Control Your Heart Beat - Mentally and Psychologically

[SamDept]

Hey

 

Is there any way (and i don't mean by exercise) to lower your heart beat Mentally or Psychologically?

For example; You want to try and get your heart beat to around 50BPM but not for a loong period of time, just for say a few minutes ?!

 

Thanks

[Glider]

Biofeedback techniques, relaxation and practice.

[Heretic]

Can't remember the name of the study, but I watched it on Discovery. It had people strapped into a chair and they controled the speed of a train using their heart beats.

 

Within weeks every individual had learned to control their heart rate. Some had more control then others but it was amazing to see that you can force your brain to perform tasks that can be bad for your health.

[Bluenoise]

It's really easy actually. Just think about stuff and get yourself pumped up (sex, sports, violence, anything you consider exciting or stressful). This will raise it quickly.

Or clear you mind and think really calm relaxing thoughts (like floating in a pool with no noise or cares etc...) and it will lower.

 

It will likely work the first time you try. It's really simple.

With practice you can side steps these thoughts and will it directly.

 

It's really far easier than most people would have you think.

 

A good place to practice are those free heartrate and bloodpressure readers the have in large drugstores and walmart.

[Glider]

Can't remember the name of the study, but I watched it on Discovery. It had people strapped into a chair and they controled the speed of a train using their heart beats.

 

Within weeks every individual had learned to control their heart rate. Some had more control then others but it was amazing to see that you can force your brain to perform tasks that can be bad for your health.

How can it be bad for your health?

[Phi for All]

How can it be bad for your health?

I was wondering the same thing. Wouldn't it be like trying to hold your breath until you die? Wouldn't your cardiovascular system be overridden by the autonomic system if you tried to slow your heartbeat past a healthy limit?

[Glider]

Yes it would.

 

The cardiovascular system is directly controlled by the Autonomic Nervous Sysytem via feedback from baroreceptors in the carotid arteries and chemo receptors in the aorta and elsewhere, which monitor pressure and pH (i.e. CO2 conc.).

 

If these move too far away from physiological norms, It triggers the hypothalamus to make compensatory changes via the appropriate division of the ANS. None of this is under conscious control. So, whilst we might be able to slow our heart rate through biofeedback, the ANS would not allow it to go lower than what was physiologically necessary at the time.

[Heretic]

Yes it would.

 

The cardiovascular system is directly controlled by the Autonomic Nervous Sysytem via feedback from baroreceptors in the carotid arteries and chemo receptors in the aorta and elsewhere, which monitor pressure and pH (i.e. CO2 conc.).

 

If these move too far away from physiological norms, It triggers the hypothalamus to make compensatory changes via the appropriate division of the ANS. None of this is under conscious control. So, whilst we might be able to slow our heart rate through biofeedback, the ANS would not allow it to go lower than what was physiologically necessary at the time.

 

Sure of course the system would kick in, but when? Is it before or after the damage is done? If you blackout from lack of oxygen from holding your breath too long have you not already caused damage? I imagine if your heart was beating at a level that caused insufficient supply of oxygen to important systems that the brain would not react until a blackout or enough damage was done to initiate the response.

 

If in fact your body can pre-emptively detect that it will be damaged then I retract my initial statement.

[Glider]

Sure of course the system would kick in, but when? Is it before or after the damage is done?

It's already 'in'. It's always 'in'.

 

The ANS is responsible for all vegetative functions all the time and is outside of conscious control, which is why we need to to use psychological biofeedback techniques to influence these functions at all. Note: We can influence them, but we cannot override them.

 

If you blackout from lack of oxygen from holding your breath too long have you not already caused damage?

Not unless you smash your head on the floor or a table on the way to the floor. At least, no more damage than would be caused by fainting. Neurones are extremely sensitive to ischemia, but you would need to hold your breath for another 3 to 4 minutes after passing out to do any damage.

 

I imagine if your heart was beating at a level that caused insufficient supply of oxygen to important systems that the brain would not react until a blackout or enough damage was done to initiate the response.

The most important system as far as the body is concerned is the brain. The body will actually sacrifice other systems to protect the brain (which is also the most sensitive to blood O2 levels and is also the most greedy, using around 25% of total O2 you use). So, blood oxygen cannot drop to a level that would damage any other organ before the brain reacted.

 

The brain would react as soon as the chemoreceptors detected a drop in blood pH (i.e. an increase in CO2). This is why biofeedback techniques include relaxation. If you are going to reduce your heart rate through biofeedback, you also need to reduce demand. The body will always respond to demand over biofeedback.

 

If in fact your body can pre-emptively detect that it will be damaged then I retract my initial statement.

