Biofeedback Device | Consumer Product Reviews

I purchased StressEraser Portable Biofeedback device because I have been searching for ways on how to calm down my nerves. I noticed that I tend to forget things and get angry very without apparent effort when I’m stressed out. I want to undertake this product and see if it may help me. I purchased it for $250 online and I’ve been using it for 2 weeks already. First, I like it because it is so handy. It looks like a pager that you may put in your pocket and use anytime you need to. Whenever you feel stressed out, all you need to do is to put it out, put your finger on the percentage where you insert your finger and then follow it is instruction. The instruction will tell you when you will breathe in and breathe out.

It’s a finelooking cool gadget. Basically, it helps you make your breath slower. The manual says that studies have shown that decelerating down your breath will have substantial effect on your state of mind. The biofeedback device will measure your pulse and will tell you if you’re doing the breathing correctly. If you’re doing it the right way and you’re getting less stressed out, 3 cubes will appear in the monitor. If you are not following it and you still have a fast pulse rhythm, 1 cube will appear which means that your performance is not good. It is like a trainer that tells you precisely your condition and what to do in regards to it. While you’re doing it, it guides you until the time that you achieved your goal of having slower breathing and calmer mind. So far, after 2 weeks of using it each time I feel that I will get angry and pissed off or each time I feel I’m pressured with deadlines at work, I just put it out and follow the instructions.

Stresseraser Portable Biofeedback Device

Portable biofeedback device for relaxation training, activates the body’s natural relaxation response by synchronizing breathing with heart rate.

Manufacturer

The StressEraser is an award-winning, FDA-regulated, portable biofeedback device that helps you learn to activate your body’s natural relaxation response in minutes — without the use of medication.

Is there stress in your life? Now more than ever, you need the StressEraser^®

The premise behind StressEraser stress relief is simple and has been applied in exercise by physicians, psychologists and meditation experts for more than three decades. This state-of-the art medical engineering science fits in your pocket and is drug-free and non-invasive. It uses a finger sensor to convert your pulse into a wave form. This wave guides you to synchronize your breathing with your heart rate cycle.

We all recognise that decelerating down your breathing may slow down your heart rate and support you relax. The StressEraser cues you to not only slow your breathing but, just as importantly, to synchronize your inhales and exhales with the natural cycle of your heart rate.

Using an infrared sensor, the StressEraser measures HRV from the pulse in your fingertip and displays it as a wave.

Bad Waves. When you’re stressed, your wave is jagged and spiky.

Good Waves. When you’re relaxed, your wave becomes smooth and consistent, like a sine wave.

How It Works
From beat to beat, your heart rate naturally increments and decreases in a cycle, known as HRV, or Heart Rate Variability. Using an infrared sensor, the StressEraser measures HRV from the pulse in your fingertip and displays it as a wave. HRV is considered to be the most accurate, non-invasive measurement of your nervous scheme activity. HRV biofeedback is clinically proven over decades of peer-reviewed exploration to publicize stress relief and relaxation training.

The wave is like a window into your nervous system. When you’re stressed, your wave is jagged and spiky; when you’re relaxed, your wave becomes smooth and consistent, like a sine wave.

How You Use It
The StressEraser uses simple biofeedback symbols — squares and triangles — to cue your breathing. Triangles indicate the “peak” of the wave — that is, the most immediate point of your heart rate in your HRV cycle. Squares provide a scoring system for your waves, so you recognise when you are concentered and breathing properly.

Your goal is to time your inhale/exhale rate so that you begin your exhale at the moment that the triangle appears at the wave peak. It may take various triangles for you to completely sync up, so be patient. There’s no hurry! Remember your goal is to relax.

Studies show that HRV biofeedback shows more gains over time. After a few days and weeks, you’ll be capable to relax in just minutes. The more you use it, the better you’ll feel!

What’s in the Box
StressEraser personal biofeedback device, Owner’s Manual, Quick-Start card, Warranty registration card, two AAA batteries, protective case

Most helpful customer reviews

214 of 218 people found the following review helpful.
Fantastic device, probably not for “hardcore” meditators
By Russell Christopher
I have a long time, twice-a-day meditation practice which includes breathing techniques, but was curious about this device anyway. So, I bought it on impulse. It is impressive, but simple and easy to use. I’d recommend it to anyone who doesn’t have some sort of regular (2-3 times daily) stress-relief practice in place. It’s function is simple – you simply breath in, then exhale when the device prompts you to. The tool sort of “teaches” you how to breath based on feedback on the screen, and as you learn to focus on the breath…poof, you stop worrying about other stuff.

160 of 163 people found the following review helpful.
A little expensive, but it works great for me
By Mark B
I bought this thing because I was curious about it, thought I’d try it out and intended on sending it back once I convinced myself that it was a glorified breathing machine. Well, the thing works for me so I won’t be sending it back.
You can read about the theory behind it at their website, but basically it measures your heart rate variability which in turn is supposed to reflect your emotional state. The device prompts you to breath out at a certain time to bring your HRV to an optimum level, which it measures by giving you a rating of 1-3 cubes at the bottom of the screen, 1 being bad and 3 being good.
The first thing that I wanted to know was whether it accurately reflected my mental state, which I doubted it would. So I’ve tried thinking about something stressful at random times during periods when I was otherwise relaxed (3 cubes) and it gives me 1 cube pretty much every time. 1 cube definitely feels worse than 3 cubes. I’ve repeated this many times over and I don’t doubt now that it can tell if I’ve gone from a relaxing state of mind to a stressful one. I can also tell now, based on how I feel, when I will get 1 cube vs. 3. This has turned out to be useful information because I can make myself feel relaxed without having to use the device, so I think the biofeedback component is really useful – it has helped me train myself to relax. It’s a bit like a relaxation coach. I still can’t get as relaxed on my own as I can using it, but maybe in time I’ll be able to.
The next thing I was interested in is whether this thing is any better than just sitting there and breathing calmly. Having convinced myself that it accurately predicts whether I’m stressed, I’ve tried to test this by ignoring the breathing prompts and just breathing in a nice calm manner and recording how many 3 cubes vs. 1 cubes I got in 15 minutes and comparing that number with the one obtained from breathing based on prompts for 15 minutes. Generally I get about 30-40% more using the prompts. The difference seems to be decreasing, but I think that’s because I have learned to breath the way it wants me to w/out the prompts. Basically I’m getting better at using breathing to decrease stress so I don’t need to rely on the device as much. At the beginning though, I wasn’t too good at using breathing to calm myself.
Obviously I can’t tell if this works for everyone, and I bet some people are good at using deep breathing to calm themselves so that they wouldn’t benefit so much from this, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised in that it’s not a scam and it has helped me to de-stress without drinking a bottle of wine every night like I used to do (kidding). I’d like to see the price come down though.

103 of 108 people found the following review helpful.
The Real Deal
By SanDiegoDude
This might seem to be a gimmick along the lines of the thigh-master or the ronco fish-a-matic.

See all 64 customer reviews…