NEUROPTIMAL®
Unlike other neurofeedback systems, NeurOptimal® is designed to focus on the central nervous system – the hub of all functions in the human body. Therefore, the specific type of problem, be it physical, mental, or emotional, becomes less important. It is not surprising then that users and trainers alike have experienced successful outcomes across a broad spectrum of complaints. Our clients typically find NeurOptimal® neurofeedback systems effective in resolving issues in five general categories:
- Wellness and Personal Growth
- Slowing the Effects of Brain Aging
- Achieving an Artistic or Athletic Performance Edge
- Help with Specific Cognitive, Emotional, or Physical Challenges (e.g., ADHD, anxiety, chronic pain)
- Enhance Academic Performance
Enhancing Academic Performance, Wellness, and Personal Growth: For most, wellness is an awareness of the intimate connection between our state of mind and our physical health. Wellness typically involves the pursuit of spiritual growth for greater joy and fulfillment. Individuals in this category tend to enjoy exploring their own consciousness to discover deeper meaning. Brain training with Neuroptimal tends to accelerate this psychological evolution. Training the central nervous system also better equips users to cope with daily life challenges that could potentially delay their pursuit of wellness. Life coaches and psychotherapists use the NeurOptimal® neurofeedback system to support and speed up their work with clients.
Slow the Effects of Brain Aging: Brain fitness is important at any age, but it is especially critical after age forty when anatomical changes can adversely affect our brains. Memory loss, loss of neural circuitry, loss of brain plasticity, and an overall thinning of the cortex are well-documented age-related phenomena that may negatively impact our emotional and physical well-being. NeurOptimal® neurofeedback can help slow and even reverse the detrimental effects of brain aging. Neuroptimal trainers worldwide have found neurofeedback to be an excellent supplement to an anti-aging regimen that includes exercise, dietary shifts, vitamins and minerals, hormone balancing as well as staying socially actively and intellectually engaged.
Peak Performance for Athletes and Artists: NeurOptimal has helped stage performers, opera singers, celebrities, and athletes excel in their chosen field. “If the performances of world-class athletes are separated by hundredths, sometimes thousandths of a second, more strength or flexibility will not help them secure victory. Nor will adding five hours of practice to an already grueling weekly schedule. It is tapping the potential of the mind and its intricate connection to the body that will provide the elusive edge” – Rael, Isacowitz, 2006
Help with Specific Cognitive, Emotional, or Physical Challenges: NeurOptimal offers help for depression. It can dramatically help with anxiety. A recent research conference in Palm Springs, California, documented positive outcomes when NeurOptimal® neurofeedback training was utilized to address a plethora of difficult issues arising from ADD, ADHD, PTSD disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, autism, sleep disorders, insomnia, and cognitive dysfunction from chemo-therapy. A recent Norwegian study found neurofeedback training to be just as effective as Ritalin for treating children with ADHD.
Enhance Academic Performance: NeurOptimal® is a phenomenal learning tool. It helps with focus, engagement and significantly increases one’s attention span. Students of all ages can learn more quickly and effectively. They retain more of what they read and study. Teachers and parents often notice positive changes in performance and behavior after just a few sessions. NeurOptimal® can even have a positive impact on your IQ.
How Does NeurOptimal® Neurofeedback Work?
- Do you have trouble relaxing after work?
- Does it take you more than 15 minutes to fall asleep?
- Do you struggle to focus on a specific task during the day?
The various things we do during a normal day require different levels of consciousness and awareness. Your brain needs tremendous flexibility to shift from one “mode” to another. The heightened state of awareness necessary to complete a work task is obviously not the best state for sleep. That’s why brain flexibility is so important.
NeurOptimal® is essentially a brain workout. It trains your brain to be more flexible and resilient. Without pushing it in any specific direction, the NeurOptimal® neurofeedback system interacts with your central nervous system in a way that improves neural plasticity. A mind that is more flexible adapts and responds quicker and more appropriately to changes in your environment. The more easily your brain adjusts to changes encountered in a normal busy day, the better you feel. A lack of brain fitness, on the other hand, can leave you drained and stressed at the end of the day.
NeurOptimal® can also help build brain resilience or an increase in the central nervous system’s ability to “bounce back” from a negative event. Negative feelings associated with a personal conflict or bad day at work can hover hours after the actual event has passed. The destructive effect of nervousness, repetitive or self-critical thinking is magnified in more severe events such as physical or emotional trauma or the loss of a loved one. Instead of staying stuck in the negativity of these events, the resilient brain will snap back and return to its normal baseline more quickly. Individuals with a more resilient brain report feeling happier and enjoying a more profound sense of peace.
THE PARTICULARS
NeurOptimal® monitors your brainwaves and alerts your central nervous system when it is not functioning smoothly.
When brain activity shows signs of turbulence, the music within the NeurOptimal® neurofeedback software is momentarily interrupted. This subtle cue alerts your brain that it is operating inefficiently. With repeated training sessions, the brain learns to “reset” itself and function more smoothly. All of this learning is non-invasive and happens outside your conscious awareness. Over time, NeurOptimal® adjusts itself automatically in response to your brain’s activity, individualizing the training microsecond by microsecond to your own brain’s functioning.
Sound simple? That’s because it is simple. The true complexity of the neurofeedback training is embedded in the NeurOptimal® software.
