Andyman's Full Review: The Emwave Personal Stress Reliever from Heartmath
EmWave is a well-made and interesting product that so far has given me good results. It gives you visual cues to use in regulating your breathing, which helps counteract stress or tension. Perhaps a nice meditation break under a tree would do just as well, but for those who need something to focus on or find the electronic game quality of EmWave engaging, using this device might be a more convenient or accessible means to attain some measure of nirvana.
How does it work?
Supposedly, rhythmic breathing makes your heartbeat more regular, all of which sends soothing signals to the brain (think: the opposite of stress), and EmWave claims that this produces other health benefits and heightened mental performance.
The negative effects of stress are becoming better understood nowadays, and anyone would be well-advised to avoid stress however possible. EmWave is one helpful means to do that. But just because stress dulls your mind and saps your energy doesn't necessarily mean EmWave will make you smarter and more energetic right away. I think you should look at it first as a tool to help limit stress, and secondly as a possible source of long-term health and mental performance enhancements.
New Age Mumbo-Jumbo?
Perhaps. The rhythmic breathing thing is an interesting concept that echoes some themes of meditation and ancient yoga breathing exercises. At a minimum, EmWave prompts you to sit and relax for a few minutes, which must be a good thing. I won't even try to evaluate the science of biofeedback, which I think is little-understood and in dispute anyway. I'll just describe the device and my experiences using it.
Physical Description
The EmWave is small (shaped like a deck of cards but a tad smaller) with one sensor button about the size of a quarter. Beside the button sensor there's a vertical row of LED lights. Atop the LEDs there's a red/blue/green glowing light indicating how you're doing. And below the LEDs there's a light that shows your pulse beats.
Using EmWave
As you hold EmWave, a pulse of light flows up and down the vertical row of LEDs, indicating the rhythm you should breathe in (as it goes up) and out (as it goes down). Following this breathing pattern is pretty much all you have to do.
The EmWave's thumb sensor monitors your pulse while you do this, measuring the exact amount of time between beats and watching for a steady, regular pattern. It's not looking for a perfect metronome heartbeat. Your pulse naturally speeds p a little when you breathe in, and slows a bit at the end of your exhale. That's normal. What EmWave measures is whether this rising and falling is the same amount breath to breath. The EmWave folks call this steady heartbeat pattern "coherence." It's marketing gobbledegook, but there is no other single word I know for "a regular wave pattern to the rising and falling pace of your hearbeat," so we might as well use it.
When your pattern is regular and your "coherence" is high, the top light will change from red (normal) to blue (good) and then green (optimal). To get into the optimal zone, you need to maintain a state of very little heart rate variation, a very steady pattern of slight quickening of pulse as you breathe in, and slight slowing as you exhale. Each inhale should quicken your pulse the same amount, and each exhale should see it slow the same amount. Regularity to the ups and downs. Not a mechanical tick-tock heartbeat.
Good Vibrations
In addition to breathing with the flow of the lights, the instructions advise you to recall a happy feeling, and picture your breath coming directly into your heart. You're advised to try to feel and hear your heart, and focus a warm and positive feeling on it. These are indistinct instructions at best, but I just think about petting my cats, and it's hard to deny this indeed helps me chill out.
The Game Aspect
As you spend longer and longer stretches at higher levels of coherence, the vertical LEDs will start to light up from the bottom and rise like a thermometer. Every few seconds you spend in the blue or green zone will add a bar. If you slip back into red for a stretch, you will lose bars. Making the thermometer rise to the top is where the game aspect comes in, and it is I think a helpful way to make you focus. It gives you a sense of having a goal, instead of just sitting there breathing and looking at this beepy thing for who knows how long until you're done. Try not to stress, though, if you slip into the red and start losing bars! It's like that game people play with electrodes attached to their heads where they have to not think in order to win.
Anyway I don't think you'll have a hard time of it. The default challenge level that EmWave is set to by default is so easy you'll nail it your first try without a doubt. The EmWave has 4 challenge levels. As the challenge level increases, the amount of variability permitted between heartbeats becomes less and less, and you must maintain a steady rhythm longer to build your blue bars. It's significantly harder to get into the green zone on the higher settings. On challenge level 3, the second-hardest, it takes me at least 2 or 3 runs up the thermometer before I experience green for the first time.
Uses
EmWave's instruction booklet is substantial and well-written, and full of good ideas about when to use it. Some examples: before sleep, before an exam, before meditation or other spiritual practice, to focus your mind at the start of your day, to reduce anxiety during a stressful situation, to relax during a busy day, to center yourself just before a creative activity, to ease your nerves through a health crisis... I think these are all great ideas and it just goes to show how much stress life can throw at you and how many opportunities we have to take a break and re-center ourselves.
My Results
I have tried EmWave at work (wasting all my time on it is the primary reason Epinions bugs go un-fixed... sorry!). It definitely helps me let go of tension during a busy day. Sometimes (especially Mondays) things get incredibly hectic and my stress reaches a point where my productivity and mood are degraded. EmWave leaves me feeling more calm and ready to face challenges. I am a little more relaxed and ready to listen to others with an open mind. Definitely good stuff.
