The emWave Personal Stress Reliever is a device created by a company called HeartMath. The company states that this product was created based on 15 years of research on the relationship between the heart, brain, stress and emotions. I have spent a number of months evaluating the device.

Here are my personal findings on the emWave.

Stress like many other health conditions is something we all have to deal with and must be brought under control if we wish to live a long and healthy life. I have read over the years about various meditation and personal stress reduction techniques that take years to master like Yoga. The emWave is not something that takes years, months, days or even hours to master. Simply put, the emWave only takes minutes to understand and grasp the basics.

This is what the emWave manual states:

QUOTE:

Heart Rhythms and Coherence
When you experience stressful emotions such as tension, anxiety, irritation, or anger, your heart rhythm pattern becomes irregular and incoherent, which negatively affects health, brain function, performance and your sense of well-being (see the graph below).

The emWave unit consists of a small handheld device that has:

- Sensor for your thumb to detect your pulse,

- Pulse indicator LED

- Heart Action Strip – helps you to control your breathing rate.

- Coherence Indicator

The basic operation only involves you to place your thumb on the red sensor and follow the rising and falling LED along the Heart Action Strip with your breathing. Breathe in as the indicator rises and breathe out as the indicator falls. As you breathe according to the indicators speed, the coherence indicator will change colors.

RED – Low Coherence

Blue – Medium Coherence

Green – High Coherence

The idea of the emWave is more than just simply controlling your heartbeat. The concept is that we all have slight variations in our heartbeat and the emWave device can detect these slight variations. By detecting these slight variations, the emWave will indicate either a red, blue or green Coherence indicator light and your goal is to have the Coherence indicator showing green most of the time. The manual indicates the goal is to reach green or High Coherence for 100% of your time during an active session. At first, the coherence indicator would be red about 70% of the time and chance to blue or green the other times for me. As I used the emWave on a regular basis, I have been able to get the blue and green lights appear 50% or more of the time. The unit has the ability to display your low, medium and high coherence levels reached in a percentage value. These values are represented in groups of 10% each only but I still feel this does provide a good indicator between the low, medium and high coherence. I have not been able to reach 100% Coherence during any one session thus far but I am determined to get there.

5: Challenge Level adjustment from 1 – 4

The first three are straight forward to understand. By turning the sound off or adjusting the brightness, you can conserve on battery life. The unit uses a self contained rechargeable Lithium battery and is fully charged in a couple of hours. I have used the emWave for 5 days straight without recharging and have even let the unit sit for 7 days without any noticeable battery loss.

The Coherence Ratio Display will show you how often you have achieved either the low, medium or high Coherence levels in any given session. The Heart Action Strip also doubles as an indicator for how often you have reached either a medium or high Coherence level. A total of 18 LEDs will light up starting from zero and you reach either a blue or green state for at least 5 seconds and start the cycle all over as you reach the maximum indicator level. The Challenge Level adjustment will allow you to improve your breathing and HRV (heart rate variability).

The HRV is a measurement used by the emWave to indicate your level of mental and physical health. According to the manual, we all experience a slight variation between the beat-to-beat time intervals. A higher range of variability is an indicator of good health. Unfortunately, the manual is not clear on how the variable is calculated.

For example:

1: Is the variable calculated based on how many different intervals exists and if increasing the number of different intervals in a given period like 1 minute is the basis for its calculation?

2: Is the variable calculated based on the difference between the shortest beat to beat time interval and the highest beat-to-beat time interval within a given time period?

In either case, the HRV value is displayed centrally on the Heart Action Strip. The LED will move up and down slightly from the central starting point. As the HRV value increases over time, the range of travel will increase. I have been able to achieve full top to bottom motion on some occasions but not always.

The ultimate goal is to bring your Coherence and HRV values to the highest levels possible. Meaning the Coherence indicator will be solid green for a long period of time and the HRV LED will traverse the full Heart Rate Strip distance. I have not reached this stage yet but I intend to reach this state someday.

With any form of exercise, maintaining a regular schedule and sticking to this on a long term basis can be difficult. The makers of the emWave Personal Stress Reliever also provides a computer program called the “Coherence Coach”. This program is available for both the PC and MAC, The program has a real human voice that guides you trough the quick Coherence techniques plus a wave graphics display to aid you visually in your breathing rhythm plus soothing music to relax you along the way. For me, the CD is not all that useful since you need to be in front of a computer or laptop to use the program. I use the emWave more when I am away from the computer. I could be walking, sitting on a bus, traveling in the car as a passenger or sitting in a room. For those that have a few minutes at the office or home can certainly take advantage of the computer program to motivate you into using the emWave more frequently.

One added accessory that comes with the emWave is an ear sensor. This plugs into the unit like a regular headphone and clips onto one of your ear lobes. I found this to be a more comfortable and relaxing way to take advantage of the emWave without having to hold the device while walking. I can freely read a magazine or newspaper without having to keep my thumb on the sensor. You might get the odd look once in awhile if you travel on public transit as often as I do. Since a large percentage of the general public either is listening to music via headphones or have a Bluetooth ear bud jamrmed in one ear, I do not feel out of place at all. The nice thing about the ear clip is I can easily put on a pair of headphones also and enjoy some relaxing music while I reduce my stress levels. The color indicator is clearly visible whenever I need to see the current Coherence state I am in.

The manual indicates that you can improve these plus many other factors:

1: Creativity. I have always felt that I have a level of creativity but I cannot confirm if the emWave truly improves this or not.

2: Improve athletic performance. This again I cannot confirm since I do not compete athletically in anyway.

Overall Impressions:

I am truly impressed at the level of complexity that has been incorporated into the simple looking device. The advanced level HRV feature is a challenge and certainly one that makes me feel refreshed after a 3 – 5 minute session.

The emWave does certainly aid in reducing my stress levels. There may be other positive factors that can be attributed to the use of the emWave.

1: Increased appetite

2: Better circulation

3: Better concentration levels

4: Reduced headaches

5: Better night’s sleep.

I cannot say for sure the above have improved due to the emWave but certainly I can say that my allergy symptoms do not seem as severe as they are during the day. The puffiness feeling around the eyes and the forehead certainly are reduced after a 3 – 5 minute emWave session. The emWave device certainly has a positive impact on my daily activities and does seem to deliver on its promise to reduce the stress levels.

Cons:

- The materials used in the emWave device and the included carry case does not have the quality feel of other brand name hi-tech mobility products in the same price range.

- This version of the software failed to run correctly on Windows Vista but does run well on Windows XP. NOTE: Updated version of the software is available through the manufacturer.

Pros:

- Works as stated in the literature.

- Very simple to learn but a challenge to master.

- Long battery life.

- The included ear sensor is a real bonus and allows complete freedom on when and where the emWave can be used.

Rating:

I rate the emWave Personal Stress Reliever:

8 out of 10

The price tag of $199.95 USD is a very reasonable price for such a highly specialized and precision device. I would recommend this to anyone with a hectic schedule. If you are continuously on the move due to work or are involved in other stress inducing activities, I would recommend you try the emWave Personal Stress Reliever. Certainly is a good alternative to over use of sleeping pills, pain killers and other medications that you may be taking to ease the stress and tension. This is a one-time cost that last for years and adds immediate benefits to your mental and physical well being. A proper meal balanced with exercise is a key component to a healthy body and mind but adding that extra stress reduction through the use of the emWave is also highly recommended. emWave Personal Stress Reliever is one of the easiest stress reduction tools I have ever come across.

Bob Katayama

Images: Technobrains