BCIA Continuing Education Posts

Quigley et al. (2024) delivered a comprehensive and much-needed revision of the methodological standards guiding research in heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) within psychophysiology.

Breathing ensures healthy CO2 levels. The main functions of breathing are gas exchange and acid-base (pH) regulation.

The research explores whether a longer exhale boosts heart rate variability.

Vagal activity and parasympathetic nervous system function produce respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and heart rate variability (HRV).

This review addresses 14 misconceptions regarding cardiovascular health, HRV measurement, and HRV biofeedback training.

If you don’t correct dysfunctional breathing patterns like overbreathing, they can compromise the effectiveness of HRVB training.

Slow-paced contraction (SPC) increases heart rate variability (HRV) as effectively as slow-paced breathing (SPB).

Download our open-access Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback inhalation-to-exhalation ratio article.

Blood volume pulse (BVP) is an indispensable tool for evaluating and training clients for chronic pain, hypertension, and performance.

Four HRV myths are Heart Rate Variability Is Bad, Stability Is Good, The Sympathetic Nervous System Plays a Major Role in Short-Term HRV,...

Resonance frequency (RF) assessment identifies the stimulation frequency producing the greatest amplitude heart rate oscillations in one...

Measurement context and client characteristics are crucial to interpreting HRV time- and frequency-domain measurements. In this post, we...

HRV Time-Domain Measurements for Smart People describes these measurements, caveats, and practical applications.

Slow-paced contraction to increase heart rate variability

The low-frequency (LF) band (0.04-0.15 Hz) is affected by breathing from ~3-9 bpm (Task Force, 1996). The baroreflex system’s resonance...

The electrocardiograph (ECG) and photoplethysmograph (PPG) are two methods of detecting heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV)....

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is the speeding and slowing of the heart across each breathing cycle. RSA is the primary and entirely...

Heart rate (HR) is important because a high rate can reduce heart rate variability (HRV), the changes in the time intervals between...