The typical neurofeedback session consists of placing sensors on the scalp for measuring electrical activity in the brain. Screens that display and monitor brain wave activity and provide  real-time feedback help in the “self-regulation” process by “directing” the brain to act or behave in a specific way.

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A healthy brain has an optimal speed. Think about your brain speed like shifting gears on a bike. A healthy brain should be able to access these brain speeds/states effortlessly.

For example, if your brain is stuck in high gear for too long you could experience being overwhelmed, anxious, overly stressed, irritable, tension headaches and more. The same is also true for being stuck in low gear, you could experience trouble with motivation, difficulty learning, and processing information, difficulty regulating your moods and more.

Through qEEG brain mapping and understanding your brainwaves and brain speed this allows our team to see how well your brain is doing in each area, it’s flexibility, processing speed and overall ability to perform.]

The Brain and It’s Power

Our brain is a muscle and just like every other muscle in our body if we don’t use it or exercise it, it will weaken or atrophy. The opposite is also true about the brain. Just like every other muscle in our body it can be strengthened and trained for optimal performance.

The brain controls everything in the body physically and mentally.

A healthy brain has an optimal speed. Our brain is electrical and the speed of the electrical energy flowing through the brain is known as our processing speed or brainwaves.  Brainwaves provide a great deal of information on how we are feeling and functioning. Brainwaves breakdown energy by speed and depending on your brains speed we can identify states of distractibility, focus, relaxation, stress, underlying moods, and overall brain function.

What are the brainwave speed/states that you can see and train?

Brainwaves breakdown energy by speed.

DELTA

Sleepy
Dreaming

Frequency range: 0 Hz to 4 Hz (slowest)

Too much: Brain injuries, learning problems, inability to think, severe ADHD
Too little: Inability to rejuvenate body, inability to revitalize the brain, poor sleep.
Optimal: Immune system, natural healing, restorative/deep sleep

---

THETA

Drowsy
Meditative

Frequency range: 4 Hz to 8 Hz (slow)

Too much: ADHD, depression, hyperactivity, impulsivity, inattentiveness
Too little: Anxiety, poor emotional awareness, stress
Optimal: Creativity, emotional connection, intuition, relaxation

---

ALPHA

Relaxed
Reflective

Frequency range: 8 Hz to 12 Hz (moderate)

Too much: Daydreaming, inability to focus, too relaxed
Too little: Anxiety, high stress, insomnia, OCD
Optimal: Relaxation

---

BETA

Alert
Working

Frequency range: 12 Hz to 40 Hz (high/fast)

Too much: Adrenaline, anxiety, high arousal, inability to relax, stress
Too little: ADHD, daydreaming, depression, poor cognition
Optimal: Conscious focus, memory, problem-solving

---

GAMMA

Peak
Concentration

Frequency range: 40 Hz to 100 Hz (highest)

Too much: Anxiety, high arousal, stress
Too little: ADHD, depression, learning disabilities
Optimal: Binding senses, cognition, information processing, learning, perception, REM sleep

How do you record my brainwaves?

Brainwaves and qEEG Brain MappingThis is a non-invasive process. We are not putting anything inside of your brain or reading your thoughts, we are simply analyzing your brain’s electrical activity for the purposes of neurofeedback training.

With our cutting-edge brain analysis software (qEEG brain mapping), we can identify what areas are over-active and/or under-active, which provides insight to you and our team on the possible cause of your symptoms. 

Once we identify your goals, gather the necessary information from your brain map we will create a customized training program to help to optimize your brain’s performance. We will do that through neurofeedback training.

QEEG BRAIN MAPPING

What is a qEEG Brain Map

A qEEG brain map gives a visual representation of how your brain is functioning and gives you the ability to visually see your unique patterns of mental strengths and weaknesses categorized into executive processing, memory processing, visual processing and more.

When talking about brainwaves and qEEG brain mapping, a qEEG brain map gives us vital information to help identify areas of the brain that may be over-active or under-active. By identifying the areas with abnormal activity, we can predict what type of symptoms or challenges you may be experiencing. For example, if specific brain areas involved in focus and attention are functioning poorly and you have difficulty paying attention, we know exactly where to train to help you regulate more efficiently.

Who should get a qEEG brain map?

Everyone. Whether you are looking to gain insight and understanding around an observable challenge or just looking to optimize your brain’s performance, everyone can get a brain map. While most people have normal brain function, they still have brain imbalances or emotions that affect their daily life.

What is the benefit of understanding how your brain is functioning?

How do you know how far you can go if you don’t know where you are? Think about your brain map as a baseline assessment of your mental performance. Seeing and understanding how your brain is performing gives you insight on the areas you need to improve to reach your overall goals. Brainwaves and qEEG brain mapping are two pieces of the same structure.