Just think of NeurOptimal® as an Olympic gymnastics coach or yoga instructor. Like a human teacher, the neurofeedback machine points out and corrects your form as you train. As you get better, the level of brain training difficulty increases automatically. With practice, your brain fitness (i.e. brain flexibility and resilience) naturally improves and becomes more natural and efficient. As a result of the training, you can maintain a healthy brain and become more effective in your personal and professional life.
What Happens in a NeurOptimal® Session?
BEFORE: Before your first neurofeedback session begins, your NeurOptimal® trainer may have you fill in a brief questionnaire describing how you are feeling. Then, s/he will have you sit in a comfortable chair facing a computer screen. Next, the trainer attaches tiny sensors near your scalp and three clips on your ears to pick up delicate electrical activity of your brain. Much like an EKG or ECG, the NeurOptimal® system is simply reading this signal. Nothing invasive is involved with the training process. NeurOptimal® neurofeedback is naturopathic and does not “push” the brain in any particular direction. The system merely cues your central nervous system to do what is naturally best for YOUR brain.
Your trainer may record a baseline reading and review it with you before starting the training. While this is not absolutely necessary for brain training, it can be interesting to look at your brain activity at the beginning versus the end of your session as well as over time. While NeurOptimal® offers some very exciting ways of assessing your progress, in the end, it is always how you are doing in your life that counts most. After all, that is what brought you into training in the first place!
DURING: Your trainer will then give you some earbuds and perhaps a blanket. S/he will start the program for you and then the brain training begins. You might listen to music or watch a movie during which you may notice very brief pauses in the sound or image. The very precise timing of these interruptions gives the brain vital information it needs to reorganize itself to operate more optimally. You don’t have to do anything while all this is happening. It’s all right to close your eyes and “zone out” and just let your brain do its job. Length of the brain training can vary, but a session usually runs around 35 minutes. Once you have finished, the trainer may record another baseline and compare it with your earlier one.
AFTER: How will you feel afterwards? Because NeurOptimal® is non-invasive and does not push the brain in any “direction” during training, it is highly unlikely you will feel any side effects following a session. Any noticeable shifts in your mood, awareness, or energy level after brain training really depend on the individual and can vary from session to session.
The main point is that transformation with NeurOptimal® happens according to the brain’s own intrinsic wisdom, with no conscious effort from the user.
“How long will it take?” is a question many clients ask (second only to “What results can I expect”?). There is no standard answer to this question because everyone’s central nervous system is unique. While we cannot predict what your brain will do with the information it receives from our neurofeedback training, we can offer a few guidelines.
The Six Session “Rule”
We often tell clients to expect SOMETHING to shift within six sessions. Often, it is much quicker than that. Early on, clients commonly report feeling better rested, having an improved outlook, and engaging more effectively with colleagues or loved ones. Changes you experience may or may not be related to the goals you came in with, but generally speaking, any kind of shift is a positive indication that the NeurOptimal® brain training is working as designed. Specifically, clients describe feeling clearer, calmer, lighter, or brighter for a few hours after the session – a feeling that typically will last through the week, from one neurofeedback training session to the next (weekly sessions being the most common). Eventually, this new-centered way of being becomes their “new normal”. Only if they get thrown off by a negative event -a bad day at work, chemicals, a knock on the head – might they drop into the way they felt before. But generally, they will not dip as deeply into emotional discomfort and will more than likely bounce back from challenging situations much more quickly and easily.
The “New Normal” Threshold:
How much neurofeedback training does it take to get to your “new normal”? As NeurOptimal® has improved and evolved, reaching a new, improved baseline for users has become quicker and quicker. We used to say at least 20 sessions were necessary to help with issues bothering you in the “here and now”; 30 plus sessions for “deeper” problems that originated earlier in life. Now we are now finding significant results occur in much less time. Today, it is possible you could be feeling much better in fewer than 10 neurofeedback training sessions. In the end, the more brain training you do, the more the positive effects will stay with you. Much like learning a language or a physical skill like rollerblading, “practice makes perfect”. The more sessions you undergo, the better your brain fitness. You can stop whenever you feel ready and return for booster sessions to tune up and strengthen what your brain has already learned. You will never lose what you have, even if your brain’s optimal operation becomes a little rusty. In fact, many clients continue brain training on a monthly or bi-monthly basis to maintain their brain fitness for a lifetime. NeurOptimal® is non-invasive and naturopathic, so it may be used as long as you like. Similar to the benefits of exercise for the body, neurofeedback can be an important tool for brain health, as it keeps the central nervous system in tip-top shape. You can make NeurOptimal® neurofeedback training central to your personal brain fitness program as you age.
Do the Effects of NeurOptimal® Training Last?
Training with NeurOptimal® is actually a learning task. You get results because your brain is actively learning, even if you are not doing the learning consciously. Much like reading, once your brain knows how to read, it can’t “not know”. Your brain doesn’t forget. It may get rusty, but the effects of learning remain throughout your lifetime. However, your brain is living tissue and you can— and will— get “knocked off” by stress, by chemicals, by alcohol, by an anesthetic, by the difficult daily lives we all seem to live. The wonderful thing is, a few booster sessions will get you back to where you were. As trainers, we see a trained brain quickly utilizing the information NeurOptimal® is offering. It’s as if the brain says “I know what to do with this!” and it goes through all the steps it went through in the weeks of initial training, but very rapidly. So you quickly get back into your good place. It’s very nice to know if you are going through a more difficult time, you can quickly do a session or two to recover your optimal flow and functioning.