My CalmBeat - Reduce Stress Fast

This was clearly a used and then returned product.

We all face stressful situations and stress can cause a variety of reactions ranging from fear, to incapacity. Controlling stress is essential to a happy life. I found that the My CalmBeat product was easy to add to my computer and use. It takes a limited amount of my daily routine, say ten to twenty minutes. It conditions me to be aware of my breathing patterns. Through learning how to slow my breathing through the computer simulations, I find it easier to employ slow methodical breathing when I sense that my heart rate is increasing due to a sressful condition. I recommend it.

I bought My CalmBeat because my blood pressure goes up in stressful situations. I was referred to a military wellness center to try various types of biofeedback. Deep breathing was most effective at calming me. My CalmBeat was similar to the program used at the wellness center. I ordered it, and it arrived quickly. I have Windows 10, and it installed and worked fine with that, although the web site says it works with Win 7 and XP. You have to install it from a disk, so I don't know what you would have to do if you have a laptop without a CD or DVD reader -- maybe you could image the disk to a thumb-drive, or there might be a downloadable copy of the installation program on-line. As soon as I opened the program on my PC, it told me I needed to download a 64 MB update to the program. The update worked fine, although the company's web server seems to be on the slow side -- took over 5 minutes to download -- you need to go get a cup of coffee while waiting. The user agreement with the software didn't make much sense -- just click OK and don't try to understand it. The pulse monitor clips on to your ear and interfaces with a small box about 2" long that connects to a cord to the USB on your PC. A little red light pulses on the box in sync with your heart -- seems to work well. The program supports multiple users -- data is stored on your PC and not remotely (I think). You start by doing a test to determine the breathing rate that is best for you (which can be redetermined anytime you want). When training, you can set the length of your session -- I set mine to 10 minutes, because that's what I read works best. The main negative is, if you ever need tech support, good luck with that. Before I bought the device, I emailed the company twice with questions -- the first time they never replied, and the second time it took 3 days to reply. There is one phone number in the packet, but don't know if it goes to an answering machine. It appears that the company's main office is in Australia, and they only have a skeleton crew in San Francisco. I recommend buying this product, because there are journal articles supporting this type of biofeedback, it has a reasonable price, and I couldn't find a similar product on the internet (although I'm sure others exist).

Great tool to work with finding the best breath rate to use with many psychological interventions. Easy to use and can be supplemented with smart phone apps from the same company. As a Clinical Psychologist I will use this with my clients.

BIOFEEDBACK in your own home! Does what meditation can't even touch. Great for anxiety. Can't say enough good things.

Seems very responsive, calming effect builds with use, really feel the change, especially if you dedicate yourself to the routine. Inexpensive with quality build.