Human Restoration Theory: Autonomic Regulation, Cost, and Recovery v0.1

Autonomic Regulation, Cost, and Recovery v0.1 is the fourth Bridge Paper in the Human Restoration Theory (HRT) corpus. It examines autonomic and cardiovascular observables as protocol-dependent measures of baseline, task reactivity, and recovery. The paper defines how heart rate, heart-rate variability, blood-pressure-related response, electrodermal activity, respiratory context, and recovery trajectories may constrain or compete with interpretations of cost, functional reliability, and task performance. The paper does not define a global nervous-system balance, treat HRV as a diagnostic marker or direct measure of vagal tone, infer restoration from a single signal, or propose clinical, breathing, biofeedback, or self-regulation interventions. It establishes candidate bridge relations, measurement requirements, competing explanations, and falsification rules for integrating autonomic response and recovery evidence into HRT.