Most people find it fascinating and exciting to get their brains mapped. It is a measure of how you feel and function and most people find comfort and validation. Getting a measure on those feelings and challenges and relief that it can be shifted and improved.

What happens during my qEEG assessment?

Brain mapping is a non-invasive process. We are not putting anything inside of your brain, we are simply recording and analyzing your brain’s electrical activity. We place a sensor cap on your head and a little gel in the cap so that we can see what your brain is doing in real-time.

During your assessment, we gather, analyze and edit the data, process your maps, review your results with you and create a game plan for you to start training.

What happens after I have my brain mapped?

After we have completed the brain mapping processes, from there we create a customized neurofeedback training program that boosts the areas of your brain that has too little or too much activity, and areas that are not coordinating at optimal performance.

Over time through the use of neurofeedback sessions, you will train your brain to function optimally, tap into your brain’s peak performance and help you unlock your highest potential.

Learn More About Brain Mapping

NEUROFEEDBACK

What is neurofeedback?

Neurofeedback is a non-invasive process by which your brain learns what it needs to do to improve its performance.

What does a neurofeedback session like?

During a neurofeedback session, you can expect to sit in front of a computer screen with a few sensors placed on your scalp for 20-45 mins that monitor your brainwaves.

We will see on the computer screen and get feedback on what your brain is actually doing and compare that to what you’d like it to be doing. There are several ways to receive this feedback, whether through a video brain game, watching a movie or listening to music.

When your brain enters a calmer, focused or the desired state you will be rewarded with positive feedback on the computer screen by the game, movie or music operating smoothly.  If your brainwaves are not firing at the desired speed you will receive negative feedback (the movie pauses, the game stops or music stops). This process is acting as a reward or conditioning system for your brain. With this type of immediate feedback, your brain will learn when something is out of balance and it will also learn what it needs to do to get back on track.

Over time and through repetition your brain will learn exactly what it needs to do to perform more consistently and within an optimal range. Research has shown this to promote lasting structural changes within your brain.

Learn More About Neurofeedback

References brainwaves and qEEG brain mapping

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Can you think of a time where feedback was valuable to the course of your life and decisions? Think about a job or assignment you’ve had to complete; how did you know how you were performing? How did you know if it was successful? You received feedback. Someone informed you of what was needed to achieve the desired result and provided an outline to get there.

At Mental Edge Fitness Solutions, we look at your mental fitness in the same manner. We have the ability to map your brain and see the areas that are preforming efficiently as well the areas that could benefit from training and improvement. This process is called qEEG brain mapping. If you have mental fitness goals such as being more productive, getting a better quality of sleep, having more energy and reducing stress and anxiety, acquiring a baseline and understanding how your brain and body are functioning are key factors to accomplishing those goals.

We all need feedback.

Properly guided feedback with the intentions of making others better can be a life changing moment for someone. Encourage someone. Take the time to receive feedback and provide beneficial feedback to others.

We would love to hear from you, complete the Mental Edge Fitness Challenge below and let us know how it goes. Use the hashtags #beneficialfeedback and #everyoneneedsanedge when responding.

Mental Edge Fitness Challenge: #beneficialfeedback

I challenge you to encourage someone today. Give somebody positive feedback on your observations of them. If someone waited on you at dinner and had exceptional customer service, tell them. If someone took two minutes of out their day and asked how you were doing and it made a difference in your life, let them know. Start letting people know that they have made a difference.

This week make it a priority to give feedback in a way that is beneficial to someone else’s growth and learning. Join me and help inspire others to be better.

#everyoneneedsanedge

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Scientists have believed for a long time that once your brain is fully developed, it is no longer able to change. Now, we know that isn’t the case. We can train our brain.

The Neuroscientific Research

Neuroscientific research shows us that the brain is malleable and capable of learning new skills, it’s called neuroplasticity.  Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to form and reorganize synaptic connections, especially in response to learning or experience or following injury.  Brain training is essential for continued cognitive growth and development.  Engaging in activities that requires the brain to stretch and think are great ways to stimulate the parts of the brain that lay dormant from underuse.

For example, some of us have relied on calculators so long, that if we were asked to complete a complex math problem in our head, it may take us a little while to come up with the answer. The reason being is because the part of the brain responsible for working out complex problems hasn’t been activated or engaged in a while, so it’s like cranking up the engine to an old car that has been out in the garage for a few years. Anything we don’t use often has the potential to become rusty or wear out.