Options and Configuration
The EmWave has other configurable options as well. You can adjust the brightness level of the LEDs and the volume of the feedback beeps. The EmWave will always make one beep when you turn it on and off, but by default it also beeps with each bar you build, and then a little celebratory jingle when the thermometer reaches the top. That got old quick for me, especially because I sometimes want to use it before bed, with my partner right next to me, perhaps already asleep.
If you adjust the sound level, your preference will be kept the next time you turn EmWave on. This is *not* true with the challenge level though. It always defaults to the easiest setting each time you turn it on.
There is also an advanced mode which changes the behavior of the LED display. It's intended for advanced users who already know how to control their breathing and achieve a high coherence. The rising and falling breath pacer lights are gone. What you see is a single light that rises as your heartbeat quickens, and falls as it slows. In a state of high coherence, you would see this light smoothly flow up and down. For those who don't need the visual cue of the breath pacer, this will give you more detailed visual feedback on what your heart is doing than the pulse blinker can alone. The top light that shows your coherence level in red/blue/green behaves the same in advanced mode.
In advanced mode you can switch the display back to the breath pacer if you want, and also toggle to a "stealth" display mode that turns off all the lights except the colored coherence indicator.
All This With One Button?
The thumb sensor button is oblong and can be pressed either at the top or the bottom. It is really two buttons, and you use these to adjust all available settings. Because EmWave has way more than two options to configure, this means that a short press vs. a long press can do different things, and you have to know what "mode" EmWave is in. The same type of button press in the same place on the button will do different things in advanced mode vs. regular mode. There is also a "setup" mode.
ARGH!
Wait, wait! This isn't as complicated as it sounds. I've seen other electronics with a limited number of buttons do a much worse job. EmWave is intelligently laid out and the directions are very clear to understand.
One example of the operating elegance of EmWave is how "setup" mode works. You first turn on EmWave with a short press at the bottom of the button. Easy enough.
When EmWave comes on, it will be in "setup" mode. You toggle through the brightness levels with short presses at the bottom of the button, and toggle through challenge levels with short presses at the top. So how do you exit setup mode and enter regular mode? How do you start using EmWave? You simply place your thumb on the sensor. Once EmWave senses a heartbeat, setup is over and you'll get the breathing pacer. You're off!
It is a lot of options crammed into one small device, but they do a good job organizing it. One thing that's a little odd is how the breathing pacer and the progress thermometer both use the same row of LED lights. This probably sounds confusing. But the key is that each LED light has different levels of brightness. The thermometer bars appear from the bottom, dimly lit, and the wave of the breath pacer passes right through them, a much brighter and clearly visible moving streak. Sometimes when the thermometer is almost full it can get a little visually confusing. EmWave is a pretty sophisticated device and it does okay with its basic LEDS, but it could benefit from a more capable display.
I've seen ads for a competitor called "StressEraser," which does appear to have a more sophisticated screen. The photos in the ad make it appear that you can see your heartbeat plotted onto a line graph, giving you full visual feedback into how you're doing. This seems cool, but the StressEraser costs $300 vs. EmWave's $170. Many positive EmWave reviews and the lower price sealed the deal for me.
Extras
EmWave comes with an earlobe sense you clip on and plug in like a headphone. It doesn't give you any audio feedback but it does relieve you of holding your thumb to the sensor. There are some reports online of the ear clip not working as well as the thumb sensor, but I have used it successfully, as has my partner. For sessions before bed, this is indeed a little easier and more relaxing.
There is also a CD included with more information about building your coherence with EmWave plus some relaxation music/videos. These are intended to be viewed as you use EmWave. I have not yet sampled them so I can't say whether they help. I believe they are a hold-over from EmWave's precursor products. Originally, EmWave was a heart monitor you plugged into your computer. The breathing cues and feedback were provided onscreen. I guess people wanted a more portable and self-contained device they could use anywhere. Sitting in front of your computer isn't all that relaxing, after all. For some of us, the computer is the source of stress.
Finally, EmWave comes with a faux-leather carrying case with a clip. It has openings for the charger and ear clip cord, and windows through which you can see all the lights. You could keep EmWave in this case all the time, though I found it only gets in the way. It's not a perfect fit, and the lights are somewhat obscured. Whatever... anyway I'm just not one of those people who keeps their cellphone in a case.
Conclusions
I enjoy the immediate relaxation that comes from using EmWave. My girlfriend has also used it before bed and claims that it helps her fall asleep and rest better. I think it takes a little practice to learn how to use it best. If you focus keenly on the blinking lights you may forget the importance of positive visualization. And you need to really take some time and do it in a quiet place where you can concentrate. I can't verify any of the long term health benefits, but certainly you will experience some relaxation right away by using EmWave. And that's definitely a good thing.
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