The Heart v. The Brain

So the big question for this Valentine blogpost is ‘Which is more important:  the heart or the brain?’

Hmmm. . . while we might feel a bit traitorous denying the heart’s significance, from a practical perspective, it would be the brain that’s most important, wouldn’t it?   Certainly, most of us think of our brains as the controllers not just of our minds but, more generally, of our body’s physiological processes.  Right?  After all, it’s our brain, that controls our subconscious, or ‘automatic’ processes.  Isn’t it?  Yeah . . .  the subconscious processes are managed through the autonomic nervous system.  Do you remember the autonomic nervous system (ANS) from high school biology?  The ANS is controlled largely by the hypothalamus, and it’s what manages our breathing, the pumping of our heart, our digestion and the activities of the liver, the pancreas, and the spleen, for example.   So, yes, doesn’t that mean that the brain is controlling most of our physiology??

Well, apparently, there are alot of scientists who think ‘no.’   Certainly, the 30 years of research and 500 + scientific publications generated by the HeartMath Institute in the US suggest that this top-down, brain-as-ultimate-controller perspective on human function is a bit over-simplified. Heartmath’s research suggests that the heart, which has for long been considered a subordinate player, actually has a powerful influence both on brain function and the body's regulatory processes.

Did you know that in fact there are more signals sent from the heart to the brain than from the brain to the heart?  This is apparently something that has been known since the late 1800s.  Supposedly, this is basic physiology. (Who knew?)  But according to the Heart Math Institute, it’s not just the quantity of the signals that is important, it’s what those signals are about.  Indeed, the signals the heart is sending to the brain are quite significant. The heart is, in fact, providing the brain with a detailed overview of the current condition of the body.  It’s this information that then determines how our brain ‘sets' our emotional state.  In other words, what the heart tells the brain determines whether we should feel calm and relaxed or stressed and anxious.

So . . . just to make this clear.   It’s not that we get emotionally stressed and then our body tenses up . . . although that can happen.  What the Heartmath research is telling us is that our muscles can be clenched and THEN we begin feeling stressed out. 

Of course, we humans often want to explain our feelings of stress with reference to something external, .e.g., our boss, the traffic, that email, or our kids.  And, so, we usually do.  But those external things may not be at all the reason why we are clenching our muscles.  Perhaps we’re clenching our muscles because our body is reacting to pollution in the air or a virus we picked up at work.  Or maybe something’s going on in our gut. Of course, maybe our muscles are clenched because our boss really is a jerk.  But the point is that our bodies can be stressed because of environmental factors that have nothing to do with what we’re thinking or worrying about.  And, that’s important for us to know.  What is happening in our heads is important but it’s not everything. In fact, there are LOTS of other more important things. 

And, that’s what Heartmath is trying to teach us.  This research that Heartmath is doing is best described as neurocardiology.  The Heartmath scientists are trying to isolate the intricate ways in which the heart communicates with and influences the brain. And, what they are learning is forcing a bit of a scientific awakening.  As the Institute suggests on its website:  [R]esearch shows the human heart is much more than an efficient pump that sustains life. Indeed, our heart plays a significant role in shaping our cognitive and emotional experiences.

One of the key revelations from the HeartMath Institute's work is the existence of the intrinsic cardiac nervous system. This intricate network of neurons within the heart enables  the heart to operate independently of the brain, sending signals and influencing at least modestly all the major organs and physiological responses of the body itself. The existence of this heart brain challenges the traditional view of the heart as a passive organ and positions it as an active participant in the body's regulatory mechanisms.

But fascinatingly, it is when the heart’s own magnetic field, which radiates even outside of the body, interacts with our brainwaves that magic occurs.  Indeed, when our heart rhythms actively align with our brainwaves, we realise what the Heartmath researchers refer to as a state of physiological coherence.  This phenomenon, where the two organs, brain and heart, operate in harmony, has profound implications for our well-being. Studies suggest that coherent states are associated with improved cognitive function, emotional stability, and overall health. When we are in this state of coherence, where the heart and brain are working in tandem, each is contributing to a balanced and harmonious physiological state.  Over the long term, heightened coherence leads to improved heart health, cognitive capability, emotional resilience, and calm. 

I feel like what I’ve written thus far is all a bit vague. Okay maybe it’s more than a just a bit vague.  But, honestly, this is a huge field of study and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.  In fact, I’m sure it will be quite awhile before all of the insights that have emerged from Heartmath studies are well understood.  It’s pretty esoteric.  But actually, we may be more familiar with Heartmath’s work than we know.  Have you heard of heart rate variability? If you’re wearing the Ultrahuman ring or the Oura ring, you’ll definitely have heard of it.  Heart rate variability is a measure of the variation in time between successive heartbeats. Apparently, it is key indicator of the dynamic interplay between the heart and the brain.  It’s also a pretty key indicator of our physiological resilience.  And, much of the research about what heart rate variability is and what it means comes out of the Heartmath labs. 

So, that’s pretty practical.

But the Heartmath Institute offers up a host of other practical techniques that we can use as well.  Most of these are interventions and practices that we  can incorporate into our daily lives to promote more heart-brain coherence.  These techniques include heart-focused breathing, and positive emotional refocusing, and the use of biofeedback devices to enhance self-awareness and self-regulation.  I’m still a bit of a newbie in this area but I do know that all of these are pretty powerful, and I’m very excited about sharing them with you in future newsletters or wellness bites.

But . . . hmmm.  I realise that I haven’t actually concluded which is more important - the heart or the brain.   In truth, it was a bit of a rhetorical question.  But I hope that I’ve given you reason to believe that the heart might be doing ALOT more than simply pumping blood. In fact, I hope I’ve convinced you that you might want to learn more about your heart. . . if only to better control your mind. 

Personally, I’m going to be spending a lot more time trying to apply Heartmath’s lifestyle techniques and upping the power of my heart.   Supposedly, it’ll be good not just for me but for the world!  And, that’s a lovely thing to think about this Valentine’s week.

I hope you’ll join me.