Think of our brains in the same way, if we are constantly engaging in the same activities that require little or no brain power, like television and video games, then we are likely allowing parts of our brains to sleep or remain underactive. Repetition for anything is key to learning a new skill. Think about learning a new job or task at work. If it’s something that you’ve never done before, then it may take practice before you learn it and become comfortable doing that task more efficiently.

We would love to hear from you, complete the Mental Edge Fitness Challenge below and let us know how it goes. Use the hashtags #trainyourbraintoseethegoodineverything and #everyoneneedsanedge when responding.

Mental Edge Fitness Challenge: #trainyourbraintoseethegoodineverything

Think of one positive thought about yourself or your situation. I challenge you to say that positive thought to yourself a minimum of two times a day for a week. Whether it’s a goal, or a positive trait about yourself or manifesting something into existence, just say it. #everyoneneedsanedge

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6 ways Neurofeedback can Enhance your organization, productivity is the efficient usage of resources like time and energy to meet objectives and targets. Higher productivity translates to accomplishing set goals faster and thus improving efficiency.

20% of the average workday is spent on ”crucial” and “important” things, while 80% of the average workday is spent on things that have “little” or “no value”. (DashboardStream)

Most employees have mentally checked out from 4 PM to 6 PM. (Lifehack). Mid-meetings, 91% admit to daydreaming and 60% take notes just to look busy. (9Spokes)

Employees’ mental performance directly impacts their productivity, and thus their contributions to an organization. Therefore, to heighten productivity, mental performance enhancement is a necessity.

Understanding Neurofeedback:

The myths are just myths: It isn’t true that neurofeedback is only for the mentally challenged. In fact, elite athletes, self-help superstars and many more celebrities engage in neurofeedback training sessions.

The reason is simple: Neurofeedback helps improve mental performance, which improves all other aspects in life.

Neurofeedback in a Nutshell

Neurofeedback consists of placing sensors on a person’s scalp. These sensors identify and record brain activity (comprised of brain waves).

The core principle of neurofeedback is training the brain to behave in a particular way. Take mental performance for example. At peak performance states, the brain chooses certain pathways and emits a particular kind of frequency.

Neurofeedback trains the brain to tap into these states more often. Feedback from the neurofeedback training occurs through visual and auditory feedback displayed on a screen. If the screen plays a movie – positive feedback, this means the brain is entering into the desired state.

However, if the screen stops playing, there’s no reward, and this means that the brain is headed off course. Through these visual cues, the brain identifies “productive” states, and voluntarily activates these states (even after the training).

The result is peak mental performance, increased productivity, and an overall increase in revenue of any organization. https://mentaledge-fitness.com/neurofeedback/

Here are 6 ways Neurofeedback can enhance your organization and change the course of it forever:

1.         Enhances Attention and Working Memory

Memory used to hold and manipulate information while performing a task is working memory. The ability to use and remember relevant information mid-activity is another way to look at working memory.

For instance, a programmer while decoding a buggy software might access his working memory to make quick decisions regarding enhancements or deletions of certain lines of code. Neurofeedback helps increase brain wave activity (alpha, theta, or SMR), and improves working memory while extending attention spans.

Additionally, Electroencephalography (EEG) – based neurofeedback training (upper alpha and SMR) improved short-term visual memory, working memory, and verbal memory in 70% of participants, as per an interesting study.

Moreover, the EEG neurofeedback also positively impacted attention (executive functioning) and concentration in another study.

The bottom line is that attention, concentration and working memory are all major contributors to mental performance. Thus, improvements in any of them, would only improve mental performance of employees and help an organization succeed.

2.         Accelerates Skill Acquisition

EEG neurofeedback promotes brain waves associated with relaxation and attention, thus improving performance in stressful environments. A study conducted on musicians revealed increased levels of creativity, communication and technical skill acquisition post training.

Another research conducted on actors concluded that EEG neurofeedback helped boost confidence, and accelerate learning speeds, enabling them to enact certain roles quicker.

Skill acquisition is vital in any field, not just in the creative space. If employees can quickly acquire and master key skills relevant to their industry, organizations can witness exponential growth in productivity and performance.

3.         Increases Motivation Consistency

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) and mesolimbic networks are areas of the brain responsible for learning, motivation, and performance. Activation of these areas can help improve motivation.

The problem with self-motivation is a poor impact on the VTA networks. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) neurofeedback helped activate participants’ motivational strategies more effectively than without training, concluded this research.

Participants, upon undergoing the training could self-activate the VTA states. If employees of an organization can generate and hold motivation, on demand, complex tasks don’t seem so complex anymore. The result is pure flow and productivity, thus resulting in a highly streamlined environment.

