{"id":30071,"date":"2025-10-03T14:35:43","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T14:35:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/?p=30071"},"modified":"2025-10-03T14:36:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T14:36:10","slug":"new-wearable-patch-reduces-alcohol-and-drug-cravings-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/new-wearable-patch-reduces-alcohol-and-drug-cravings-study-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"New Wearable Patch Reduces Alcohol and Drug Cravings, Study Finds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-blockquote uagb-block-e7eb3fc3 uagb-blockquote__skin-border uagb-blockquote__stack-img-none\"><blockquote class=\"uagb-blockquote\"><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__content\">A new study by Mass General Brigham demonstrates that a wearable device employing HRV biofeedback can help individuals in early addiction recovery manage stress, reduce cravings, and decrease the risk of relapse.<\/div><footer><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__author-wrap uagb-blockquote__author-at-left\"><\/div><\/footer><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0dfbf163 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-size:16px;\" class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">The University Network<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share uagb-social-share__outer-wrap uagb-social-share__layout-horizontal uagb-block-ee584a31\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-ec619ce7\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"facebook\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M504 256C504 119 393 8 256 8S8 119 8 256c0 123.8 90.69 226.4 209.3 245V327.7h-63V256h63v-54.64c0-62.15 37-96.48 93.67-96.48 27.14 0 55.52 4.84 55.52 4.84v61h-31.28c-30.8 0-40.41 19.12-40.41 38.73V256h68.78l-11 71.69h-57.78V501C413.3 482.4 504 379.8 504 256z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-32d99934\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"twitter\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M389.2 48h70.6L305.6 224.2 487 464H345L233.7 318.6 106.5 464H35.8L200.7 275.5 26.8 48H172.4L272.9 180.9 389.2 48zM364.4 421.8h39.1L151.1 88h-42L364.4 421.8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-1d136f14\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"linkedin\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M416 32H31.9C14.3 32 0 46.5 0 64.3v383.4C0 465.5 14.3 480 31.9 480H416c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3V64.3c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zM135.4 416H69V202.2h66.5V416zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5S80.9 96 102.2 96c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4V312c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9V416h-66.4V202.2h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9V416z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>A new study led by Mass General Brigham researchers has unveiled a promising non-drug solution for managing substance use disorders (SUD). The research, <a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamapsychiatry\/article-abstract\/2839605\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">published<\/a> in JAMA Psychiatry, highlights the effectiveness of a wearable device that employs heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback to mitigate stress, reduce cravings, and ultimately lower the risk of relapse in individuals recovering from addiction.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>David Eddie, a Mass General Brigham psychologist at the Recovery Research Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital, emphasized the importance of this innovation, noting how stress and cravings are interlinked in the early stages of recovery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;One of the hallmarks of early addiction recovery is poor self-awareness of emotional states,&#8221; he said in a news release. &#8220;People in recovery can experience a lot of stress, but they often don\u2019t have great awareness of it or proactively manage it.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Substance use disorders often entail a vicious cycle where stress triggers cravings, and the effort to resist these cravings generates additional stress, increasing the risk of relapse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eddie&#8217;s previous work has shown that HRV biofeedback, which involves harnessing breathing exercises to modulate heart rate variability, can alleviate craving and anxiety. The latest study aimed to evaluate this method&#8217;s effectiveness in a broader, real-world context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a phase 2 clinical trial funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 115 adults with severe SUD in their first year of recovery were enrolled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The participants were divided into two groups: one received the Lief HRVB Smart Patch, an HRV biofeedback device, while the other continued with their existing recovery plans, such as therapy sessions, support meetings or medication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The participants reported their daily mood, cravings and substance use via a smartphone app twice daily over eight weeks. The smart patch device detected low HRV, indicating stress, and leveraged artificial intelligence to prompt users to perform brief biofeedback exercises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The latest HRV biofeedback devices can detect when people are stressed or experiencing cravings, and, using AI, prompt them to do a brief burst of biofeedback,&#8221; Eddie added. &#8220;This allows people to get out in front of risk.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The results were encouraging. The participants using the biofeedback device experienced fewer negative emotions, reported reduced cravings for alcohol and drugs, and were 64% less likely to use substances on any given day compared to their counterparts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These findings suggest that real-time HRV biofeedback intervention can effectively disrupt the feedback loop of stress and cravings, significantly aiding in the recovery process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the study was limited to individuals in their first year of abstinence-based recovery. Future research is necessary to understand the long-term benefits of HRV biofeedback for sustained recovery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The first year of recovery is immensely challenging,&#8221; added Eddie. &#8220;Our goal is to find tools that not only bridge people during that first year, but also help them manage their stress for the rest of their life.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:14px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.massgeneralbrigham.org\/en\/about\/newsroom\/press-releases\/wearable-patch-reduces-alcohol-and-drug-cravings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Mass General Brigham<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new study led by Mass General Brigham researchers has unveiled a promising non-drug solution for managing substance use disorders (SUD). The research, published in JAMA Psychiatry, highlights the effectiveness of a wearable device that employs heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback to mitigate stress, reduce cravings, and ultimately lower the risk of relapse in individuals [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-no-separators","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,25],"tags":[468],"class_list":["post-30071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","category-science","tag-mass-general-brigham"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"The University Network","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/author\/funky_junkie\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"A new study led by Mass General Brigham researchers has unveiled a promising non-drug solution for managing substance use disorders (SUD). The research, published in JAMA Psychiatry, highlights the effectiveness of a wearable device that employs heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback to mitigate stress, reduce cravings, and ultimately lower the risk of relapse in individuals&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30071"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30071\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30117,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30071\/revisions\/30117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}