Moderating Laboratory Adaptation with the Use of a Heart-rate Variability Biofeedback Device (StressEraser®)

Abstract

Difficulty sleeping is a common problem with laboratory polysomnograms. This affects both polysomnograms that are used as a clinical tool to investigate sleep pathology or as an outcome variable in research. The goal of this study was to use a handheld biofeedback device (StressEraser) to improve sleep quality in the laboratory. Ten subjects without a history of sleep disorders were randomly assigned to either a StressEraser or no-treatment control condition. A sleep disturbance scale derived from sleep efficiency, REM latency, minutes of stage 1 sleep, and wake after sleep onset was created to evaluate the differences between these groups. Subjects in the StressEraser group had significantly lower scores on the sleep disturbance scale compared to the no-treatment control group (p = 0.003). Sleep latency was not improved. In conclusion, the StressEraser significantly improved sleep quality compared to a no-treatment control group. This suggests that the StressEraser may be an effective tool to help reduce the first-night effect in nighttime laboratory sleep studies.

Stress Management Apps With Regard to Emotion-Focused Coping and Behavior Change Techniques: A Content Analysis

“…Although there are first indications that at least some of them might be effective, for example, StressEraser [16-20] or AEON [21], most stress management apps have not been evaluated yet [22,23]. So far, 3 reviews have been published.…”

Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Intervention for Reduction of Psychological Stress During the Early Postpartum Period

“…Therefore, reduction of anxiety symptoms with HRV biofeedback, which was reported by other studies (Reiner 2008; Henriques et al 2011; Ratanasiripong et al 2012), may be particularly beneficial for postpartum women. HRV biofeedback was reported to shorten sleep latency (Ebben et al 2009), prolong deeper sleep stages (Sakakibara et al 2013), and ameliorate insomnia (McLay and Spira 2009). Due to childcare responsibilities, postpartum women sleep less during the early weeks following delivery than during pregnancy and other periods of the reproductive age (Lee et al 2000).…”

“…Theoretically, HRV biofeedback is beneficial in most mothers whose autonomic balance tends to shift toward a sympathetic-predominant state. Some portable devices for HRV biofeedback are marketed worldwide (Ebben et al 2009), and HRV biofeedback is a feasible intervention during the early postpartum period. However, it remains questionable whether HRV biofeedback results in favorable modifications in autonomic functioning of healthy subjects (Lehrer and Eddie 2013), and effectiveness of HRV biofeedback in healthy postpartum women should be carefully verified before recommending it to mothers as a health-promoting measure after childbirth.…”

Pathways to Illness, Pathways to Health

“…HRV biofeedback trains the individual to use slow diaphragmatic breathing to create larger regular oscillations in heart rate and increases overall HRV. The rationale for prescribing this form of biofeedback for Cerise, with her sleep disorder, is that HRV is more pronounced during slow-wave sleep than during REM sleep and is elevated during all sleep phases compared to wakefulness (Ebben, Kurbatov, & Pollak, 2009 ) . A series of six sessions of HRV biofeedback helped Cerise to establish a pattern of slow breathing that she utilized each evening at bedtime.…”