4.         Improves Multitasking Efficiency

“Multitasking leads to a 40% drop in productivity” (HBR). Multitasking tends to decrease work quality while creating an illusion of getting more work done. Or does it?

Tony Robbins, the great self-help guru reported that neurofeedback training has helped him multitask with ease. He reported that the training helps him compose an email while engaging in a conversation at the same time with no drop in quality.

Multitasking, without a compromise in quality can help employees achieve more in less, and reach elevated levels of productivity.

5.         Enhances Sleep Quality

Adults who regularly get between 7.5 and 9 hours of sleep per night can be up to 20% more productive. (DashboardStream). Several factors like stress or insomnia affect sleep duration and quality, and consequently, productivity.

Neurofeedback training helps increase a particular brain wave type known as the sensorimotor rhythm (SMR). This helps improve sleep quality while reducing time to fall asleep.

Insomniacs can also find relief through neurofeedback. Eighteen sessions of remote neurofeedback training increased total sleep time and reduced time to fall asleep.

Sleep is a crucial aspect of any employee’s life. Research suggests that deep sleep helps with memory consolidation through the strengthening of neural connections. If employees appear at work with a fresh mind and body, distractions become rare and productivity becomes a habit.

6.         Reduces Anxiety

28 percent, or roughly one in four Americans, named their workplace as a source of anxiety (Ipsos). Anxiety stems from several issues: A certain coworker, or looming deadlines, or even a fear of downsizing. It’s no surprise that anxiety is a huge productivity killer. Neurofeedback helps control and alter emotional processes.

Enhancements in alpha wave activity (achieved through neurofeedback) reportedly reduced anxiety and other intense emotions. Mood enhancements and boosted confidence are amongst other benefits of neurofeedback training. Neurofeedback also lowered stress and performance anxiety in dancers as per this study.

Takeaway

Neurofeedback increases memory, skill acquisition speed, motivation, sleep quality and multitasking efficiency. Lower levels of anxiety are another benefit of neurofeedback training.

Overall, if employees of an organization engage in neurofeedback training, they can experience extraordinary changes in the way they think and perform both inside and outside their workplace.

References

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28236680

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4666277/

https://dashboardstream.com/10-surprising-facts-about-productivity-and-performance/

https://www.businessinsider.in/A-15000-retreat-loved-by-Tony-Robbins-claims-to-give-you-the-benefits-of-20-years-of-meditation/articleshow/57654558.cms

https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/productivity-facts-every-employee-should-know.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12543448

https://www.kurzweilai.net/a-neurofeedback-technique-for-self-motivation

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2018.00390/full

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Life pulls at us in so many directions

Business, work, school, relationships. So many demands and so many distractions that at times we forget to take a mental break and just be still for a moment. There is a power in silence that you can’t get from outside stimulations. Silence can help slow the mind down, silence can bring about peace and calm and initiate creativity. The power of silence can help you hear intuitively and bring peace and clarity.

You should try it. If you’re reading this take a moment and just pause. Turn off or silence everything around you. Sit in a comfortable position. Close your eyes, take a few slow deep breaths and for two minutes, just be still and get quiet. I know for some this may be challenging and two minutes can seem like an eternity, but just give it a shot.

How was it? What did you notice? Was your mind racing and wandering? Did you feel a sense of calm or peace? Did you feel more stressed or anxious? I would love to hear your experience. No matter what you felt, with practice and repetition this mental edge fitness exercise will get easier to complete and the benefits will be positive and rewarding.

There are several benefits to quieting our minds and allowing our brains to rest. We will begin to feel:

• More connected
• Reduced stress
• Creativity increases
• Happiness increases
• Intuition develops or strengthens
• Gain clarity

We would love to hear from you, complete the Mental Edge Fitness Challenge below and let us know how it goes. Use the hashtags #powerofsilence and #everyoneneedsanedge when responding.

Mental Edge Fitness Challenge: #powerofsilence

Two to five minutes a day, turn everything off, sit in a comfortable position. Close your eyes and take a few slow deep breaths, experience the power of silence and share it with others. What did you notice?

#everyoneneedsanedge

The post The Power of Silence appeared first on Tracy Alston | Optimize Your Mental Performance.

qEEG refers to the analysis of digitized EEG, or popularly known as “Brain Mapping.” The qEEG extends the analysis of EEG interpretation, and this helps in gaining a better understanding of EEG and brain function. qEEG is nothing but a procedure processing recorded EEG activity measured from a multi-electrode recording employing a computer.  Various algorithms like the “Fourier” or “Wavelet” analyze this multi-channel EEG data. Statistical analysis of the digital data is a vital process of qEEG.

