" HeartMath is a unique stress reduction system that is unusually effective for reducing anxiety and improving performance. Unlike many other services and products that make similar claims, it has a solid scientific basis, and has been thoroughly tested in a variety of settings that have clearly demonstrated these benefits. "
Paul J.Rosch, M.D., F.A.C.P., President of the American Institute of Stress and Clinical Professor of Me dicine and Psychiatry, New York Me dical College
HeartMath® is a set of breathing and positive emotion techniques used to achieve a calm and alert state, which is demonstrating an amazingly positive impact on people's health, wellbeing and performance. Its effects are being noticed in top business organisations, educational institutions, sports performance and healthcare providers around the world.
'Is this the cure for stress?' asks the May 2006 Independent on Sunday feature, which goes on to describe the uptake of HeartMath in two British schools and explain the reasons for its success;
'" We have made some surprising discoveries ," says Bruce Cryer, executive director at the Institute of HeartMath in Boulder Creek , California ,
" We've found the heart provides the physical link between feeling frustrated and angry or anxious and getting ill. We can actually measure the way negative feelings change the electrical frequencies in the heart in a way that makes illness more likely and clear thinking more difficult." This is what ties positive emotions in there along with breathing. An article published in the American Journal of Cardiology a couple of years ago found the emotions of love and feeling appreciated can actually change a persons HRV, (heart rate variability) , shifting it into a more relaxed state and - this is the crucial bit - sending a message back up to the brain saying that you don't need to shut down the cortex any more; it's OK to start thinking again.
HeartMath works by teaching a person to entrain their cardiovascular system to generate the electrical frequency signal of exactly 0.1Hz. This is known as cardiac coherence. In this state, a person achieves balance between their responses to the two arms of their nervous system, the sympathetic and parasympathetic sides. Heart rate variability, the difference in the timing between the beats of the heart, is the measure of this state.
In the HeartMath system, heart rate variability (HRV) is measured using an ear or finger sensor, which feeds the data into a PC based Interactive Learning System called the Freeze-Framer. Individuals learning to use the HeartMath system will see their heart rate variability on the computer screen in front of them. As they practice the techniques, they witness the change from an erratic, jagged and disorganised pattern, to a coherent wave.
The benefits, obviously, are not just on the screen. When a person is 'coherent', cortical facilitation, or the gaining of access to the higher, thinking centres of the brain is immediately achieved, leading to better performance in all areas, and an increased ability to stay skilful and cheerful in stressful conditions.
Cardiac rehabilitation nurse leader Diane Ball successfully implemented HeartMath programs at Delnor Hospital, Canada, where they subsequently saved $800,000 in reducing nurse turnover, and $1.4 million in decreasing length of stay;
" these techniques have helped me realise I am more effective on the job when I am balanced. They have made a big difference in my own self-awareness. I am now feeling more resilient, adaptable and healthier to face the ongoing challenges I face in a workday and at home "
In a coherent state, levels of the hormone DHEA increase, and this hormone is associated with lower incidence of depression, heart disease and obesity.
HeartMath programs conducted at Motorola in the US showed all individuals in the study with high blood pressure reverted to within normal levels with no other interventions, and a recent study conducted by CDR, Cognitive Drug Research, world leaders in assessing cognition, found statistically significant improvement in various aspects of cognitive performance, especially memory.
HeartMath is being taken up and thoroughly researched in numerous forums worldwide, and from the enthusiastic response of 2006 European Ryder Cup Captain, Ian Woosnam, who asserts the "huge difference" it has made to him, to the impressive results that are beginning to come from the pioneering schools, colleges and businesses who implemented the program, it is becoming clear that HeartMath has the capacity to make a significant impact on quality of life.
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