Heart-Focused Breathing in Alzheimer's Disease Caregivers

Effectiveness of Heart-focused Breathing on Reducing Burden in Alzheimer's Caregivers: An Online Randomized Pilot Study

This research study will explore the effects of an online heart-focused breathing intervention on 20 informal caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) over a period of two weeks.

Informal caregivers are often live-in, unpaid spouses, relatives, partners, or friends that help with a loved one's activities of daily living. As a result of caring for a person with Alzheimer's Disease (AD), many informal caregivers experience caregiver burden. The demanding physical, emotional, and financial responsibilities to care for an AD patient can be detrimental to the caregiver's health.

A group of 20 men and women who consider themselves the primary caregiver of a person with AD will be recruited and enrolled into the study. Participants will be randomized into one of two study arms, (a) the modified-waitlist control arm or (b) the intervention arm. The study will explore the effects of an online heart-focused breathing intervention on heart rate variability (measured by the Welltory app on their smart device), perceived burden, stress, and quality of life in the intervention arm over a two-week period.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male or female
• 18 years of age or older
• Live-in and unpaid informal caregiver to a loved one with Alzheimer's Disease
• Provides care or supervision for at least 4 hours per day for more than 6 months
• Experiencing stress

Exclusion Criteria:

• Caregivers who report a low risk assessment score and/or report a medically diagnosed arrhythmia or have a pacemaker will be excluded