Heart Rhythm Coherence Feedback: A New Tool for Stress Reduction, Rehabilitation, and Performance Enhancement

R. McCraty, D. Tomasino

In: Proceedings of the First Baltic Forum on Neuronal Regulation and Biofeedback, Riga, Latvia, November 2‑5, 2004.

Abstract

Heart-rate-variability or heart-rhythm feedback is a versatile and cost-effective technology that has broad-based applications in clinical, academic, workplace and sports settings for enhancing health and human performance. Heart-rhythm-coherence feedback training can be used easily to promote a psychophysiological state conducive to stress reduction, thereby promoting physical, mental and emotional regeneration. We foresee that this training will be increasingly incorporated in many types of rehabilitation and disease-prevention programs, as well as the treatment of emotional disorders. Using HRV feedback to learn to self-generate physiological coherence has innumerable potential applications to performance enhancement. This summary of heart-rate-variability feedback describes how this practical and powerful technology facilitates a greater awareness of the connection between our emotions, physiology and behavior, and how we ultimately achieve greater mastery of our health and well-being.