Neurofeedback is a mirror for your brain

How did you do it? Specifically, how did you simultaneously relax your triceps, contract your biceps, ignore your other shoulder and forearm muscles, and guide your arm smoothly and safely to the exact location of your nose?

Your brain did it automatically, just because you wanted it to happen. Neurofeedback works the same way: with the right tools, your brain can automatically improve its own activity, just as it automatically raises your heart rate during a scary movie.

Did you consciously study that song? Of course not. Hearing a song or jingle many times, even while trying to ignore it, is enough for your brain to learn it. That automatic learning is called neuroplasticity.

In neurofeedback, your brain learns healthier patterns the same way: simply by listening to tones or watching a video that rewards improved brain activity, such as lower activity in your Pain Network.

Without help, that’s impossible, because you can’t see, hear or feel your brainwaves. Neurofeedback lets you see, hear or feel your brain activity at specific locations in real time, as it happens.

And even though you can’t feel the brainwaves themselves, you will definitely feel the results: less pain, less anxiety, better mood, better memory and better sleep.

Hard, isn’t it? You don’t know exactly where it is, what it looks like, or whether it’s getting better or worse as you wipe. You need a mirror to use that feedback.

Neurofeedback is that mirror for your brain. It displays your brain activity so you can hear or see it, and that feedback allows your brain to improve unwanted activity, just as a mirror helps you clean your skin.