emWave HeartMath "Personal Stress Reliever"

[Chancellor Bigsby]

To Whom it May Interest,

    Thank you in advance for your time.  This is my first foray into the Skeptic Forum, and already I've learned something about zebras.  Yet another question, non-mammalian in nature, haunts me.  A technically non-medical product called HeartMath emWave is being marketed as a way to relieve stress.  The makers purport to have 15 years of research backing them up, most of it coming from an affiliated non-profit called the HeartMath Institute.  The technology itself comes in two varieties, including a portable device and software/hardware for a computer.  Both are meant to facilitate "coherence" via a change in heart rate variability.

     As I am optimistic about the potential for biofeedback to improve people's lives (including my own), I have repeatedly attempted to vet this item for purchase.  Each time, I become suspicious enough to shy away from the product without definitively concluding that it is a fraud.  Surprisingly, I can't find any previous venue thoroughly debunking HeartMath.  It's on http://www.quackwatch.org, for example, but there is no specific entry explaining why it's hokum.

     Besides what I've already mentioned, there are various other warning signs about HeartMath.  A few of them include:

-none of the studies listed on the website (at least that I've read) even mention the emWave, but rather the potential for heart rate variability and "coherence" to reduce stress.  See http://www.heartmath.org/research/publications.html#basic_research

-the founder of the institute is Doc Childre, who isn't actually a doctor.  You can find a short biography of him at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/doc-childre.  

-the organization (or one of its subsidiaries) was, in some way or another, once associated with Dan Winter.  An admitted scam artist, his website was recently seized as part of a court order against him.  Therein, a HeartMath representative insists that Mr. Winter actually had very little connection to his organization, despite the latter's claims.  Unfortunately, Mr. Winter's New Age chicanery is so outrageous and disturbing that any connection whatsoever is highly suspicious.    See http://www.danwinter.com/HeartTunerStatements.html

So, now I would like to remand it back to the committee of the whole.  I want to dismiss this product, but I've also read promising research about biofeedback and been given anecdotal testimonials by several people I know.  Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

--spelling errors corrected

[Graumagier]

You've pretty much assembled all the information yourself already. Plus, the website is ridiculous beyond funny:

Researchers will examine this date to determine whether the magnetic fields can be influenced by collective human emotional resonance following major events and whether the emotional energy generated by collective intuition about major future events is measurable in these fields. Analysts also will examine the data to assess whether the magnetic field shows indications of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other planetary physical events.

Now there's certainly some point to biofeedback, but I don't see why you'd have to spend $ 199 on some device that, at best, works equally well as simple relaxation or breathing training.

[Chancellor Bigsby]

Mr. Graumagier:

   You're absolutely right that there are some ridiculous statements on the website. I was looking for confirmation and you gave it to me.

     I think part of me was hoping that the efficacy of the product could be divorced from their gimmicky presentation--but if that was the case, why not let the product stand for itself?  Why clothe it in vaguely New Age language?

    As far as scams go, this one appears unusually extensive.  Besides their claims about peer-reviewed research and implementation by large businesses, one young woman is also maintaining that she was "taught" about HeartMath in a community college class.  I don't know how to embed a video (sorry), so here is the hyperlink if anyone is interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq-UBrXFNMw.  A follow-up video by "LatumWay" also points out a dubous-looking graph put out by the organization.  

I'm surprised that there isn't a more accessible repudiation of HeartMath available.  Maybe this forum topic could become a repository of information?  Or are people already bored with the subject?

[Eric Chamberlin]

It is helpful to distinguish between the company Heartmath and the product "emWave Personal Stress Reliever".  There are a number of peculiar things about Heartmath, including it's New Age verbiage. However the product is actually more main-stream than it appears.

The emWave Personal Stress Reliever is a Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback device that performs its function well.  From the Heartmath web site one is led to believe that Heartmath developed this technology.  They did not.  In fact HRV feedback devices are manufactured by StressEraser on the consumer level, and roughly a dozen companies on the professional physiologist level including Thought Technology, Nexus etc.

The basic science of HRV feedback comes from the work of Evgeny Vaschillo in St. Petersburg Russia in the mid 80's when he directed a physiology institute whose mission, in part, was enhancing performance of Olympic athletes.The american physiologist Paul Lehrer met Vaschillo by chance and recruited him to the US where the two have worked productively since.  Much of their work is published in the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback Journal.

One of Vaschillo's seminal findings was the identification of the Resonant Frequency of the Cardiovascular System.
Briefly the Resonant Frequency is where the Heart Rate and Blood pressure oscillations are 180 degrees out of phase.  Heart rate is maximal when BP is minimized and vice versa approximately 6 secs later.  The significance of the Resonant Frequency lies in its maximal stimulation of pressure sensitive baro-receptors in the aorta and carotid arteries.  Stimulation of baro-receptors results in signals being sent to the brain-stem via the vagus nerve causing alteration in brain function.  This is one phenomenon in the relatively new field of "Ascending Visceral Regulation".
(I say new however Claude Bernard and Charles Darwin described the core features of this phenomena in their writings. Amazing.) That stimulation of the vagus nerve alters brain function is embodied in the use of vagal nerve stimulation in the treatment of epilepsy, and more recently refractory clinical depression.

[Joecoach]

The basic science behind HeartMath and emWave is not HeartMath's - it is fact based on tons of research over the last 10 years. The stress response-  the fact that we respond emotionally first and think afterwards when we are under pressure, the link between HRV and our emotional state and the balance or lack of it in the autonomic nervous system. (when we breathe in HRV increases, when we breathe out it decreases. Recent Neurocardiology research has proved heart-brain communication. We know from extensive research the link between our emotional state and the hormonal balance (cortisol/DHEA) of our system. The emWave is purely a HRV monitor - when we are stressed our HRV pattern is chaotic, when we are coherent (our systems in balance around a resonant frequency of 0.1hz) it produces a smooth sine like wave. Having used the device for a couple of years to combat nerves I can really recommend it. When coupled with centred breathing and positive emotion techniques it really is a great training aid to help manage your state.  Forget about all the fluffy sounding stuff and heart feelings. Trust me - if you are a golfer try it out !

[Lance Kennedy]

When I saw the term "personal stress reliever" my mind turned to something else entirely, that relieves stress, without special equipment, and for no money spent at all.   You could even describe it as biofeedback.