Effects of Non-Focused Elf-Emf Treatment on Hrv: Preliminary Study

Abstract

Background: The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) is involved in the response to various emotional stimuli like anxiety, stress, and the sense of wellbeing. As a control system the ANS plays a variety of roles in humans, including regulation of the cardiac function, which can be studied by analyzing heart rate variability (HRV). HRV coherence has been associated with a sense of wellbeing, along with enhanced cognitive, social, and physical performance. Extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) are used in a variety of clinical areas, however very little is known to date about the functional mechanisms involved in vivo . An interaction with the ANS is one of the possible ways in which the effects of ELF-EMF therapy are modulated in liv ing systems. ANS electromagnetic configurations meas uring the HRV using a HeartMath® EmWave® in age were recruited and divided into two groups (treatment group µ and control group λ). After measuring the baseline HRV coherence state (ω) the subjects in group µ were as sessed during administration of 5 different ELF-EMF configu rations from a SEQEX® device, all at the same intensity of 20 μT (the name attributed to the configuration is in brackets) for a duration of 3 min. each: 1-3 Hz (δ), 4-8 Hz (θ), 9-13 Hz (α), 15-29 Hz (β), and 31-56 Hz (γ). The subjects in group λ were measured in the same way and the same number of times. Results: The initial coherence values ω were comparable be tween the two groups (µ: 36%, λ: 36.39%). Under the 1-3 Hz (δ) and 15-29 Hz (β) treatment configurations, group µ had an average HRV coherence of 46.26% and 47.26% respec-tively, while group λ had 38.13% and 37.39% respectively, representing a significant increase in HRV coherence under treatment (p δ = 0.035 and p β = 0.046). Conclusions: The ANS appears to be sensitive in a frequency dependent manner to treatment with ELF-EMF. This is very important, if confirmed in further studies, not only for better understanding the mechanism of action of ELF-EMF on complex biological systems, but more impor tantly for therapeutic purposes under different levels of psy-chopathological discomfort like stress and anxiety, as well as for modulating perceived pain and organ dysregulation.