Brainwave entrainment is a method to stimulate the brain into entering a specific state by using a pulsing sound, light, or electromagnetic field. The pulses elicit the brain’s ‘frequency following’ response, encouraging the brainwaves to align to the frequency of a given beat.
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Neurofeedback is a type of brainwave therapy that is perhaps best known for the help and hope it offers to those who struggle with the symptoms of ADD and ADHD. In a great number of cases, such symptoms are alleviated to such a degree that medications can be dramatically reduced or even completely eliminated. This is a great relief to many parents who worry about the long term effects of having their children on medications to control ADD/ADHD for years at a time.
Even though neuro, or biofeedback, as it is sometimes called, has been used in many situations for more than forty years, there are still many who consider this approach to alternative therapy to be experimental. However, the majority of people who are skeptical and want to categorize neurotherapy as experimental are those in the mainstream medical community, and are those who have something to lose by acknowledging the benefits of alternative and holistic medicine and therapies.
Neurofeedback is attractive to many people and is used to address many other conditions, in addition to ADD and ADHD, because of the fact that it is non invasive, and therefore, is perfectly safe to try. In addition, there have not been any reports of any significant negative side effects related to the use of biofeedback treatment, yet there have been numerous reports of the positive effects.
The process of a neurofeedback therapy session is thought to have the effect of resetting brain patterns that have developed and are thought to be at the root of many problems. Once reset, the brain can return to performing at optimal levels and the body responds according to these enhanced, or restored, brainwaves to heal and repair itself or to reestablish proper behavior.
The benefits of neurofeedback therapy are not seen overnight. It is possible that it could take anywhere from 20 to 40 sessions to experience the full benefits and to fully “reset” those brain patterns.
Typically, each biofeedback therapy session will last from 30 minutes up to an hour. Once there has been sufficient repetition and practice and the brain patterns are successfully reset, proponents say that the effects should be considered permanent.
However, in order to gain the full and lasting benefits of neurofeedback therapy, the person must be fully engaged and participating in the process. This is not a therapy which is “done to” the client, but which requires the active involvement of the subject.
It is essential that the biofeedback therapists do all they can to enlist the person’s own self-regulatory mechanisms to create a state of healing and optimal health. While the biofeedback machines are invaluable for giving the person the feedback about their brain activity, they must put forth effort into endeavor and practice their neurotherapy techniques with persistence. This is the true key to lasting benefits.
Since it is not widely used yet, neurofeedback can be rather expense and out of reach for many people. On top of that, since it is considered by most insurance companies to be an experimental treatment, it is usually not covered. There is one main alternative to the expensive biofeedback therapy programs, and that is a kit called the Wild Divine Biofeedback program which allows you to enjoy the benefits of brainwave training from the comfort of your home, by running the software on your computer.
Brainwave entrainment is a method to stimulate the brain into entering a specific state by using a pulsing sound, light, or electromagnetic field. The pulses elicit the brain? ?requency following?response, encouraging the brainwaves to align to the frequency of a given beat.
This ?requency following?response of brainwave entrainment can be seen in action with those prone to epilepsy. If a strobe flashes at their seizure frequency, the brain will ?ntrain?to the flashing light, resulting in a seizure.
On the positive side, this same mechanism is commonly used to induce many brainwave states; such as a trance, enhanced focus, relaxation, meditation or sleep induction. The brainwave entrainment effectively pushes the entire brain into a certain state.
Brainwave entrainment works for almost everyone. It is a great way to lead your mind into states that you might usually have difficulty reaching, allowing you to experience what those states feel like.
THE HYPE
There is a lot of marketing hype around brainwave entrainment. It is sold with promises of increasing IQ, promoting weight loss, ?ind-tripping? enhancing creativity, concentration, inducing spiritual states and more.
While these claims are not entirely true, they are not altogether false either. In practice, the claims are based on an overly-simplistic view of how the brain and the brainwaves function.
THE RUB
People are very seldom deficient in a certain brainwave type in all areas of their brain. Usually the distribution is much spottier, with an excess in one area and a deficiency in another.
We are all different, especially when it comes to the distribution of our brainwaves. Boosting a certain brainwave state may be beneficial for one person, and emotionally uncomfortable for another. Without knowing each person? starting position, entrainment can be rather ?it and miss?
If brainwave entrainment leaves you with unwanted side-effects (see below) or discomfort, you?e probably encouraging a range of brainwaves that are already excessive in some area of your brain. The way around this is to get a brain map to see what your brain? strengths and weaknesses are, and see what (if any) brainwaves could use some encouragement.