Stressful feelings may increase your risk of developing
heart disease. Researchers at the Institute of HeartMath
explain the connection
The heart's
more than a pump - it actually sends messages to the brain.
Dr. Rollin
McCraty of the Institute of HeartMath discuss the science
behind the theory.
An appreciative
heart is good medicine
Psychologists once maintained that emotions were purely
mental expressions generated by the brain alone. We now
know that this is not true. Emotions have as much to do
with the heart and body as they do with the brain. Of
the bodily organs, the heart plays a particularly important
role in our emotional experience. The experience of an
emotion results from the brain, heart and body acting
in concert.
The Institute
of HeartMath, a research center dedicated to the study
of the heart and the physiology of emotions, has conducted
numerous studies identifying the relationship between
emotions and the heart. A number of their studies have
provided new insight into understanding how the activity
of the heart is indeed linked to our emotions and our
health, vitality and well-being.
Emotions
and the heart
Recent HeartMath studies define a critical link between
the heart and brain. The heart is in a constant two-way
dialogue with the brain — our emotions
change the signals the brain sends to the heart and the
heart responds in complex ways. However, we now know that
the heart sends more information to the brain than the
brain sends to the heart. And the brain responds to the
heart in many important ways. This research explains how
the heart responds to emotional and mental reactions and
why certain emotions stress the body and drain our energy.
As we experience feelings like anger, frustration, anxiety
and insecurity, our heart rhythm patterns become more
erratic. These erratic patterns are sent to the emotional
centers in the brain, which it recognizes as negative
or stressful feelings. These signals create the actual
feelings we experience in the heart area and the body.
The erratic heart rhythms also block our ability to think
clearly.
Many studies
have found that the risk of developing heart disease is
significantly increased for people who often experience
stressful emotions such as irritation, anger or frustration.
These emotions create a chain reaction in the body —
stress hormone levels increase, blood vessels constrict,
blood pressure rises, and the immune system is weakened.
If we consistently experience these emotions, it can put
a strain on the heart and other organs, and eventually
lead to serious health problems.
Conversely,
HeartMath®s research shows that when we experience
heart-felt emotions like love, care, appreciation and
compassion, the heart produces a very different rhythm.
In this case it is a smooth pattern that looks like gently
rolling hills. Harmonious heart rhythms, which reflect
positive emotions, are considered to be indicators of
cardiovascular efficiency and nervous system balance.
This lets the brain know that the heart feels good and
often creates a gentle warm feeling in the area of the
heart. Learning to shift out of stressful emotional reactions
to these heartfelt emotions can have profound positive
effects on the cardiovascular system and on our overall
health. It is easy to see how our heart and emotions are
linked and how we can shift our heart into a more efficient
state by monitoring its rhythms.
Benefits come from being appreciative
The feeling of appreciation is one of the most concrete
and easiest positive emotions for individuals to self-generate
and sustain for longer periods. Almost anyone can find
something to genuinely appreciate. By simply recalling
a time when you felt sincere appreciation and recreating
that feeling, you can increase your heart rhythm coherence,
reduce emotional stress and improve your health.
For people
who may initially find it difficult to self-generate a
feeling of appreciation in the present moment, experts
suggest that they recall a past memory that elicits warm
feelings. With practice, most people are able to self-generate
feelings of appreciation in real time and no longer need
the past time reference. Dr. Rollin McCraty, director
of research for the Institute of HeartMath, says, “It’s
important to emphasize that it is not a mental image of
a memory that creates a shift in our heart rhythm, but
rather the emotions associated with the memory. Mental
images alone usually do not produce the same significant
results that we've observed when someone focuses on a
positive feeling.
Positive emotion-focused
techniques, like those developed by HeartMath®, can
help individuals effectively replace stressful thoughts
and emotional patterns with more positive perceptions
and emotions. One of the long-term benefits to be gained
from the practice of these kinds of techniques is increased
emotional awareness. This increased awareness can help
individuals maintain a more consistent emotional balance,
a fundamental step in the process of improving cardiovascular
health.
Diet and exercise
will continue to be an important factor in keeping the
heart healthy. However, there is increasing awareness
of the importance of maintaining a healthy emotional state
for those recovering from heart-related illnesses, as
well as for maintaining heart health. Studies have shown
that positive emotion-focused techniques reduce stress
and anxiety, which is a safe and effective way to lower
blood pressure and increase functional capacity in heart
failure patients. This approach is currently being used
in a number of hospitals and cardiac rehabilitation programs
around the country.
For
more information on the Institute of HeartMath, check
out www.heartmath.org/today.
