low frequency band (0.01-0.08 Hz) may be of various origins, such as blood flow rhythm, periodic respiration (including Cheyne-Stokes respiration), renin-angiotensin, and thermal regulation. The efferent nerve to the high frequency band is totally operated by the parasympathetic system. The low frequency band is regulated by both sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. We demonstrated that the diurnal variation of HRV may afford additional information, such as ultradian changes of autonomic activity, possibly due to REM/NREM cycles. It is believed that simultaneous monitoring of other physiological parameters such as EEG, EOG, respiration, and blood pressures, might give us information concerning the dynamic nature of autonomic nervous function.