Color maps of brain functioning arising out this processed EEG are called “brain maps.” The EEG itself and the derived qEEG data are interpreted and serve as clinical tools for evaluating brain function. Moreover, changes in brain function are trackable via applications like neurofeedback. The qEEG or brain mapping processing techniques and modern analytic software help critique the dynamic changes occurring in the brain (when engaged in cognitive processing tasks). The efficient and engaged areas of the brain are identified using this novel approach.

 Learn More About Brainmap  

What Is Biofeedback?

Biofeedback is a technique enabling the control of a few body functions like the heart rate, breathing, body temperature, brain waves and muscle tension. During biofeedback, sensors are placed on various parts of your body, that monitors, receives and analyzes information about the body. This feedback helps make subtle changes in the body like relaxing specific muscles for the purposes of reducing pain or tension or assisting you in gaining control over your breathing for the purposes of reducing stress or anxiety.

Overall, biofeedback helps practice new methods to control the body and brain, aimed at improving your overall health or a chronic condition, or even mental performance.

What Is Neurofeedback?

Neurofeedback is a type of biofeedback for the brain. It is a straightforward method of brain function training. Through neurofeedback, the brain learns new ways to function more efficiently.

Neurofeedback practitioners observe instantaneous brain activity and feedback this information to the person. When the brain enters an optimum state, a reward in the form of a movie or a video game (on a screen) greets the brain.

Similarly, when the brain goes off course and enters an undesirable state, the reward vanishes. This entire reward loop is a gradual learning process, and over time, the brain can enter these high-performance states more frequently, thus heightening mental performance and improving overall mental health and wellness.

Neurofeedback training can strengthen the brain through a phenomenon called neuroplasticity. This is quite similar to how the muscles of the body gain strength upon exercising. Neurofeedback is also referred to as EEG Biofeedback as it’s based on electrical brain activity or EEG.

Neurofeedback helps with issues arising out of brain dysregulation. Anxiety-depression spectrum, various sleep disorders, attention deficit disorders, migraines, etc. are amongst problems caused by brain dysregulation.

 Learn More About Neurofeedback  

Neurofeedback: A Practical Example

Consider that Jack has trouble falling asleep. His concentration falters during the day, and he finds it challenging to keep his emotions at bay. Neurofeedback practitioners would start with a review his case and a baseline assessment known as a qEEG brain map.

A qeeG brain map – ‘Q’ for short enables practitioners to view a person’s unique set of mental weaknesses and strengths – brain areas corresponding to too little or too much activity. Moreover, areas of the brain not performing their operations to the best possible limits are also assessed.

Brain mapping helps understand how each part of the brain functions in a variety of conditions. Such precise measurement of brain waves helps identify optimal performing areas of the brain and those areas that have scope for improvement.

The bottom line is that qEEG is a guide to determine the most effective and efficient way for brain training to achieve specific goals like increased focus and attention, better memory, decreased anxiety, and peak mental performance.

Upon recording the qEEG map for Jack, neurotherapists can figure out that his brain is on high alert, all the time. Additionally, they also notice that the areas of the brain responsible for anxiety and emotional reactivity are performing at three times the ideal rate. That’s an apparent reason why Jack can’t get his mind to rest.

The analysis

After analysis of his brain activity, they conclude that this anxiety affects his ability to enter into a peaceful state of mind. The anxiety is using up all his mental resources and leaving none for concentration and decisiveness.

Now that the areas of concern are identified, the practitioners create a particular neurofeedback training plan for Jack. Jack enjoys games, movies and music, so he has several choices of feedback that would serve as the perfect reward during his neurofeedback sessions. Jack chooses the movie, Inception.

During the sessions, when Jack’s brain enters a restful state, a scene from Inception begins to play. A positive signal indicating that his brain is headed the right way. However, when his brain enters an anxious state, the movie fades away, thus indicating a negative signal.

After a few sessions, Jack can make these state shifts by himself, without any external aid. Now, he has greater control over his emotional reactions and can make choices that help him rest faster and easier.

Similarly, neurofeedback can help CEOs, athletes, public speakers, etc. improve their mental performance, and consequently improve their effectiveness at whatever it is that they specialize in.

Importance of a qEEG Before Neurofeedback

Several practitioners skip the qEEG before neurofeedback sessions. However, the industry is rapidly evolving towards making qEEG mandatory before neurofeedback. There are arguments against qEEG, claiming that it is just another way to bill clients extra.

However, there is also mounting evidence regarding the positive treatment impact arising from qEEG usage. Research concludes that qEEG usage helped double clinical success from 30-60%. Furthermore, the overall treatment benefits (‘full’ benefit and ‘some benefit’ groups summed together) increased from a previous 80% to 90%.

