Biofeedback and neurofeedback (EEG-biofeedback) are both non-invasive treatments that can be used to treat a variety of disorders without medication. However, there is a difference between the two that most people are unaware of. In short, neurofeedback is a type of biofeedback that provides feedback on brain activity. While biofeedback encompasses a variety of therapies used to help patients leverage the mind-body connection to reach a deep state of relaxation. Once your body is in a deep state of relaxation, patients can better control their body’s involuntary responses to stress, which can help alleviate symptoms associated with various ailments and disorders.
The goal of biofeedback and neurofeedback is to help you learn how to control your body’s physiological processes. These processes include heart rate, breathing rate, muscle tension, skin temperature, brain waves, and more.
You can use biofeedback and neurofeedback to help with a wide variety of issues: from depression and anxiety to headaches and sleep problems.
What Is Biofeedback?
Biofeedback is a process in which you use electronic devices to monitor your body functions and identify the effects of your own internal processes. This allows you to gain control of your autonomic nervous system’s responses and change them for the better.
The most basic form of biofeedback training is a simple breathing exercise that involves making sure your breathing is deep, slow, and consistent. By focusing on your breathing, you can learn to control it. This can help with anxiety and stress, as well as physical symptoms like headaches or nausea.
Biofeedback can also be used to treat a variety of other conditions, such as migraines, chronic pain, heart disease, sleep disorders (including insomnia), eating disorders and weight loss challenges, and even addiction issues like smoking cessation or substance abuse problems.
Some biofeedback systems are portable—meaning they can be used at home—while others are installed in a doctor’s office so that they can be monitored by trained professionals during treatment sessions whenever necessary.
How Does Biofeedback Work?
Biofeedback is a method of learning to control your body’s internal systems and processes by monitoring them with sensors and then displaying that information back to you in real time. It can be used to help people who have trouble controlling their blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, or temperature.
Biofeedback monitors the activity of your brain, muscles, or body and then displays this information visually or as sound (for example, in the form of a beep) so that you can learn how to use your mind to control these processes. As you practice using biofeedback techniques over time, it will become easier for you to notice when something is happening in your body and manage it accordingly.
What Is Neurofeedback?
Neurofeedback is a form of brain training that uses biofeedback (a process that measures and displays various aspects of physiological function) to help individuals improve their brain function. It can be used for a variety of conditions, including ADHD, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and more. The goal of neurofeedback therapy is to help patients understand what’s happening in their brains so that they can make changes to their behavior.
Neurofeedback works by using sensors attached to the scalp to monitor electrical activity in the brain called “brain waves.” When someone is performing an action or making a decision, certain areas of the brain will become active. For example, when a person is focusing on something or making a decision about something they see or hear, they will have increased activity in certain parts of their brain known as “dominant frequency bands.” Neurofeedback allows people to learn how to control these dominant frequency bands so that they can focus better and make better decisions.
How Does Neurofeedback Work?
Neurofeedback is an emerging field in the treatment of brain disorders. As with many new approaches, there are still a lot of unanswered questions about how neurofeedback really works. But researchers agree that it has the potential to help people who suffer from conditions such as ADHD, epilepsy, and depression.
Neurofeedback is based on the premise that we have three brains: our conscious brain (which we think of as “I”), our unconscious brain (which we don’t think of at all but which is nevertheless controlling much of what we do) and our autonomic brain (which regulates involuntary functions like breathing). The autonomic brain communicates with the other two via electrochemical impulses, or “brainwaves.”
When someone suffers from a condition like ADHD or epilepsy, these brainwaves are out of balance. Neurofeedback uses sensors placed on the scalp or elsewhere on the body to read these signals and then feed them back into the system so they can be rebalanced.
Theoretically, this should result in improved focus and concentration for those suffering from ADHD, increased seizure control for those with epilepsy, better mood regulation for those with depression, and so on.
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The difference between neurofeedback and biofeedback is that the former uses the principles of neuroplasticity to train the brain, while the latter focuses on bio-electrical energy levels. Both therapies should only be done by professionals who have been trained in these methods.