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Did you know neurocardiologists and many other scientists believe the heart, which constantly shares information with the brain, has a brain of its own?
We now know that the heart sends much more information to the brain than it receives, including signals that can influence perception, emotional experience and higher mental processes. Dr. J. Andrew Armour introduced the term, "heart brain," in 1991. Armour showed that the heart’s complex nervous system qualified it as a "little brain."
Science of the Heart, a signature HeartMath Institute (HMI) work, explains that the heart brain, like the brain proper, has an intricate network of several types of neurons, neurotransmitters, proteins and support cells. It can act independently to learn, remember, feel and sense.
One of the key discoveries HMI researchers made about the heart brain, which it also calls the intelligent heart, is intentionally experiencing emotions can change the information the heart sends to the brain. HeartMath Institute studies have shown emotions such as compassion, care and love or generally positive feeling states actually can benefit you in many ways.
For example, in one HMI study, hundreds of participants were asked to intentionally feel positive emotions. The result was that their heart rhythms became smoother and more stable, particularly after having felt a negative emotion.
Smooth and stable heart rhythms are signs of coherence, a psychophysiological state in which our mental perception, intuitive awareness and performance in a range of activities improve.
Click here to view fascinating images of the heart-brain.
Learn more about the "little brain" in the heart, heart-brain interactions and how coherence leads to improved personal performance, health and well-being in the Science of the Heart online e-book.
The HeartMath emWave Pro is a scientifically validated heart-rate monitoring system that facilitates learning techniques to create an optimal state in which the heart, mind, and emotions are operating in-sync. It empowers you to self-regulate your emotions and behaviours to reduce stress, increase resilience, and unlock your natural intuitive guidance for making more effective choices — enabling you to break through to greater levels of personal balance, creativity, insight, and health. This technology will play an important role in our upcoming Mind-Body Coherence: Vagal Toning Program, launching 2021.
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