A Forbes business coach and author wrote an article listing five ways to reduce stress by increasing alpha waves, and one of those ways was, naturally, neurofeedback.  It’s worth a read and is linked at the bottom of this post.

Alpha waves are called such because they were the first electrical patterns discovered in the brain, back in 1920. They are a meditative brainwave pattern that activate when one’s eyes are closed, and they form a bridge between internal and external awareness.  Researchers spent years, especially in the 1970s, exploring ways to achieve enlightenment, improve performance, and just plain relax by boosting the level–called frequency, and quantity–called amplitude–of alpha waves.  Today, most neurofeedback practitioners include some type of alpha training in their work.

The author calls his experience of up-training alpha profound, yet hard. Based on what he wrote, I have the impression that he did intensive alpha training over a short period of time. That form of training is, indeed, hard to do, and most of us don’t have time in our lives to be spending a long weekend hooked up to electrodes and practicing alpha production.

In my practice, you may if you wish come in and train only alpha, but that would be for just one hour, twice a week (many choose to come more frequently in order to finish sooner, but you can achieve your goals with twice weekly training), over the course of a few months.  Most people, though, prefer whole-brain training, which is what I offer.  Instead of training just one brainwave pattern, my trainees work on many sites in the brain, and with all relevant brainwave patterns—not just the one.  Regardless of approach, for most people, it’s actually quite pleasurable to sit, relaxed with one’s eyes closed and listening to the reward tones while alpha training.  There are exceptions, such as those who have a history of trauma, but my approach to training is customized and not one-size-fits-all.

If you are interested in learning more, give me a call or send me an email. I have plenty of free time to chat with you and answer your questions. Then, if it’s something you want to pursue, you’ll gain the right to be at the front of the line when I am able to start taking new clients again.  And, although I do expect to have quite a few people seeking stress reduction and relaxation as our lockdown eases, I will be following my usual strict hygiene practices, plus additional steps to keep those who come to my office as healthy as possible, such as creating larger gaps of time between clients.

You can access the Forbes article here.