emWave Personal Stress Reliever (Silver)
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Customer Reviews of emWave Personal Stress Reliever (Silver)
Customer Review: Cool device that doesn't do much. And the heartmath techniques don't work
Summary: 3 Stars
For $200, it really isn't a device that does much. It just gives you lights to tell you how in coherence you are.
on the subject of coherence, I have tried very hard to get Heartmath's ideas of cut-thru, freeze frame, etc. to work. They never did. I never got any subjective benefits from doing them and when I used either the stresseraser or the emwave I would not get verifiable results that I was entering coherence. I found if I tried to do heartmath techniques I got the same results as I got just sitting around doing nothing or watching TV. They don't work at all for me.
But I did find that deep diaphragm breathing works extremely well for entering coherence. Breath via the nose through the abdomen for a count of 4-6, then out via the mouth for 8-10. Repeat.
Before I usually ended up getting red and blues on level one (there are 4 difficulty levels on the emwave and the colors signify how in coherence you are in the order of red-blue-green) with virtually no greens. But once I ignored the heart math techniques and ignored trying to sync my breathing with HRV and just focused on deep breathing I was able to get steady green lights on level 2 and 3 difficulty. I am hoping I will be able to get steady green lights on level 3, so I can try level 4. But with the heartmath techniques I was stuck on level 1.
So for me this device has a few good selling points.
1. It motivates me to focus on meditation (it is easier to sit through 10-15 minutes with this device than without it).
2. It gave me actual verification of what I was experiencing subjectively with various meditation tools. Both this and the stresseraser (I own both) showed no benefit to heartmath techniques but a strong benefit from deep breathing. Without these biofeedback devices I never would've know what my personal physiology responds best to.
But is it worth $200? Not really. Maybe $80. I got mine cheaper than $200 though.
Once you learn an effective method of stress reduction you don't need a biofeedback device anymore IMO. I can do deep breathing exercises w/o this device. But if I had never used it I might never know deep breathing works for me but the heartmath techniques do not.
Customer Review: Algorithmic mind clearing apparatus
Summary: 5 Stars
There's a lot of hype about these products. This one works. Here's a simple definition of what this and the (much) more expensive 'stresseraser' do:
They detect your heartbeat.
Specifically, they measure the beat-to-beat timing, and show you how this (ideally) increases and decreases as you breathe in and out.
If you're angry or stressed or winded, your heart's just going to pump madly away and ignore the available oxygen in your lungs. If you can clear your mind, let go, and just breathe, you can get your heart working in synch with your lungs. It'll pump a little faster when there's more air available, a bit slower when there isn't. You can try this on your own. The product helps you learn to feel that and detect it. Within a month or two you'll just have this trained as a reflex and you'll be able to do it on your own, and know when you're doing it right.
Once you've got it 'tuned' you can do fun things like imagine irritating coworkers and watch your bpm go up, and see what sorts of relaxy things make it go back down.
Little details: the ear clip is _very_ comfortable, surprisingly so.
The thing's _very_ light, easy to hold.
The way the LED red/blue/green feedback readout fades slowly between colors is FANTASTIC - it avoids making you heart rate spike when you're doing it wrong.
Customer Review: It works
Summary: 4 Stars
To be totally honest, I bought the EmWave because it was so much cheaper than the hand-held biofeedback products that I was actually wanting. I was disappointed when I received it because all it does is measure your pulse and breathing rate. What would this prove? The machine has three zones that it tracks. From what I can tell, despite what the instruction booklet says, if your breathing is shallow, the emwave will put you in the lowest zone. If you breathe deeply, the emwave will rate you in one of the two higher zones. The deeper and steadier your breath, the higher your zone. I was really irritated when I found out that's all it was doing. The problem is, I can't keep my irritation - because it works. If you do the deep breathing for at least 5 minutes, you will find that your stress level decreases dramatically. I have actually come to work and found voice mails or e-mails waiting for me that have put me at the highest stress levels. If I use the Emwave, I calm back down. Now, the trick is to learn to use it immediately upon receiving the stressful news rather than reacting and then using the machine. ;) Bottom line, I recommend it. It works.Customer Review: Don't waste your money on this
Summary: 1 Stars
I am very disappointed in this product. It is supposed to measure stress levels and help you control your breathing to reduce the stress. Then, the lights change from red (stressed) to blue (stress has been reduced). However, it doesn't matter what I do, when I start the "stress reliever," it shows red stressed, then within a few minutes whether I am properly breathing or not, stressed or not, the lights change to blue. If I try again within seconds, it shows red-stressed, then changes to blue. I decided to test this on my kids (ages 3 & 5). They are NOT stressed and I get the same result with them. It starts at red, then changes to blue within a couple of minutes. This product appears to be a useless waste of money. I am irritated that I didn't return it and am now stuck with it. I am also irritated that I "fell for" this product. With so many high ratings, I'm wondering why so many people like this product. I could make a list of all the things I am stressed about......while NOT properly breathing with this stress reliever.....and it will still indicate my stress has been properly reduced to blue. Don't waste your money on this.Customer Review: Great Stuff!
Summary: 5 Stars
It is a little pricey, but definitely worth the overall expense. Especially when you consider that getting a handle on your stress reduction is an invaluable asset to acquire. This device works smashingly for me, it is easy to use for entrancing your mental activity and getting in that oh, so sweet, state of mind where anxiety just melts away paving the road for more effective decision making.
What's better is that this device is so portable that you can have it w/ you EVERYWHERE. Thinking of quiting a nasty habit, this device can DEFINITELY aid in that goal when used properly and does NOT require ingestion of chemicals to alter your mood!
Hmmmm, a drug free, mood stabilizing solution. How can you beat it?
I highly recommend this. Good fortunes, and Good life!