Study, New Analysis Technique Support Group Synchronization With Magnetic Fields

 

Source – HeartMathby HeartMath, January 10th, 2018

The interpersonal relationships of a group of individuals in Lithuania were found to affect the degree of synchronization of their heart rhythms as well as changes in local magnetic fields during a recently published research study.

The research, which supported a HeartMath hypothesis on these effects, was conducted using a newly developed and validated analysis technique by researchers at the Kaunas University of Technology in Lithuania. The study, Identification of a Group’s Physiological Synchronization with Earth’s Magnetic Field, was published in September in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Study Marks a First.“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to incorporate psychological data gathered throughout the experiment in the context of physiological synchronization to other group members and with the Earth’s time-varying magnetic fields,” according to the study.

“The main objective of this study was to assess the synchronization between the HRV (heart rate variability) time series of each participant and the magnetic field data. This information was then used to construct clusters of participants within the group based on the estimated synchronization between their HRV and the magnetic field.”

The new computational approach the researchers employed in their work allowed them to identify physiological synchronization among individual group members’ slow-wave rhythms in HRV and the degree of synchronization with changes in the local geomagnetic field. This new approach was developed out of a desire “to improve the assessment of physiological synchronization and also identify different clusters of individuals’ response patterns.” (The approach used what researchers call “near-optimal chaotic attractor embedding techniques.” You can read more about the study, Identification of a Group’s Physiological Synchronization with Earth’s Magnetic Field.

Study participants comprised 20 medical students attending the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. From Feb. 26 to March 12, 2015, the participants continuously wore cardiac monitors (the Bodyguard 2 from Firstbeat Technologies Ltd.) These monitors gathered each participant’s inter-beat-intervals (IBI) – the time between each pair of heartbeats in an electrocardiogram.

All the Magnetic Fields.It is important to note that Earth itself and all living systems on Earth radiate electromagnetic fields that can be detected with highly sensitive scientific instruments. For example, the human heart and brain each emit their own magnetic fields, though the heart’s field is much more powerful than the brain’s – estimated to be 100 times more powerful.

HeartMath Institute has shown in previous research the magnetic-field signals generated by an individual’s heart actually have the ability to affect people around that individual. In one experiment, using traditional EEG (brain)- and ECG (heart)-monitoring equipment, scientists detected synchronization between a mother’s brainwaves and her baby’s heartbeats when the mother focused attention on her baby. This synchronization occurred even though the two were not in physical contact.

As the authors of the study note, “Of all the physiological systems studied thus far, the rhythms of the heart and the brain are most strongly associated with changes in geomagnetic conditions.”

A number of studies also have associated human physiological systems and magnetic fields, including one highlighted in this study by one of its authors, HeartMath Institute Director of Research Rollin McCraty. That study “found a surprising degree of synchronization between geomagnetic activity and human nervous-system function by continuous monitoring of the heart rate variability of a group of participants over a 31-day period.”

The study’s authors also explain, “A growing body of research strongly suggests that solar and magnetic influences affect a wide range of human health and behavioral processes, with the cardiovascular and nervous systems being the most clearly affected.”

The local magnetic-field data collected in this latest study was measured using a magnetometer located in Baisogala, Lithuania. This magnetometer is one of six located worldwide and is part of HeartMath and the Global Coherence Initiative’s Global Coherence Monitoring System (GCMS). GCMS magnetometers continuously monitor the resonant frequencies in Earth’s magnetic field and track changes in geomagnetic activity caused by solar storms, changes in solar wind speed and other factors.

Human Emotions and Earth’s Magnetic Field.This research was of particular importance to HeartMath and GCI not only because it validated previous studies related to humans and magnetic fields, but also because it contributes to a key part of GCMS’ work. Ultimately, a key objective of the monitoring system’s data collection is tracking major global events that have a strong emotional component. Researchers want to monitor how human emotions may influence global events and how these events may in turn influence human emotions.

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