Abstract
Heart rate variability biofeedback (HRVB) is a behavioral intervention that uses resonance frequency breathing to synchronize the heart rate and breathing patterns. This study aimed to explore how many sessions of wearable HRVB devices are needed to increase the HRV index and decrease breathing rates and to compare the HRVB protocol with other psychological intervention programs in HRV indices and breathing rates. Sixty-four participants were randomly assigned to either the HRVB or relaxation training (RT) group. Both groups received interbeat intervals (IBIs) and breathing rates measurement at the pre-training baseline, during training, and post-training baseline from weeks 1 to 4. IBIs were transformed into HRV indices as the index of the autonomic nervous system. The Group × Week interaction effects significantly in HRV indices and breathing rates. The between-group comparison found a significant increase in HRV indices and decreased breathing rates in the HRVB group than in the RT group at week 4. The within-session comparison in the HRVB group revealed significantly increased HRV indices and decreased breathing rates at weeks 3 and 4 than at weeks 1 and 2. There was a significant increase in HRV indices and a decrease in breathing rates at mid- and post-training than pre-training in the HRVB group. Therefore, 4 weeks of HRVB combined with a wearable device are needed in increasing HRV indices and decrease breathing rates compared to the relaxation training. Three weeks of HRVB training are the minimum requirement for increasing HRV indices and reducing breathing rates compared to the first week of HRVB.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan for research funding (Grant Number: MOST 104-2410-H-037-001). We would like to thank Sui-Pi Chen, Ph.D., and Ching-Yu Huang, Ph.D., at the Industrial Technology Research Institute, who assisted with the application and smartphone. We would especially like to thank the student assistants San-Yu Wang, Ying-Ju Chen, Ya-Ting Hung, Hsin-Yi Lin, and Chia-I Ko for data collection.
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This study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan (Grant Number: MOST 104-2410-H-037-001).
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I-Mei Lin received a research grant from the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
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All procedures were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all the patients included in the study.
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Lin, IM., Chen, TC., Tsai, HY. et al. Four Sessions of Combining Wearable Devices and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Biofeedback are Needed to Increase HRV Indices and Decrease Breathing Rates. Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback 48, 83–95 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-022-09567-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-022-09567-x