Addicts, be they hooked on narcotics or alcohol, could be helped by a wearable patch that appears to not only reduce cravings, but also lead to diminished intake of the substances.
Known as a “wearable heart rate variability biofeedback tool”, the device “can help people with substance use disorders (SUD) manage stress, reduce cravings and lower their risk of relapse in real time”, said doctors at Mass Brigham General – a combination of Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the United States.
The treatment “appears to confer benefit in part by disrupting the association between craving and subsequent AOD [alcohol and other drugs] use”, the team said in a paper published in the medical journal JAMA Psychiatry.
Pointing out that stress and craving “tend to be associated with lower heart rate variability (HRV) – the natural variations in time between heartbeats, which reflects underlying health, as well as how the body adapts to stress”, the team said that the patch detects heartbeat changes, prompting it to cue the wearer to adjust their breathing, which, in turn, reduces cravings.
“Special breathing exercises can raise HRV and help regulate mood and improve cognitive control,” the researchers said.
Study participants who were given one of the devices to wear were found to have “less negative emotions, reported fewer cravings for alcohol or drugs, and were 64% less likely to use substances on any given day”, the researchers said.
However, as the tests only involved people in the often-difficult first year of abstinence, the team warned that more work is needed to determine if the patches have “sustained benefits” beyond initial abstinence.
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