Yes, it can. The hypothalamus contains comparators for blood pressure and pH (among other things). If actual values deviate too far from these comparator values, the hypothalamus sends signals to the ANS which triggers compensatory actions. For example, if the blood pressure drops too low, the ANS will trigger vasoconstriction (reducing the volume of the circulatory system) and elevate heart rate. If blood pH drops too low, then respiration will be increased.

[casperl]

Can't remember the name of the study, but I watched it on Discovery. It had people strapped into a chair and they controled the speed of a train using their heart beats.

 

Using the speed of a train for presentation is an interesting idea.

[John Rickert]

Years ago I answered an ad in a San Diego paper that was asking for volunteers to take part in a biofeedback experiment. I volunteered. In the lab they wired up my forehead with those stick on sensors and those sensors were plugged into a small box with some electronics inside. The box in turn was hooked to an Apple II+. The Apple II+ should tell you how long ago this was.

 

Anyway, when he turned the machine on, the screen was totally blue. He told me to unclench my jaw and basically start relaxing and keep watching the screen. It took literally seconds and the blue started to reduce from the top of the screen down. Before you knew it, the upper half of the screen was black or blank. I could tense my jay and think of problems in my life and the screen started to get blue again.

 

I am trying to design such a unit and would appreciate any comments especially if anyone has had any of the same experiences.

 

John

[Mr Skeptic]

I think you should be able to buy one, and it would be much easier and probably cheaper than building one and designing a computer program to go with it.

[Sonny]

Is there any way to control your heart beat and not get hurt?

I thought holding your breath or trying to control your heart beat was good for you...

[Patrick Henry]

Is there any way to control your heart beat and not get hurt?

 

To be safe, I'll leave the testing to the experts.

 

But yes, you should be able to control your heartbeat with practice.

[Salts]

My dad was an excellent marksman with a long bow. When he taught me to shoot the first thing he did was make me practice slowing my heart down. Once I could do this with my hand feeling my heart and had it down I got to use the bow. It was a breathing pattern, I can't always do it now but It was a full breath, then a short breath, then I would fully exhale, and after a slight pause pull in half a breath and then hold my breath.

 

My heart would skip a beat, the rythm was interupted and actually seemed to accelerate but there was a definite moment just after I held my breath when my heart would stop.

 

visually it would look like this:

 

beat...beat...beat... ! ...beatbeat...beat...beat...

 

This made it possible for me to shoot between beats, which is especially important when you are right-handed, as you hold the bow with your left. The left arm being closest to the heart of course. I found I need a 10-15 seconds to recover after this before I could do it again.

 

I've heard that special forces marksman have some similar techniques for body control. I'd be interested to know how this works.

[Zolar V]

just a fyi, whistle i read this thread ilowered my heart rate to 48 bpm.... then again my resting is 55 - 60.

[Gioves]

Even from when i was young i fealth i can control something related to the heart.i tried exercicing that feeling i had and increase what i fealth.I later realized that i can control my heartbeat in a way that many people where shocked when i showed them.Standing totaly motionless and without controling my breath or thinking about stuff wich was mentioned earlier by a member(sex, sport ,violence) i can almoust double my hart rate in just a few seconds(5sec) .If someone reads this and thinks that this is something interesting and i could take some more study tests or use this for something productive please contact me.thank's to all

Edited June 22, 2010 by Gioves
gramatical mistake

[dallasbean36]

Hey

 

Is there any way (and i don't mean by exercise) to lower your heart beat Mentally or Psychologically?

For example; You want to try and get your heart beat to around 50BPM but not for a loong period of time, just for say a few minutes ?!

 

Thanks

 

just close your eyes, take a deep breath, focus on your heart beat (get a real good feel for it), let out your air and concentrate on it going slower. that simple =)

[beetar2425]

I think u.can make hb lower by put ur. finger in ur.ear and move it quikly or by putting peice of ice on ur. face these stimulate vagus nerve and lead to release acetyl choline and finaly lead to decrease heart beats........

[mikek]

I am sure there is some form of hypnosis that can be used to calm one's systems and thus lower their rate.

[John R]

i can slow mine down. while your trying to sleep listen to your heart beat the focus and slow it i do it every day.

[wright496]

Also listening to music can affect your heart rate, as your heart rate will drift towards the beat.

[E-MC²]

ok now that we got the part of the information... what happens when the heart beat increases or decreases?

 

 

[TonyMcC]

It is usual for competition class rifle competitors to lower their heart rate as they gently squeeze the trigger. This and breath control helps keep the rifle steady.

[spara6]

I can do this guys I'm not sure if its me controlling adrenaline or heart rate directly tho I have tested it several times tho. If im not doing anything I can get it from 60bpm to 130bpm I can even do it while im running Its never caused my any harm and I have been able to do it since I was a child. Thanks for the topic I have read alot of useful information that I can take into regard because I was previously worried about doing it.