Can EMDR Make Your Heart Beat Faster During Processing?

Can EMDR Make Your Heart Beat Faster During Processing?

Short Answer: Yes, you may notice your heart beating faster at certain moments during Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), particularly when you are focusing on emotionally activating material. Emotions and memories can temporarily affect heart rate as part of the body’s normal response to arousal. However, a faster heartbeat is not something everyone experiences during EMDR. Research that directly measured heart rate during EMDR has often found that heart rate decreases overall across processing, even though shorter periods of increased arousal can occur within a session.

Key Takeaways

• Your heartbeat may temporarily feel faster during emotionally activating parts of EMDR.
• Heart rate can naturally change as emotions and physiological arousal change.
• EMDR research has found both short-term shifts in arousal and an overall tendency toward reduced physiological activation across sessions.
• A faster heartbeat is not required for EMDR to work.
• A steady or slower heartbeat does not mean that you are processing less.
• You usually do not need to monitor your pulse during EMDR.
• If you notice your heartbeat, treat it like another body sensation: notice it and continue with the process.
• The same principle applies during therapist-guided, online, and self-guided EMDR.

Why Might Your Heartbeat Change During EMDR?

EMDR involves focusing on a target such as a memory, thought, image, emotion, belief, or body sensation while bilateral stimulation is used.

Some targets may bring up more emotional activation than others.

When that happens, your body may respond automatically.

You might notice:

• Your heartbeat more clearly
• A temporarily faster pulse
• Changes in breathing
• Muscle tension
• Warmth or coldness
• Sweating
• Other body sensations

These responses are not unique to EMDR. The body can react in similar ways during stressful conversations, public speaking, remembering something upsetting, or other emotionally activating situations.

Does Research Show Heart-Rate Changes During EMDR?

Yes.

Researchers have measured heart rate and other physiological signals during EMDR sessions.

One study involving 10 people across 55 EMDR treatment sessions found that heart rate changed during different parts of stimulation. At the beginning of stimulation sets, heart rate decreased, while other measures suggested some stress-related arousal during ongoing stimulation. Across the sessions as a whole, heart rate progressively decreased and heart-rate variability increased, suggesting overall physiological de-arousal.

That pattern is important because it shows that physiological responses during EMDR are not necessarily one-directional.

The body can shift during processing.

Can Heart Rate Increase During a Particular Moment?

It can.

Even when the overall trend across a session is toward lower physiological activation, an emotionally intense thought, image, memory, or association may temporarily increase arousal.

You might notice:

“My heart started beating harder when that part of the memory came up.”

Then, after another set or as the memory shifts, you may notice that your heartbeat settles again.

That kind of variation is different from saying that EMDR generally raises heart rate.

Research does not support such a simple rule.

What Have Other EMDR Studies Found?

Several physiological studies have actually found decreases in heart rate during EMDR.

An early controlled study found that heart rate slowed significantly overall during EMDR while fingertip temperature increased and other measures shifted toward a relaxation response.

Another study examining physiological responses during EMDR found decreases in heart rate and skin conductance during eye movements, along with other changes in autonomic balance.

A separate study of negative autobiographical memories also found that heart rate decreased significantly when eye movements began.

So although a faster heartbeat may sometimes be noticed during emotional activation, the research does not suggest that increased heart rate is the typical physiological direction of EMDR processing.

Why Might Your Heart Feel Faster Even if Your Heart Rate Has Not Changed Much?

Sometimes awareness changes more than the actual heart rate.

During EMDR, attention may shift toward internal sensations.

You may suddenly become more aware of:

• Your heartbeat
• Your breathing
• Tension in your chest
• Sensations in your stomach
• Temperature changes
• Tingling

A heartbeat that you normally would not notice may suddenly feel prominent.

That does not necessarily mean it has dramatically sped up.

It may simply be more noticeable because your attention has turned inward.

Is Heartbeat Awareness Part of EMDR?

Body sensations are part of the EMDR process.

During assessment, people may be asked what physical sensation they notice when they bring the target to mind.

During processing, the therapist may also ask what you notice after a set.

Your answer might be:

“My chest feels tight.”

“My breathing changed.”

“My heart feels faster.”

“I do not notice anything physical.”

All of these are usable observations.

You do not need to produce a particular body response.

Does a Faster Heartbeat Mean the Memory Is More Important?

No.

A stronger physical response does not necessarily mean that one memory matters more than another.

Different targets can produce very different responses.

One memory may bring up:

• Strong emotion but little body sensation

Another may bring up:

• A noticeable heartbeat but relatively little emotion

Another may bring up:

• Almost no physical reaction at all

These differences do not rank the importance of the memories.

Does a Faster Heartbeat Mean EMDR Is Working?

No.

Heart rate is not a score for processing quality.

You do not need your heart to speed up for EMDR to be effective.

In fact, several physiological studies found overall decreases in heart rate during EMDR.