The cost-effectiveness as the qEEG does improve the probability of success. Since clients are going to shell out hundreds of dollars for an average neurofeedback session, if practitioners can create a qEEG map, the entire process becomes all the more effective.

Conclusion

The qEEG adds a crucial layer of analytics to the already sophisticated technology of EEG. Consequently, applications like neurofeedback can be carried out with greater precision to heighten mental performance to the maximum extent.

References

https://mentaledge-fitness.com

https://brainworksneurotherapy.com/what-is-neurofeedback

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/biofeedback/about/pac-20384664

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/06/this-is-your-brain-on-qeeg/532035/

https://www.eeginfo.com/what-is-neurofeedback.jsp

https://brainworksneurotherapy.com/qeeg-brain-mapping

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There are five different types of brain waves. Gamma waves are involved in higher processing tasks and are important for learning, memory and information processing. Beta waves represent periods of high activity such as conversations and mental math. Alpha waves are generated in a little more relaxed period, such as when you are introspecting or taking a quiet walk in the woods.

Theta waves are slightly more laidback, and you create them when you engage in tasks that don’t require your complete attention, such as daydreaming or driving on motorways. Delta waves are the most relaxed, and form when you are in deep, dreamless sleep.

Brain waves and the patterns that they generate are what keeps you mentally fit. Although at any given point one type of brain wave dominates the pattern, which translates into a specific mental state. But more on that later.

Now, with the knowledge of what brain waves are, it is possible to stimulate our brains to produce different kinds of waves on demand. With training, of course. Neuroscience has enabled us to accelerate the learning process and improve our cognition.

This can benefit patients of mental illnesses such as Alzheimer’s, elderly people who have slowly degraded their cognitive capacity, people in stressful jobs like army men and doctors, and even students who grapple with the stress of academic performance.

Why change your mental state?

How often has it happened that you felt like you should have been in a different state of mind in a situation? Maybe you were daydreaming in class and cannot remember any part of your lecture. Or maybe you were trying to go to sleep but your head was buzzing with activity. Being able to tune into different mental states on demand solves this problem for you.

Controlling your mental state is a part of biohacking, where you apply biological knowledge to achieve the best possible version of yourself. It is used by Olympians, astronauts and entrepreneurs among others.

It works best in cases of stress and anxiety where you learn how to switch mental states to feel calmer and stop the stress response cascade. Another area where the this can be beneficial is for people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, also known as ADHD. People with ADHD who undergo training show reduced symptoms of inattention, impulsiveness, and hyperactivity.

Additionally, it can help in the following conditions:

•     addictions
•     ADHD
•     anxiety
•     asthma
•     autism and Asperger’s
•     bipolar disorder
•     cerebral palsy
•     chemotherapy side effects
•     chronic fatigue syndrome
•     chronic pain
•     cognitive decline, including dementia
•     cognitive enhancement
•     depression
•     dissociative disorders
•     eating disorders
•     epilepsy
•     fibromyalgia
•     headaches, including migraines
•     high blood pressure
•     insomnia
•     learning disabilities
•     Lyme disease
•     memory loss
•     obsessive-compulsive disorder
•     Parkinson’s disease
•     post-traumatic stress disorder
•     restless leg syndrome
•     schizophrenia
•     stress
•     stroke
•     tinnitus
•     Tourette’s syndrome
•     traumatic brain injury
  
  

How to change your mental state?

Mental states are the combination of the emotional and intellectual matter in your consciousness in a given moment. They are a reflection of what emotions and thoughts are dominating your thinking, and have a great impact on your productivity and performance. You can gain control over these states, and here are a few tips on how.

Learn to be aware

A lot of how you feel and think is based on what you perceive. Every person has their own perspective, but remaining aware of your surroundings is a first step to achieving a different mental state. Learn how to develop a heightened sense of awareness and inner focus. Hold still for a moment and take in your environment.

Clearing your mind helps prime it for entering a new mental state. You can then engage in activities specific that trigger the formation of your desired brain waves. You can learn how to be more aware through mindfulness meditation practices and spending some quiet time to reflect on things.

Use neurofeedback to train your brain and change your mental state

Neurofeedback, also known as biofeedback for the brain is a non-invasive, drug-free reward-based training program for your brain. During a neurofeedback session, you sit comfortably in front of a computer screen, you’ll have a few sensors placed on your scalp and you’ll see your brains electrical activity on the screen.  You will then get instant feedback on your brainwaves or mental state.

Once your brain approaches an optimal state, you get rewarded by a computer screen displaying a positive response. The reward could be a movie or a video game or a tune. The displayed objects alert you instantly when your brain does/doesn’t move toward a more efficient state.

