StressEraser Portable Biofeedback Device
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List Price: Our Price: $131.99 You Save: $47.01 (26%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Health Care See more product details |
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Customer Reviews of StressEraser Portable Biofeedback Device
Customer Review: Proceed With Insight
Summary: 3 Stars
I do own this machine and I think it is a cool tool to have, but I would not necessarily recommend this for someone on a budget who is looking for bona fide relaxation solution.
Some meditation traditions focus on almost exclusively attending to your breath. This means focusing on your breath without really trying change it. Other traditions focus on changing your breathing. Either way, these methods are free and can be more rewarding in my opinion.
Yes, this is a biofeedback machine, but it works under the loosely woven premise that it will stimulate your vagus nerve and make you more relaxed. Another way to stimulate this nerve is by exercising. Try spending 30 minutes a day walking. If you do buy this machine, try a few sessions with the machine. After that, try some cardio and then using the machine to see where you are. You will be astonished that simply exercising may produce the same effects your just paid >$250 for.
Good luck.
Customer Review: Interesting, but does it work
Summary: 3 Stars
Opening the box there are a bunch of cards, make sure you read them since one of them tells you how to put the batteries in the correct direction. The instruction booklet really does not saying what the graph being displayed comes from? Just to exhale slowly when you hear the beep or see the triangle at the top of the screen.
Two weeks and I am still struggling to get three bars (what you are supposed to be doing).
Six weeks later I am wondering whether I have less stress. Is my body or mind less stressed? I really not sure and the 30-day money-back has gone by.
Too expensive for what you get. Starting out I think it gave me more stress, then it reduced. I think I will go back to meditation, its free.
Customer Review: Cool when it works - Stressful when it doesn't
Summary: 2 Stars
I thought this was such a great idea! When it arrived, I stuck my finger in and started breathing. It seemed to accurately respond my breathing. I found myself taking deeper breaths, just to get those little blocks to show up in sets of 3. I felt very relaxed and even slightly dizzy (surely due to the increased oxygen flowing through my body).
Then, a few days later, something happened within the machine. I had only used it two or three times and it seemed like it was going on the "fritz" - not shutting off, not responding accurately, asking me to "insert finger" when it was already inserted, etc.
I tried resetting it, reinserting batteries, reading the manual, warming my finger, etc. Nothing worked. It was definitely causing much more stress than it had ever erased. I tried my deep breathing on my own and it seemed to work (go figure!).
It stayed on my shelf for a few more weeks, until my mom came over. She frequently meditates and practices yoga (at least a few times a week). It didn't recognize her finger at first, either. After some more fiddling, and yes, more stress, it "found" her finger and biorhythm and she began to breathe with it. Her feedback was that the exhalation cue came too soon for her natural, slow breathing. She found herself breathing faster than normal, to "keep up" with the pattern. She thought it was a waste of money. More stress for me.
I thought about returning it, but the 30 days flew by and so now, I am stuck with it. More stress. I just tried it again, and it seemed to work for half of my breaths. I got a bit dizzy, and suddenly felt like taking a nap. Maybe that's where the stress erasing comes in. I should have just stuck to my own deep breathing practice and a few naps, when needed. And, maybe a little more water, a little more activity, and a little less sugar. That's a lot more effective, eco-friendly, and less costly way to reduce stress.
I rely on reviews here at Amazon to help me make informed buying choices. I hope this review has helped you in the same manner. If you voted this as helpful, I Thank You! :)
Customer Review: May be OK if it works
Summary: 2 Stars
This product seemed to work at times and at others I turned it on, inserted my finger, and a dotted line just proceeded across the middle of the screen. I gave it a few minutes and nothing happened. Then I tried warming up my hands and reinstalling the batteries but no luck. Maybe I have a weak pulse or something? Or maybe it's just defective.
The two times it did work I found that breathing out to a count of seven and breathing in to a count of eight quickly resulted in continuous 3 dot scores. I got 40 in a row ten or so minutes after opening the package. Maybe its chief value is in telling you what your ideal breathing pattern is. But in all fairness, I do think it worked a little better when I followed the prompts.
Three dot scores don't necessarily result in happiness, however. I found myself getting angry that I had just spent about $150 on a machine that didn't take much effort to get right. Then I noticed that even though I was getting angry I was still getting three dot scores which irritated me more.
Anyway, I was going to use it for about 30 days in a row and see if regular use really did make a difference in generally making me feel less stressed or better as a whole. But it just wasn't working most of the time so I returned it.
Customer Review: $299 placebo?
Summary: 2 Stars
I am a retired doctor and thought this would be the perfect "scientific" way to reap the benefits of meditation, which have eluded me in the past. Unfortunately, either my unit is defective or it's extremely difficult to coordinate one's breathing with the little triangles that come up very quickly and very erratically. There is a mechanism that supposedly allows you to adjust the triangle appearance rate to suit your breathing, but I couldn't tell that it does anything at all. It actually stresses me out to try to use this device. Note that I have only had it for a couple of days, so I will keep trying, but at this point, I'm ready to send it back. Also, based on the "feedback" it gives the user, I really don't understand what it is measuring. It simply can't be sensitive enough to detect what it purports to detect without being very much more complex than it is. On the plus side, it does appear to be well made of quality materials. But I'd say it's definitely not worth the price. Unless you're into placebo effect... which is not a bad thing, actually.