So it would be inaccurate to interpret a faster heartbeat as evidence that you are “processing more deeply.”

What If Your Heartbeat Stays Completely Normal?

That is also possible.

You may go through an entire EMDR session without noticing any change in your heartbeat.

You may instead notice:

• A change in memory vividness
• A new thought
• A different emotion
• A change in body tension
• A new association
• No obvious shift at first

There is no required cardiovascular response to EMDR.

Should You Check Your Pulse During Processing?

Usually, no.

You generally do not need to count your heartbeat or repeatedly check whether it has changed.

Doing so can pull your attention away from the broader processing experience.

A simpler approach is:

“I notice my heart beating faster.”

Then continue noticing what happens next.

If the sensation changes, notice that too.

What If Your Heartbeat Slows During EMDR?

That can happen as well.

In fact, several EMDR studies have found reduced heart rate during stimulation and across sessions.

You might notice:

“My heartbeat feels calmer now.”

That can simply be another physiological shift.

You do not have to interpret it as the exact moment a memory became processed.

What If Your Heart Feels Like It Is Beating Harder Rather Than Faster?

People often experience heartbeat sensations in different ways.

You might describe it as:

• Faster
• Harder
• More noticeable
• Pounding
• Fluttery
• Simply present

Those descriptions do not always correspond to the same measurable heart-rate change.

For EMDR purposes, the useful information may simply be:

“This is what I notice in my body right now.”

Can Breathing Affect What You Notice?

Yes.

Breathing and heart activity are connected physiologically, and EMDR research has found changes in both respiration and heart-rate patterns during processing.

If your breathing changes while you are focusing on emotional material, your awareness of your heartbeat may change as well.

You do not need to deliberately control your breathing unless you want to use a familiar grounding or settling strategy.

What Should You Do if You Notice a Faster Heartbeat?

Usually, notice it without immediately trying to explain it.

You might think:

“My heart feels faster right now.”

Then see what comes up next.

During therapist-guided EMDR, you can also mention it when the therapist checks in.

For example:

“My heart started beating faster when that image came up.”

That is enough information.

You do not need a detailed interpretation.

Should You Try to Slow Your Heart Down?

Not automatically.

EMDR is not a relaxation exercise, and the goal is not to keep every body sensation perfectly calm throughout processing.

If you still feel able to stay present and participate, you may simply notice the change.

If you want to settle for a moment, familiar grounding strategies such as noticing your feet, looking around the room, or taking a few slower breaths can help redirect attention toward the present.

Can Heart Rate Change Several Times in One Session?

Yes.

Physiological activity can shift from one set to another.

A session might include:

• More arousal during one memory
• A calmer period afterward
• Another increase when a new association appears
• Gradual settling as processing continues

The 2008 physiological study of EMDR specifically found different short-term patterns within stimulation sets while also finding overall de-arousal across full sessions.

That makes variation more accurate than assuming the heart should always speed up or always slow down.

Can You Notice Heartbeat Changes After the Session?

You may remain aware of physical sensations for a while afterward, especially if the session was emotionally engaging.

But you do not need to monitor your heart after EMDR to see whether processing is continuing.

Ordinary factors such as:

• Walking
• Caffeine
• Exercise
• Stress
• Excitement
• Rest

can all affect heartbeat.

Not every change after EMDR needs to be attributed to the session.

Should You Write It Down?

Only if it seems useful.

For example:

“Heart felt faster when I focused on the argument.”

That might be worth remembering if the same physical response appears repeatedly around the same target.

You do not need a detailed pulse log.

What About Online Therapist-Guided EMDR?

The same principles apply during therapist-guided EMDR by video.

You can tell the therapist:

“I notice my heart beating faster.”

The therapist may simply include that sensation among the other thoughts, emotions, images, and physical experiences you are noticing.

Online delivery does not change the basic meaning of the sensation.

What About Self-Guided EMDR?

The same approach applies during Virtual EMDR, the structured self-guided online program.

Virtual EMDR users control their own session timing, pacing, pauses, and available visual or audio bilateral stimulation settings.

If you notice your heartbeat becoming faster:

• Notice it.
• Check whether you still feel present and able to continue.
• Pause briefly if you want to.
• Use grounding if that helps.
• Continue at a pace that feels workable.

You do not need to change bilateral stimulation simply because your heartbeat changed.

Conclusion

Your heart may temporarily feel faster during emotionally activating parts of EMDR.

That is possible because memories and emotions can produce normal changes in physiological arousal.

However, the research does not show that EMDR generally makes heart rate increase. Several physiological studies actually found heart rate decreasing during eye movements or across EMDR sessions, even when shorter periods of arousal occurred within the process.

So there is no single heartbeat pattern you should expect.

A faster heartbeat does not prove that processing is working.

A slower or unchanged heartbeat does not mean that nothing is happening.

If you notice your heart beating faster during EMDR, treat it like another body sensation: notice it, let it change if it changes, and avoid turning it into a test of how well the session is going.