If the movie plays, your brain’s headed towards the desired state. However, if the movie stops, it means that your brains headed down the wrong freeway.

Neurofeedback is symbolic to hitting the gym to train your muscles. In this case, by getting feedback on when your brain is in an optimal state, you are teaching your brain new ways to perform and heighten performance.

Very similar to how consistency helps with physical exercise, a phenomenon called neuroplasticity enables the brain to attain mental fitness and scale peak performance.

Use music

Drumming and trance music are popular for a reason. Traditionally, they were used to induce specific mental states. More specifically, they were used to tune into deeper levels of consciousness. These types of music are made of specific bandwidths of frequencies that stimulate your brain.

Today, brainwave entertainment is a thing that many people use. It is the same concept as traditional trance music, and uses a recording type known as binaural beats. Some people call this brain wave music.

These are musical frequencies that help the brain attune to specific waves. There are different frequencies for different brain waves, and there are a lot of resources that are available on the web which are based on researchers’ recommendations.

Meditate

While music helps you attain a certain mental state, meditation enables you to channel it to achieve things. Once you are in the theta waves state, you are already in a state of hyperconsciousness where your mind works on hyperdrive. You can change your mood and focus better on your targets. People claim to have used it to be more creative, solve problems and even learn to control and endure pain better.

When in this hyper-focused state of mind, you can address things like past issues and inner conflicts, cultivating and getting rid of habits, setting goals, improving skills, improving relationships, becoming more aware, preparing for events and many more.

Summing it up:

Brain waves create specific patterns in your brain that influence your emotional and mental states. At any given point, one type of wave dominates your brain pattern and generates a specific mental state.

Mental states are responsible for a lot in your life including your performance ability and cognition. Training your brain to switch between them is not an easy task, but it is well worth the effort. It can help you achieve your targets with greater focus, precision, and efficiency.

References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4381643/

https://designepiclife.com/mental-state-for-high-performance/

The post The Power of Brain Waves, Change Your Mental State. appeared first on Tracy Alston | Optimize Your Mental Performance.

What is Neurofeedback?

In its essence, neurofeedback is a non-invasive, drug-free reward-based training program for your brain. It is a form of brain biofeedback.

What is Biofeedback?

Biofeedback is a broad category like “fruits” or “vegetables.” Biofeedback refers to using technology to gain information by monitoring blood pressure, muscle tension, skin temperature, brain waves, heart rate, and other normal physiological functions of your body.

This information helps you gain insight and control over the automatic and involuntary body processes through relaxation and conditioning. Now, neurofeedback is a subset of this broad category of biofeedback.

Just like how an apple belongs to the broader group of fruits, neurofeedback, also known as brainwave biofeedback, is a type of biofeedback for the brain. To grasp the concept of neurofeedback, you must understand a bit about the brain and brainwaves.

The Brain

The brain is a muscle and just like every other muscle in your body if you don’t use it or exercise it, it will weaken or atrophy. The opposite is also true about the brain. Just like every other muscle in your body it can be strengthened and trained for optimal performance.

The brain controls everything in our body physically and mentally. A healthy brain has optimal speed. The brain is electrical and the speed of the electrical energy flowing through the brain is known as processing speed or brainwaves. 

Brainwaves

Brainwaves provide a great deal of information on how we are feeling and functioning. Brainwaves breakdown energy by speed and depending on your brain’s

speed we can identify states of distractibility, focus, relaxation, stress, underlying moods, and overall brain function. Neurofeedback involves providing insight on your brain’s activity and comparing what your brain does to what you would want it to do. READ ABOUT NEUROFEEDBACK HERE

Applications of Neurofeedback

Research shows that the base cause for several disorders is a specific brain function dysregulation. If the brain is not able to regulate itself properly a host of symptoms can arise, anxiety, trouble sleeping, difficulty with focus and attention and more. The objective of a neurofeedback training session revolves around training the brain towards optimal function allowing individuals to self-regulate.

Research has shown that after a string of neurofeedback sessions, the brain tends to adopt the improved function and the symptoms of disorders diminish. Neurofeedback is helpful with these conditions:

1. Attention deficit issues like ADD/ADHD
2. Migraine
3. Sleep disorders
4. Depression
5. Anxiety

Interestingly, you can also use neurofeedback to enhance mental performance and attain peak performance. Since brain activity is the major contributor to performance, understanding it and training it can help attain optimum results.

What Happens in a Neurofeedback Session?

Analysis and Planning

With the help of sensors fitted on the scalp, neuro therapists can monitor and measure your brain activity (by analyzing the brain waves). Brain analysis software like qEEG brain mapping helps identify the specific activities occurring in your brain.

