![]() A state characterized by the absence of stress would therefore be one with high PNS activity. PNS activity may be utilized to quantify stress by defining stress as a disruption of homeostasis with low PNS activity. The heart rate increases during inhalation, and decreases during exhalation, and this phenomenon has been associated with the efficiency of pulmonary gas exchange. A valuable metric of vagal or parasympathetic activity is Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA) which is the rhythmic modulation of the heart rate in response to respiration. The 10th cranial nerve called the vagus nerve is the main contributor of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) and the provides the main parasympathetic supply to the heart. The ANS consists of two main branches: the sympathetic branch which predominates during exercise, and stressful “fight or flight” reactions, and the parasympathetic branch which predominates during quiet, resting conditions. HRV is one of the best non-invasive probes of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). ![]() In a meta-analytic review of HRV biofeedback, it was shown that HRV biofeedback produces improvement in a variety of physical and emotional conditions. HRV biofeedback has been applied to the management of stress, depression, and asthma. A high HRV usually indicates good health and an increased ability to adapt to stressful situations. A very useful biosignal is the heart rate variability (HRV) which refers to the beat-to-beat variability in heart rate. Biofeedback can help individuals gain awareness of physiological processes occurring within the body, and also to consciously control those processes. A notable technique for training in mindfulness meditation is the use of biofeedback signals. (2011) showed changes in regional brain gray matter density after just 8 weeks of an MBSR program.Ĭommercially available wearable devices are increasingly popular in the United States, and many wearable devices offer mindfulness training. Mindfulness/Meditation also has the power of neuroplasticity, e.g. Mindfulness based treatments are also pursued in the management of chronic pain and insomnia. Similarly, a study involving 53 participants who attended a 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat showed reductions in overall distress 3 months following the retreat, encompassing a spectrum of psychological symptoms ( Ostafin et al. A study involving 75 participants who engaged in an 8 weeks course on MBSR showed a significant (Cohen d = 1.04) decrease in stress as measured by the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale. In a metastudy of 7 controlled and randomized controlled studies which were aggregated, MBSR was shown to have a significant positive non-specific effect compared to the absence of any treatment when comparing Cohen’s d measures of stress. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) originally introduced by Jon Kabat-Zinn has proved to be an evidence based technique for the improvement of health and wellbeing. Mindful breathing exercises have been shown to be helpful in reducing reactivity to repetitive thoughts. Meditation and mindfulness practices have the ability to support individuals, especially during difficult times. Mindfulness has shown promise as a non-pharmaceutical intervention in the management of stress, as well as a variety of other conditions. We apply this metric to heart rate variability data collected during two different meditation techniques, and show that the autonomic balance index is significantly elevated during mindful breathing, making it a good signal for biofeedback during meditation sessions. ![]() We propose a new metric called the autonomic balance index (ABI) which uses Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia to quantify the fraction of heart rate variability contributed by the parasympathetic nervous system. It is shown that the root mean square of successive differences preferentially weights higher frequency Fourier modes, making it unsuitable as a biosignal for mindful breathing meditation which encourages slow breathing. the root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) and the standard deviation of RR intervals (SDRR), in terms of Fourier components. We provide a pedagogical computation of two commonly used heart rate variability metrics, i.e. We discuss Heart Rate Variability (HRV) measured during mindful breathing meditation.
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