The Beat That My Heart Skipped
Kiiroo is all about connecting people, so you can imagine how excited we were when we heard a wristband had been invented that allowed people to record their heartbeat in real time and send it to their partner to hear as they drift off.
This brilliant extension of romantic tech allows people to basically feel as if they’re lying on their partner’s chest even in long distance relationships.
It Can’t Be Beat
There’s something that just can’t compete with feeling your partner’s heartbeat. Just lying down on their chest (pre or post intimate actions) and taking in the sheer rhythm of their life. It’s a moment that can bring extreme calm, perfect clarity, and a sheer sense of ease and affection. There’s a science behind this too.
Research undertaken by the Eindhoven University of Technology discovered that hearing the heartbeat of a person you’re talking to gives the same impact as having eye contact with them (and we all know how important eye contact can be).
Interestingly these findings came from a study on bonding when using digital communications channels, which adds a boost to the importance of your lover’s heartbeat, especially when tackling a great distance.
The test was done using VR (which Kiiroo are also a huge advocate of) and gives some real hope for the future of long-distance connections and dating, all due to something as innate and every day as a person’s heartbeat.
The more you know.
It’s A Match
In addition to helping maintain relationships across distances, heartbeats are also being used to help try and match people. A recent online dating app, called ‘Once’, connects to people’s fitness devices (as long as they have a heart rate monitor) and uses that heart rate to match you with a similar profile.
The match is made entirely based on the rate of your heartbeat and, perhaps romantically, one of the key aspects of the app is telling users if their heartbeat increases when they encounter a matching profile.
How oddly sentimental.
Beating For You
And, perhaps most interestingly, lovers also have a noticeable physical impact on each other’s heartbeats. In a study done by the University of California, Davis, Emilio Ferrer discovered that, when close together, couples will synchronize their heartbeat and breathing patterns.
This is a wonderful demonstration of the way that bodies can match and reassure each other when romantic affection is present. The heart really can tell all and, in the case of the above study, it told a story of love. Sappy? Yes. But scientific too.
In fact, there are a lot of scientific links between affection and one’s heartbeat.
When a person sees someone they care about their heartbeat begins to increase with the rush of adrenaline that rushes through the body. The reaction is so intense in some cases that it can actually be risky for people with heart conditions to go through such a strong reaction. ‘A lethal attraction’ indeed!
But How Can I Make This Work For Me?
You may be thinking ‘all of this sounds very interesting, but what does it mean for me?’
Well, the biggest thing it means is that, congratulations! Simply by seeing your partner, being by their side, or lying on their chest, your heart is doing its bit in making sure you feel rushes of affection, soothing synchronicity, and a thrill that is worth its own health warning.
But what if you’re not with your partner all the time?
Well, if science has shown us anything it’s that your heartbeat is one of the greatest tools you have to maintain a connection.
If you’re both fitness tracker users then take chances, where possible, to check your heart rate when talking to each other and see if your partner makes your heart rate spike (or, even sweeter, calm down a bit).
Compare and contrast your heart rates and set little challenges to make each other’s heartbeat increase at certain times of the day. The rush of the challenge alone will make keeping mellow its own challenge.
Many modern apps will also allow you to record your heartbeat in some way, which you could then send over to your partner to achieve a stronger physical and emotional connection.
If you want to be really sweet, and you’re the creative type, then you may even take the beat of your heart and change it into a work of art or piece of jewelry to give to your partner. Some couples even have each other’s pulse tattooed on their bodies. Such is the power of that muscle we value so much romantically.
The Takeaway
Making connections is one of the fundamental aspects of a relationship, as is honoring each other’s bodies and boundaries. What better way to keep this in mind then by placing some focus on the simple joy of each other’s heartbeat and discovering just what it can do for you.
Written by:Dr. Emmeline Peaches
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