A qEEG brain map gives a visual representation of how your brain is functioning and gives you the ability to visually see your unique patterns of mental strengths and weaknesses categorized into executive processing, memory processing, visual, verbal processing and more.

Then, the practitioners customize a training program to condition your brain to access a more efficient and optimal state.

The neurofeedback session

Reward => Feedback

Once your brain approaches an optimal state, you get rewarded by a computer screen displaying a positive response. The reward could be a movie or a video game or a tune. The displayed objects alert you instantly when your brain does/doesn’t move toward a more efficient state.

If the movie plays, your brain’s headed towards the desired state. However, if the movie stops, it means that your brains headed down the wrong freeway.

Neurofeedback is symbolic of hitting the gym to train your muscles. In this case, by getting feedback on when your brain is in an optimal state, you are teaching your brain new ways to perform and heighten performance.

Very similar to how consistency helps with physical exercise, a phenomenon called neuroplasticity enables the brain to attain mental fitness and scale peak performance.

Claims of  Three Elite Performers Using Neurofeedback

You are probably skeptical of this whole neurofeedback idea, and that’s ok. Here are a few valid claims of 3 ultra-successful experts in their fields:

1.Tony Robbins

Chances are you know who Tony Robbins is already. If you don’t, here’s a summary. Tony Robbins is a self-help king who has trained athletes, politicians, and organizations to attain exponential success.

Interesting fact: Tony has also trained shooters in the US army! His books like “Unlimited Power” and “Awake the Giant Within” are best sellers.

Tony Robbins, a satisfied customer of the Biocybernaut Institute, is reportedly enjoying the benefits of neurofeedback. James Hardt, a renowned psychologist, has been researching the likes of neurofeedback since the 1980s.

His company, the Biocybernaut Institute, claims that the week retreat package they offer imparts the benefits and wellness of 20 years of meditation.

That’s like a quick shortcut to peak performance and mental fitness. It costs $15,000. However, if you can tweak your mental performance, the possibilities are infinite.

You can achieve so much more in life, and you will recover your “investment” back in no time at all. Tony Robbins must have thought the same when he enrolled for this program.

Since Tony is an expert at self-help, he must have considered all the pros and cons before agreeing to place foreign objects on his scalp. Fast forward into the present, and Tony Robbins’ testimonial reveals that his multitasking abilities have skyrocketed.

He can visualize two different tasks with most accuracy. Drafting an email and conversing with a person are both possible without any compromise in quality. Wow, imagine how much you could learn or do if you can spend the same amount of time accomplishing several tasks.

2. Kerri Walsh-Jennings

The dynamic American volleyball duo of Kerri Walsh-Jennings and Misty May-Treanor dominated the sport for over a decade.

They clinched the gold medals at both the 2004 and the 2008 Summer Olympics. However, the pair entered the 2012 Olympics in London as a third-seeded team. It was quite usual, especially after having excelled at the previous two Olympics outings.

Ms. Jennings felt her joints become loose and muscles stretched out as a result of her pregnancies. Her sleep took a toll and also did her energy levels. Looking to change things, Kerri signed up for a neurofeedback program in LA-based Neurotopia.

Her testimonial revealed that neurofeedback helped her stay calm in pressure moments. Moreover, the data generated from her brain waves helped teach herself how to suppress the brain waves that give rise to low performance.

Additionally, she learned to increase the brain waves associated with peak brain performance. Deservingly, the duo went on to win the London Olympics as well, for a third consecutive time.

3. Chris Kaman

NBA Clippers’ star Chris Kaman reportedly got misdiagnosed with ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Kaman partnered up with Royer and Neurofeedback technology. During his sessions, he found ways to regulate his brain waves and stay calm during crunch moments in his game.

As a result, Kaman played with a cool head and made better decisions during his games. He averaged at a whopping 17.9 points per game in the 2008 NBA season. Kaman attributed his new found form to neurofeedback training and the underlying peak performance attaining benefits.

Dr. Royer from the neurofeedback company figured out that the ADHD was a false call. Interestingly, Kaman’s brain was found to be working too fast, as opposed to the too slow claims his ADHD diagnosis revealed.

Summing it up:

Neurofeedback is being used all over the world by Olympic athletes, colleges and universities and high-profile celebrities who express the impact it’s had on their careers and performance.

If you’re looking for a mental edge over your competitors and want to attain peak performance and an excellent level of mental performance, continue to research more on neurofeedback training.

References

The post Three Elite Performers Using Neurofeedback appeared first on Tracy Alston | Optimize Your Mental Performance.