This study examines the acute effect of heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback on anxiety and relaxation states. Eighteen healthy males exposed to work-related stress were randomized into an HRV biofeedback group (BIO) or comparative group (COM). The device used by the COM group appeared identical to the HRV biofeedback device, however, it did not provide biofeedback, rather it displayed a wa...

BACKGROUND A randomized controlled study (RCT) recently showed that short-term heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback in addition to standard rehabilitation care for alcohol dependence can reduce craving, anxiety and improve cardiovascular autonomic function. In this one-year follow-up study we aimed to explore whether completion of 2-week HRV-Biofeedback training is associated with long-term...

Heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback (BFB) is a relatively new approach for helping athletes to regulate competitive stress. To investigate this phenomenon further, a qualitative case study examined the impact of HRV BFB on the mood, physiology, and sport performance of a 14-year-old golfer. The golfer met once per week at a university lab for 10 consecutive sessions of HRV BFB training tha...

Heart rate variability biofeedback (HRVB) significantly improves heart rate variability (HRV). Breathing at resonance frequency (RF, approximately 6 breaths/min) constitutes a key part of HRVB training and is hypothesized to be a pathway through which biofeedback improves HRV. No studies to date, however, have experimentally examined whether RF breathing impacts measures of HRV. The present stu...