If your loved one is in recovery from substance use, you know how challenging those early months can be. Every day can feel like walking a tightrope—one moment of stress, one unexpected craving, and suddenly everything feels harder. But what if there was a tool that could help them see those difficult moments coming and give them a way to respond before things get overwhelming? An HRV biofeedback patch for addiction recovery may be an option.
To understand how the biofeedback pouch works, let’s think about what a craving actually feels like. Imagine standing in your kitchen when the smoke alarm suddenly goes off. Your heart races, your muscles tense, and your brain goes into emergency mode—even if it’s just burnt toast. That’s similar to what happens when someone in recovery experiences a craving. Their body sounds an alarm, and it can feel just as urgent and impossible to ignore as that smoke detector.
Or picture this: You’re trying to concentrate on something important, but someone keeps tapping you on the shoulder. Tap. Tap. Tap. At first, you can ignore it. But the tapping gets more insistent, more distracting, until you can’t think about anything else. That’s what cravings can be like—a persistent tapping that gets louder and harder to resist.
For someone in early recovery, these “alarms” and “tapping” often come from stress. And here’s the tricky part: many people in recovery don’t even realize they’re stressed until that craving hits.
This is where the new biofeedback device comes in. Think of it as a helpful friend who can read the room before things get tense.
The device is a small, wearable patch that monitors something called heart rate variability, or HRV. Don’t let the technical term throw you; it’s actually pretty simple. HRV measures the natural variations in time between your heartbeats. When you’re calm and healthy, those variations are bigger. When you’re stressed or experiencing cravings, those variations get smaller and more rigid, like your heart is marching to a strict, anxious drumbeat.
Here’s what makes this device special: it doesn’t just measure your stress—it helps you do something about it. When the patch detects that your heart rate variability is dropping (meaning stress or cravings might be building), it uses artificial intelligence to prompt your child to do special breathing exercises right then and there. These aren’t complicated—just guided breathing that helps calm the nervous system and raise heart rate variability back up.
It’s like having a coach who taps you on the shoulder and says, “Hey, I can tell you’re getting stressed. Let’s take a few deep breaths together before this gets worse.”
Researchers recently studied this approach with adults in their first year of recovery. The results were very encouraging. Half of the participants used the biofeedback smart patch (called the Lief HRVB Smart Patch), while the other half followed their usual recovery plans.1
Here’s what they found:
Participants were asked to practice with the device for at least 10 minutes each day, plus an extra 5 minutes whenever the device prompted them for stress signals.
While we’re talking about the biofeedback device in this article, it’s worth knowing that there are also FDA-approved medications that can help with cravings for alcohol, opioids (e.g., prescription pain pills, heroin and fentanyl) and nicotine. Your child’s healthcare provider can help review the medication options as a part of their recovery plan. Medications and non-drug approaches like biofeedback can sometimes work well together, especially with therapy.
The device used in this study is called the Lief HRVB Smart Patch. The device typically costs around $299 for the patch itself, with a monthly subscription of $15 or more depending on the type of ongoing support needed.2 Some insurance plans may cover part of the cost, especially if it’s recommended by a healthcare provider as part of a treatment plan.
As of now, the Lief patch is the main HRV biofeedback device that is specifically designed and tested for substance use recovery. There are other HRV monitoring devices on the market (like some fitness trackers), but they don’t have the same AI-guided intervention features or the research backing for addiction recovery support.
Recovery isn’t simply about willpower; it’s about having the right tools and support. This biofeedback device represents a new type of tool: one that’s always there, watching out for those early warning signs that stress and cravings are building, and offering help in the moment when it’s needed most.
If your teen or young adult is in recovery, this device might be worth discussing with their healthcare provider or therapist. It’s not a magic solution, but it could be one more helpful support in their toolkit as they navigate those challenging early months and work toward long-term wellness.
Remember, every person’s recovery journey is different. What works well for one person might not be the right fit for another. But having more options—especially ones backed by research—gives our kids more chances to find what works for them.
If you have questions about this or other aspects of your loved one’s recovery, check out our Recovery Resource Center or connect with us here. Our caring helpline specialists will listen to your concerns and help you develop an action plan.