This post is also available in Dutch.
How does neurofeedback work?
You might have already heard about biofeedback. It’s a similar mechanism—for example, when measuring your heart rate. You see how fast your heart is beating, and by using breathing techniques, you can immediately try to bring it back to a normal level. Maybe you’ve already used it, consciously or unconsciously. If not, it’s easy to try with a smartwatch.
Neurofeedback basically works the same way, except that instead of your heart rate, your brain activity is being measured. As feedback, for instance, you might see a circle that grows or shrinks depending on which areas of the brain are active. This is especially useful at times when someone doesn’t feel well—such as in stressful situations—but also when you can’t fall asleep, or when you simply want to increase your focus on a task.
It may sound a bit strange that you can influence your brain, but it actually isn’t. We do it all the time, often without realizing it. Think of how you take rest when you’re tired or keep your distance from something that makes you angry. You read the signals from your body and adjust your behaviour accordingly. Neurofeedback works the same way—only more consciously. You learn to recognize those bodily signals better and faster, and to adjust your behaviour in an effective way. Through feedback, you know exactly whether it’s better to watch your favourite series to unwind, or whether you’d benefit more from a good book. You learn to listen, understand, and act—precisely when it matters.
Neurofeedback in practice
Not only is it fun to interact with your brain this way, it’s also quite practical when it comes to treating psychological, psychiatric, or neurological disorders. Over the course of such a treatment, people usually take part in several training sessions, during which they learn — based on neurofeedback — to steer their brain activity in the right direction to reduce their symptoms.
For example, someone who reacts intensely in stressful situations could reduce that stress response by spontaneously doing mental arithmetic. In the training sessions, you learn through feedback that your brain activity changes when you think in such a goal-directed way during stressful situations. After the treatment, that person has hopefully learned to apply this strategy again if the stress returns.
In addition, you don’t just learn how to influence your brain—but also that this is even possible. In short, you learn that you can exert control over how you ultimately feel. For many people, this is a very pleasant and useful experience, especially because they are dealing with a lack of a sense of control. But be careful—it’s not for everyone. Some people actually benefit more from learning to let go of control. That’s why it’s very important to carefully study for whom, when, and why neurofeedback can have an effect.
Credits
Author: Natalie Nielsen
Buddy: Wieger Scheurer
Editor: Lucas Geelen
Translation: Amir Homayun
Editor Translation: Helena Olraun
Image by Dmitry Demidov via pexels.com
