The Heart-Brain Connection — Beyond Brain Integration

DISCLAIMER: All information is for education purposes only and is based on my research, training, and experience.. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or replace health professional advice. Always seek guidance of a medical professional for all health concerns.

It’s February. Heart Month. It’s a great time to learn more about the connection between your heart and your brain.

There has been a lot of buzz about the gut-brain connection, and rightfully so. If you’re gut isn’t well, then your brain isn’t performing its best either. But what do you know about the Heart-Brain connection?

HeartMath image. Incoherence vs Coherence.

One of my favorite sources to learn about the connection between the heart and the brain is the HeartMath® Institute. This institute has been doing studies for over two decades on the heart and its connection to the brain. Did you know that the heart actually sends more signals to the brain, than the brain sends to the heart? Yep. You read that right. Let me say that again. The heart sends more signals to the brain than the brain does to the heart. These signals from the heart have a significant effect on the brain. These signals are so powerful that the brain is continuously responding to the heart. That’s right. The brain’s response depends on the signals it gets from the heart. The signals from the heart to the brain influence emotional and cognitive processing of information. That’s how powerful your heart is! Source: HeartMath.org

HeartMath image. In real time see your coherency change when frustrated vs feeling appreciative.

Through their research HeartMath® Institute has found that different patterns of heart activity accompany various emotions. For example, during stress the heart send erratic signals to the brain. This type of signal inhibits higher level thinking. Perhaps you have experienced this when you have been angry or scared. You can’t seem to think straight. Now you know why!

The opposite is also true. The more stable or coherent the signal from the heart to the brain, the greater your ability to think with clarity. Knowing this you can tap into the amazing power of you heart to promote a coherent state so that you are able to think and perform more optimally. How cool is that?! We can certainly see why practicing gratitude can be so powerful!

What is really powerful to know is that we can shift our heart’s coherence using heart-focused breathing techniques. Isn’t it great to know we can manage or control our emotions. Instead of our emotions controlling us, we can begin to have greater control over them. Not only that, we can actually improve our heart rate variability and our resilience. When we have greater resilience we are able to adapt and manage stress much easier, which equates to a happier life for us and those around us. I know what it is like to have low resilience, and I know what it is like to have greater resilience. (And I certainly know which I prefer.:)

In my practice I have used and learned about two different heart rate variability tools that have been very beneficial. I thought it would be good to share about them so you can see if you would like to explore them further. Our journey to wellness is multi-faceted. I don’t know about you, but I always welcome new tools into my toolbox if I see great benefit to them.

One tool to help you improve and monitor you Heart Rate Variability is the HeartMath® Inner Balance. It is a super easy-to-use app and a device, you can get for your phone. This tool is designed to help you shift your emotional state of stress to one of greater balance and coherence. By using heart-focused breathing techniques you are basically retraining your heart to create more coherent signals that will go to the brain so your brain can function more optimally. As with anything, with practice things get better. You can continually improve your resilience by improving your heart rate variability or coherence.

As a Certified HeartMath Coach, I am love to share and teach these breathing techniques. Let me know if you are interested in learning more. Request More Info Here.

I have the Inner Balance and have used it many, many times. I have used it so much that the heart-focused breathing techniques have become more automatic for me. I don’t seem to need to use it as often as I once did. I do see it as a great training device . Check it out here.

The other exciting heart rate variability tool I use in my practice is the NervExpress®. This device and software provide valuable information to me and to the clients I work with. It will give a “Physical Fitness Score.” This score is presented on a graph. It helps you see your how well your body adapts to stress and your how your autonomic nervous system is performing. (The autonomic nervous system is made up of the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems.) When I saw my first Fitness Score/Graph, I was filled with mixed emotions. I was disheartened, a little shocked, and then boy was I motivated to improve my heart rate variability! (I was about 53 at the time, but according to my fitness score my body was performing like a 70+ year-old!)

If you are interested in finding out your NervExpress® heart rate variability Fitness Score, connect with me.

Request HRV here. In just 15 minutes you can have information that can empower you forward in our journey to wellness.

Blessings to you as you seek to use the power of your heart to improve your emotional state and your resilience. May your heart be filled with inner ease, peace, and love to help you meet the challenges of life.