Cardiac coherence, self-regulation, autonomic stability, and psychosocial well-being

Abstract

The ability to alter one’s emotional responses is central to overall well-being and to effectively meeting the demands of life. One of the chief symptoms of events such as trauma, that overwhelm our capacities to successfully handle and adapt to them, is a shift in our internal baseline reference such that there ensues a repetitive activation of the traumatic event. This can result in high vigilance and over-sensitivity to environmental signals which are reflected in inappropriate emotional responses and autonomic nervous system dynamics. In this article we discuss the perspective that one’s ability to self-regulate the quality of feeling and emotion of one’s moment-to-moment experience is intimately tied to our physiology, and the reciprocal interactions among physiological, cognitive, and emotional systems. These interactions form the basis of information processing networks in which communication between systems occurs through the generation and transmission of rhythms and patterns of activity. Our discussion emphasizes the communication pathways between the heart and brain, as well as how these are related to cognitive and emotional function and self-regulatory capacity. We discuss the hypothesis that self-induced positive emotions increase the coherence in bodily processes, which is reflected in the pattern of the heart’s rhythm. This shift in the heart rhythm in turn plays an important role in facilitating higher cognitive functions, creating emotional stability and facilitating states of calm. Over time, this establishes a new inner-baseline reference, a type of implicit memory that organizes perception, feelings, and behavior. Without establishing a new baseline reference, people are at risk of getting “stuck” in familiar, yet unhealthy emotional and behavioral patterns and living their lives through the automatic filters of past familiar or traumatic experience.

Favouring emotional processing in improvisational music therapy through resonance frequency breathing: a single-case experimental study with a healthy client

“…Indeed, it might be that the amount of negative arousal just happened to take place inside the client's usual boundaries, without there being any improvement in flexibility and tolerance. Although prior studies indicate that RFB does have a positive effect on emotional regulation (McCraty & Zayas, 2014), in the absence of direct measurements, this last point remains an open question.…”

“…When used on its own, RFB has been shown to enhance creativity and artistic skills (Raymond, Sajid, Parkinson, & Gruzelier, 2005), reduce stress (Sutarto, Wahab, & Zin, 2012), and increase people's ability for emotional regulation (McCraty & Zayas, 2014). It has also been successfully applied in the treatment of various physical and emotional disorders, such as asthma, hypertension, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety disorders, and depression (for an overview, see Gevirtz, 2013).…”

Controlling anxiety and stress in ski-biathlon athletes using EmWave2

“…Essentially, this technique can bring the heart rate rapidly to a state of coherence (McCraty, Atkinson, Tomasino & Bradley, 2009;McCraty & Zayas, 2014). In 2010, a new version was designed (software-hardware) for the EmWave system (Desktop for PC and Mac), which monitors the heart rate and determines coherence.…”

Influence of HeartMath Training Programme on Physiological and Psychological Variables

“…Although previous research has established that positive emotions are independently associated with psychophysiological coherence, heart focussed breathing at about 5-7 breath cycles per minute and/or 10 second cardio-respiratory rhythm remains a practical, first step in most tools. This conscious slowing of breath facilitates respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a dynamic, naturally occurring, physiological mechanism, whereby heart rate increases during inhalation and decreases during exhalation, which in turn facilitates identification and cultivation of a particular positive emotion (McCraty & Zayas., 2014).…”

“…Skill acquisition of HeartMath techniques is facilitated through the use of HRV and heart rhythm coherence feedback training, heart focussed breathing and intentional generation of associated positive emotional feelings, emotional imagery and remembered wellness (McCraty & Zayas, 2014). A practical, energetic approach underlies the techniques (Edwards, 2015).…”