Transform Stress With Heart-Brain Coherence

We all know that emotions have a physiological effect on our bodies.  Strong emotions like anger, overwhelm, sadness, frustration, or worry, for example, can cause an increase in respiration and heart rate. Other reactions include hormonal changes and blood pressure and changes in our autonomic nervous system.  One thing we don’t see is how much energy gets used when we have physiological response to strong emotions. 

Another thing that happens when we feel stress and the strong emotions associated with it is reduced mental clarity and lack of self-regulation leading to poor decision making.  When self-regulation is low, we may lash out at someone, or reach for crappy food, or choose not to do the exercise we know we should do.  

So stressful emotions reduce energy, result in poor self-regulation and can also cause pain.  All these are really good reasons to do something about reducing those emotions associated with stress. The good news is that you can learn techniques to help improve your emotional response to stress. 

Thoughts are associated with the brain and emotions are associated with the heart.  When we can calm our emotions down, we can induce a coherent physiological state between the heart and the brain.  When in a state of coherence, we are better able to maintain composure in the heat of the moment.

Coherence in this sense indicates a harmonious relationship between systems. It is an optimal state when the heart, mind and emotions are aligned and in sync. Sometimes our heart and brain are not in sync, and this actually causes a deep internal stress. Heart rhythm coherence is indicated by heart rate variability (HRV) which can be measured. 

In a previous article I talked about HRV which is an overall indicator of health. HRV is the interval between successive heart beats. When the heart rate changes between heart beats in general HRV increases. When heart rate slows down, there is more variability between heart beats and HRV goes up.  High HRV is associated with a state of coherence. 

High coherence and HRV are associated with high self-regulation, adaptability and resilience.  Low coherence and low HRV are associated with chronic stress, illness, and inadequate functioning of self-regulatory control systems.   

At the “heart” of coherence is heart-brain communication.  What we now know is that the heart sends far more information to the brain than the brain sends to the heart. Signals from the heart especially affect the brain centres involved with strategic thinking, reaction times and self-regulation. Communication between the heart and brain is via the vagus nerve.  It is estimated that 80-90% of the vagus nerve fibres are ascending, meaning from the body, and especially the heart, to the brain. 

When not in a state of coherence, it’s like driving a car with one foot on the brake and one foot on the accelerator. It’s not good for the car and it wastes fuel (energy).

Coherence facilitates brain function, specifically the decision-making parts of our brain, the pre-frontal cortex. Foresight, goal setting, and abstract thinking are improved.

In a coherent state we are better able to discriminate, we make better choices and are better able to self-regulate. 

Are you sold on the benefits of coherence?  Of course you are!  So how can you improve coherence? An excellent way to improve coherence is with heart-focused breathing. 

Find a place you can sit quietly, ideally without being disturbed.  Close your eyes and take several long, deep breaths.  Focus on your heart and the space around it.  Try to Imagine you are breathing in and out of your heart space.  Imagine the breath coming in to your heart, swirling around and moving out.  Now, try to remember a time when you felt good.  A situation which filled you with love, joy, excitement, peacefulness or gratitude.  Try to relive that event and really feel the emotion you experienced at that time.  Try to shift from thinking about the event to feeling the event. If your mind wanders, bring yourself back to the feeling.  When you are ready, bring your attention back to the present time.  As you go about your day, try to hang on to the feeling you experienced. 

Now, doesn’t that feel better?  You can also do this practice with your eyes open. Do heart-focused breathing anytime you feel stressed. It will help calm stressful emotions and help you self-regulate 

A great way to help improve your health is choosing to create peace and calm while you are eating.  HOW you eat can be as important as WHAT you eat.  I have a great resource for you to implement TODAY to help you become empowered in your health.  Click on the image below to receive it.