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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In a day and age when the advancements in medical technology are providing breakthroughs in healthcare, it may seem odd to many that an increasing number of people are seeking out alternative modalities to address their health issues. But one reason for this is that many of these advancements are dependent upon prescription medications, which have proven to be riddled with negative side effects and have even caused death, and were subsequently pulled from the market. For those who are unwilling to be human guinea pigs for the pharmaceutical companies, alternative treatments, such as neurofeedback therapy, are a viable option.
This type of therapy is a complementary approach and can be combined with other types of treatment, including medication. Often patients are able to successfully reduce the amount of medication they need to take, and in time, a certain percentage can even improve their condition to the point that they no longer need medications but can control their condition through an ongoing biofeedback program.
Many individuals notice results in as few as 8-10 sessions, and typically, after 20-25 sessions with biofeedback therapists, they have developed the ability to practice biofeedback techniques without the need of biofeedback machines.
Neurofeedback therapy is a particular kind of biofeedback treatment that involves using electrodes. The electrodes are attached to a patient’s forehead in order to record and amplify the brainwave signals being produced. These signals are fed into a biofeedback device that produces a visual display of the person’s brainwave patterns, which the patient and biofeedback practitioner can review together.
Through multiple sessions of therapy the patient learns, with the help of the biofeedback therapists, how to make changes to their own brainwave activity. As brainwave activity undergoes changes, the resulting physiological changes can also be observed and measured, providing the patient with a clearer understanding of the mind-body connection and their own potential and power to control even the subtle systems of their body.
Neurofeedback therapy has been shown to be a very effective way to address many different symptoms, such as those related to anxiety, attention span, depression, anger management, sleep-loss, stress, attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity. The emphasis of most biofeedback therapists is on reducing the patient’s symptoms and increasing their long-term personal success.
This process can be very empowering and often gives people the feeling, for the first time ever, that they are in charge of their own health and bodily functions to a degree that they were not aware was possible, before participating in biofeedback training.
It has been found that patients should be selected for participation in neurofeedback training based on their motivation and their commitment. A biofeedback treatment is not a procedure that is “done to” or “for” a patient, as is common with most mainstream medical methods, but it requires the patient to be actively involved in the process. They must truly learn to train themselves to control their physiological responses by becoming aware of and taking charge of their brainwave activity.
During the course of a neurofeedback therapy program, a patient will learn to control their brainwave activity as they watch the activity displayed on the biofeedback device, and then learn to exert mental control techniques to make changes in that activity. By practicing concentration and visualization methods over time, the person is able to learn how to apply the correct technique and cause the desired changes on their own, without assistance from the biofeedback equipment.
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.