Beginning With the Basics
Before we can jump into how neurofeedback works, it’s important to understand what biofeedback is, as the two treatments are inherently related. Biofeedback is the process of monitoring bodily functions in real time and learning to control them. Here is one example of how it works:
- Many smartwatches are capable of reading your heart rate.
- When you’re feeling stressed, your heart rate rises.
- One of the key skills in lowering your heart rate is focusing on your breathing—inhaling deeply through your nose and exhaling through your mouth.
- When you’re stressed and perform this exercise, you can look at your smartwatch and see your heart rate return to base levels.
Neurofeedback works similarly, except you connect to a neurofeedback system and perform cognitive tasks that change your brain activity. This harnesses the power of neuroplasticity and allows you to reshape how your brain works and overcome various cognitive challenges.
5 Key Neurofeedback Benefits
Treatment for a Wide Variety of Neuropsychological Conditions
Here are some of the most common conditions in the brain that neurofeedback can help alleviate:
Improved Cognitive Functioning
Our brains are capable of immense amounts of change over time—neurofeedback is a crucial tool for making that happen. Because the training requires you to self-regulate and perform cognitive tasks that address functions in specific brain regions, you learn how to overcome many challenges. It has been shown to improve concentration, focus, attention, executive functioning, memory, impulse control, and more.
Improved Emotional Regulation and Stability
Many people with depression or anxiety deal with negative ruminations or intrusive thoughts. Neurofeedback gives them the tools to modify their brain wave patterns to reduce these disruptive cognitive processes.
Medication-Free Treatment
Many treatments for neuropsychological conditions involve prescriptions, which do not provide lasting relief in many cases. For example, children with ADHD medication may improve their ability to apply focus to a specific task while it’s in their system. But once the dosage wears off, the symptoms return, often with greater force. This is referred to as a rebound effect. By contrast, medication-free training focuses on improvements at the source, deep within the brain. There are no side effects other than improved cognitive function and emotional regulation.
Complementary With Other Treatments
Neurofeedback therapy works great alongside other treatments, such as psychotherapy or physical therapy. In fact, it sometimes amplifies and reinforces the positive effects of all treatments involved.
Discover if Neurofeedback Is Right for Your Child
How Neurofeedback Therapy at Home Works
While transformative brain therapy has traditionally been done in a clinician’s office or lab setting, there are now at-home options. Specialized devices allow you to perform neurofeedback therapy from the comfort of your own home, and the technology is surprisingly simple: users wear an EEG cap or electrodes, connect it to a device such as a laptop, and follow real-time feedback presented on the screen while performing activities such as listening to music, playing video games, or performing other cognitive tasks. Through this approach, you can learn how your emotions and thoughts affect your brainwaves and how you can regulate these brainwaves to improve your mental health outcomes.
Great Strides in Accessibility
At-home neurofeedback therapy is becoming increasingly popular among families caring for children with neuropsychological conditions since it offers an effective treatment option without having to leave home. This drastically increases accessibility to life-changing treatment options for people who can’t leave home because they’re immunocompromised or have mobility restrictions.
Get Effective At-Home Neurofeedback With Abbey Neuropsychology
Abbey Neuropsychology Clinic is a leader in neurofeedback therapy. We help children and people with neuropsychological conditions transform their brains using effective treatment, both in the office and at home. If you’re looking to overcome cognitive challenges and live your best life, get in touch today. We’ll help you establish a comprehensive brain training program that allows you and your child to succeed!
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