Biofeedback Equipment, 5 Things You Need to Know

Are you thinking of getting biofeedback equipment?  Here are 5 things you need to know.

  1. What is it measuring? Biofeedback instruments may measure different things.  All biofeedback instruments are not the same.  There are different modalities that can be measured including surface EMG for muscle tension, Skin Temperature, Skin Conductance, Respiration, Heart Rate, Heart Rate Variability, EEG, and CO2 (Capnometry).  Some biofeedback equipment measures only one of these modalities.  Others may measure up to 10 separate channels at the same time.
  1. Do I have a reliable signal? The feedback that the instrument provides is only as good as the quality of the signal.  If the signal is not accurate it is not a good representation of the changes happening in the body.  Some biofeedback equipment makes it easy to see the quality of the signal.  Other instruments may hide the actual signal and only show you a game or give you sound that is supposed to be reacting to the signal.

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How to Reduce Stress

Stress is a problem that we all experience.  It is not getting less, if anything it may be increasing.  Recent political and racial tension and the current pandemic have added layers to the stress that we all have been already living with.

Here are a few things you can do to reduce the negative effects of stress on your physical and mental health.

Reduce your exposure to stress.  Identify sources of stress in your life.  This includes people, places, and things.  Note the ones that you can make choices about that will reduce your stress.  There may be people that you feel stressed around.  Even though you may still need to spend time around them, you may be able to arrange to spend less time around them.

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Neurofeedback Home Training

Neurofeedback training has been shown to be effective for helping people with conditions like ADHD, insomnia, anxiety, seizures, and brain injuries.  Clients usually visit a neurofeedback professional 1-3 times per week for a series of anywhere from 10-30 or even more sessions.

Some people have asked about devices that they can use themselves at home.  It is not something that I would decide on lightly.  Neurofeedback providers are cautioned to be careful when working with clients even if they are trained and experienced.  It would make sense that an untrained layperson should be even more careful when working on their own brain or the brain of a family member.  Not that they are invasively working on the brain as with surgery.  They are rather working on the brain through training changes in the electrical impulses that allow the neurons to communicate and make things happen in the brain.  This is very important stuff and you don’t want to make mistakes with it if you can avoid doing so.

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Neurofeedback Training For Traumatic Brain Injury

Brain injuries can be caused in many different ways.  Whether they are diagnosed or not can depend on how severe they are, where they happen, who is around when they happen, and whether the injured person seeks medical care.  Some of the sources of brain injuries include car accidents, sports injuries, slip and falls, physical fights and assaults among other things.  When the brain is injured the electrical activity and function of the brain is affected.  Neurofeedback training is a way to help to normalize the electrical activity of the brain which in turn helps improve function.

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Neurofeedback Equipment for Professional and Home Use

Devices for measuring and giving Neurofeedback Equipment of EEG brainwave activity is not new.  Some have been available commercially since the 1970s.  The first one that I was introduced to was housed in a wooden box and had an analog meter, a training frequency selector for Alpha, Theta, or Beta, a threshold setting, and audio feedback – very simple.  It did not interface with a computer and there was no data storage or report available.   This was around 1985.  Since then much has changed.  Those devices began to be interfaced with computers for better feedback and the added capabilities of data storage and reports.

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Neurofeedback Training History in Houston

The state of Texas has played an important role in neurofeedback.  Several of the important early pioneers have come from or done much of their work in Texas.  Neurofeedback began to become popular once the ADHD and substance abuse protocols became popular following research by Joel Lubar on ADHD and Eugene Peniston and Paul Kulkosky on substance abuse and Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, PTSD.

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Quick & Easy Stress Reduction Solutions – Part 4

In my last article I talked about how we can use our breathing to help us relax.  Here is the link my blog page where that article is if you missed it:  https://biofeedbackinternational.com/blog/

Here I will talk about another powerful relaxation tool that you can use with or without any physical tools.  Muscle relaxation is another tool you can use to quickly and easily relax.

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Neurofeedback Training and Brain Plasticity

The brain is truly an amazing organ that science is uncovering new information about every day.

Our brains are involved in virtually every function of our bodies both conscious and unconscious.  To move our arms, stand, dance, speak, or remember we actively use our brains.  Digestion, breathing, pulse rate, blood pressure, and blinking are things that we don’t even have to think about.  Our brains take care of regulating these functions.

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