Heart Frequency Variability Measurement or Heart Rate Variability Measurement

Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback allows the patient to gain control over his/her body’s responses to stress. It is an evidence-based treatment during which he/she is trained to improve his/her mental and physical health by using signals from his/her own body.

Heart rate variability (or frequency) is an indicator of your overall health status. Heart rate variability measurement and training are some of the biofeedback methods of the Institute for Neurofeedback and Biofeedback.

Heart rate variability measurement is the measurement of change in heart rate frequency. Like all internal organs, the heart rate is controlled by the human autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system consists of sympathetic and parasympathetic activities.

The sympathetic system is active when we perform. The parasympathetic system is active when we want to calm down.

In order to be able to cope well with everyday requirements, we need a balanced activation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system (autonomous balance).

It is usually the case that the interval length between the individual heartbeats are not always of same length. When you breathe in, your heart beats a little faster, and when you breathe out, it slows down again.

Many patients believe that they are particularly healthy if the intervals between the individual heartbeats are always the same. Actually, from a medical point of view this is proven different: because the breath-dependent change in the intervals between each individual heart activity is a sign of good adaptability of the organism to the requirements of the body's environmental influences. So, a quite irregular interval length between the individual heartbeats - a big variability in heart rate - is a good measurable parameter that the clients autonomic nervous system is well balanced.

This adaptability of rising heart rate variability can be shown in the following experiment: Under everyday conditions, the heart rate variability is usually shows a quite smooth pattern, meaining there exists little heart rate variability. However, during breathing and mindfulness exercises with a biofeedback device, the heart rate variability rises. The heart rate shows a more irregular pattern aligned by a coherent vibration pattern. Scientific research has shown that this pattern has very positive effects on the psyche and the body.

The Mind&Body Performance Center of the Institute for Neurofeedback and Biofeedback (I-NFBF) measures, analyses, and trains individual heart rate variability of patients and peak performance clients with medically certified state of the art biofeedback devices. The I-NFBF focuses on:

• Whether a patient is under psychological or physical stress that can have negative effects on his/her autonomic nervous system
• if there exists a increased risk of cardiovascular diseases
• and at which breathing rhythm and depth an optimal blood supply and inherent oxygen supply to the patient's brain and all organs exists

At the end of each training, the improvement of heart rate variability is monitored and analyzed (therapy control).

Are you intrigued by this method and do you want to try it out and get an examination on how well your autonomic nervous system functions? Then get in contact today with Dr. Eva Otzen by phone (0041 78 7141415) or by email at [email protected]