How Neurofeedback Training Works
By Nicole Martin
September 11, 2017
A cutting-edge, scientifically-proven technique that relieves depression, ADHD, migraines and a ton of other cognitive issues is just our latest offering to help you live a better life. Here’s how it works…
As part of our eternal quest to help people live better, happier lives, we recently added Neurofeedback training to our offerings.
What, exactly, is neurofeedback training?
Glad you asked. But before I explain what it does and how it works, let’s first take a look at how your brain works.
Brain Waves
Our brains make four types of electrical impulses: Alpha, Beta, Theta, and Delta.
Here’s what that means…
Alpha waves occur at 8 – 13 Hz. When your brain is producing the right amount at the right frequency, you feel relaxed and calm. Your mind is active, but still at rest (like sitting and watching Netflix.) When you have too little, you feel exhausted. Too much, and you feel hyper-vigilant, anxious.
Beta waves resonate at 14 – 30 Hz. The right amount makes you feel awake, alert and promotes logic and critical reasoning. Think of what your brain is doing when you are reading a book. The waves involved in that process are beta waves. When they’re out of balance, you can feel anxious, stressed, restless, and tense.
Theta waves (4 – 8 Hz) happen in that hazy area between being awake and asleep. When these are resonating at the right level, you’ll experience deep meditation. You’ll feel creative and intuitive. Too much and you’ll feel foggy. Too little and you’ll feel robotic.
Delta waves (0.5 – 4 Hz) happen during very deep sleep.
[Want to watch the video for this blog? Of course you do! Check it out here.]
How it Works
As we live our lives, our brains can fall into destructive, unhealthy patterns, which in turn causes these four brain waves to become imbalanced. This imbalance can lead to everything from insomnia to severe depression.
Neurofeedback training is a scientifically-proven, non-invasive technique designed to teach the brain to get these waves back into balance.
Because it’s such a gentle process, and because we’re essentially dealing with habits your brain has built up over time, it takes several months to complete the process. But as you continue to do the training, your brain eventually learns how to regulate itself.
The actual training sessions look like this. You sit in a chair in a relaxed position. Wires with sensors are attached to your head, and the machine can detect the level and frequency of your brain waves. When your brain produces the right amount of a particular wavelength, the machine rewards it in real time. When they fall out of balance again, the machine produces a (very, very mild) negative effect. For clients who want to watch TV during the training, for example, wave imbalances cause the picture to blur slightly or darken. When they come back into balance, the picture becomes clearer.
So, as you continue to do this weekly for a matter of months—or even over a year—the brain, prompted by the machine, can teach itself to regain balance over the waves it produces.
It sounds little like science fiction, I know, but here’s the thing.
It works. Really, really well, in fact.
We’ve seen genuine progress in people who’ve struggled with depression for years. It’s also a useful tool for treating anxiety, ADHD, PTSD, migraines, memory loss, and even brains that have suffered serious trauma.
If you’re interested in finding out more about this new, cutting-edge tool—and see if it might be a good solution for you— contact us here.
Or, watch our videos on Neurofeedback here….
And here…
Or listen below!
