Breath Measurement and Biofeedback Training

To reduce stress and its vegetative symptoms, biofeedback training can be performed by monitoring and reporting your breathing. Frequently, feedback alone is enough without specifications, and the user automatically breathes more calmly and evenly.

In addition to this measurement and feedback, it is also possible to specify how the user should breathe. The app includes a breathing aid for this purpose. A bar, line or sphere changes by rising or zooming to symbolize inhalation. A falling of the beam or lines, as well as a shrinking of the sphere shows an exhalation. The user follows this guideline by breathing. The breathing target is freely adjustable regarding inhalation – hold – exhale – hold.

Breathing can be used quite universally for biofeedback training. In stress medicine and psychophysiology, respiratory biofeedback is used, for example, for depression, heart disease, asthma, anxiety disorders and insomnia. Breathing biofeedback is also common in coaching and competitive sports. Improving breathing patterns can help relieve tensions, cope with stress and anxiety, and help you react more calmly in everyday life. If you suffer from an illness, do not treat yourself; instead, consult a therapist. eSense Respiration is not a medical device and may only be used for stress reduction.

The eSense Respiration is a handy device. It can record respiration and display it as a measurement curve, for example. Look at the following example of a measurement at rest and with even, slow breathing:

As you can see in the example above, the curve is a distinct sine wave and the amplitudes are very uniform. Such a waveform is desirable.

The curve looks very different under requirements and with uneven breathing, as the following figure shows:

In this example above, the curve is uneven, and the deflections are different.

In the eSense app, you can do a free training or complete predefined procedures. Your breathing is reported back, and an increase (inhalation; belt expanding) changes a feedback in a certain way, while a decrease (exhalation; belt contracting) changes a feedback in a slightly different way.

As feedback there is; e.g., a video, which becomes brighter or sharper in the positive case (darker or blurred in the negative case), a music, whose volume changes, tones, which change in the sound, a vibration of the smartphone, and much more. Of interest is the function of controlling a smart light bulb (Philips Hue or Magic Blue), whereby breathing is reflected in the change in color and brightness of one or more lamps. You can use your breathing to illuminate an entire room in different ways. A biofeedback training session consists of four training phases. Plan about 60 to 90 minutes for the first session, during which you can do the training undisturbed and coherently. Detailed instructions can be found in the chapter “Training sequence”.