A friend of mine recently shared this video of a quick way to reduce stress in the body by resetting the vagus nerve. The video is only four minutes long, and the exercise can take as little as one minute (or as much as an hour) to do. Check it out here.
Author Archives: Tamera
Indoor and Outdoor Safety Risks for COVID-19
An associate professor of biology from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth is maintaining a website dedicated to his musings about COVID-19. His recent post on catching the virus via suspended airborne droplets is particularly interesting for those of us who are wondering about how, when it’s time to re-open our spaces to the general public, to do so in the safest possible way. It is a short read and well worth your time. I think it is particularly reassuring for those who are afraid to go outside or grocery shop. You may find Dr. Bromage’s blog post here.
Normalizing Brains?
Recently, I had a conversation with a friend that ended up on the topic of what it means to have a normal brain, and could I train the people who come to me to have a normal brain.
Outstanding mind among ordinary brains. Conceptual image
My short answer is an emphatic NO. The longer explanation is no, because I do not believe there is any such thing as a normal brain. Are there healthy brains? Yes. But, tell me, who has the healthy brain—an accountant or a musician? An electrical engineer or a poet? Each might have a healthy brain, or an optimally functioning brain, but none of them is normal. Not one’s electrical patterns are like the others.
Of course, It is possible to have an unhealthy brain. I think we could agree, for example, that someone who has a tumor has an unhealthy brain. It is also possible to have a damaged brain. We could probably agree that someone who’s sustained multiple concussions has a damaged brain. Still, it’s hard to decide whether a person who’s had a concussion or a tumor has a normal or abnormal brain. What does normal mean?
Two studies reported on in The Toronto Star help illustrate the point that when it comes to measuring humans, the term normal isn’t helpful.
Back in the 1920s, engineers took measurements of pilots and used the average to create cockpits for military aircraft. Then, in 1950, military engineers wondered whether sizes had changed and could account for problems with pilot crashes. So, they measured 4,063 pilots on multiple physical attributes and used the average of those measurements to come up with a guide to the size of the average pilot. Those engineers believed that better and more rigorous calculations would allow the pilots to fit better into newly improved cockpits, and fitting better would reduce crashes.
The result of all these careful measurements was to create an average pilot. In the end, though, not a single one of those 4,063 pilots met the criteria for being average. They found that if they had used the average of the measurements to create the cockpit, no one would have fit well. No one was average.
No one was average, so no one was really normal.
Around the same time, according to the same article in The Star, something similar was done by a prestigious gynecologist who took measurements from 15,000 women to come up with the proportions of a normal woman. His measurements were used to create a statue, called Norma, which allegedly represented the ideal woman. In a later contest of over 4,000 women, no one fully met the criteria for the famous ideal woman, who was simply an average of 15,000 measurements.
Using these two examples, it’s easy to understand why trying to normalize brainwave function makes little sense. Any group of brainwave measurements, averaged, does not represent normal, nor an ideal of anything. It is a statistical phenomenon that uses false precision to convince people who vary from that average that they are more or less normal.
What I use for neurofeedback is a measurement protocol that is similar to those who seek to normalize brain function, but instead of measuring 20 sites on the scalp and comparing those results with some ephemeral normal brain, the software I uses those same 20 sites to compare the brain against itself, based on research literature showing what ranges of measurements exist for optimally functioning people. It turns out that optimally functioning people do not have brainwave patterns that are the same, but when comparing their brain against itself rather than a norm, the comparisons have similar ranges.
Frankly, I’d rather be working on becoming closer to my optimal self than to anyone’s measurement of normal, and I’d rather train you to be a better version of yourself, too.
Video on Migraines
This eleven-minute video from the Institute of Human Anatomy provides an interesting explanation of migraines and how they unfold in the brain. It does feature a human brain in the description, so if bodily parts upset you, you may want to skip this one. If you’re like me, though, you’ll learn something and think it’s pretty cool, too. The link for the migraine video is here.
Alpha Waves, Stress Reduction, and Relaxation
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.
Garden Meditations During Lockdown
If you’re looking for little ways to dial down some of the stress and overwhelm that you may be feeling during our time of staying at home to contain the novel corona virus, this may help. 
My friend Martha Brettschneider is a meditation instructor and photographer. Over the weekend, she made a meditative video of photographs from her garden, set to soothing music. At just 3 1/2 minutes, it’s perfect for taking a short break in your day to introduce a little bit of calm.
You may find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q73ZvZrZDBA&feature=youtu.be
And, you may visit her website here: https://www.damselwingsphotography.com/
Resilience in the Time of COVID-19
Yesterday, I tried something different. A friend who knows a lot about trauma recovery and I had a conversation about reducing stress and hopefully improving resilience as we cope with all the uncertainty
of the COVID-19 pandemic and staying at home. Although a lay person, Shay Seaborne educates medical professionals and serves as an advocate for the trauma-recovery community. Our conversation is meant to be beneficial, calming, and hopeful, but it is not meant to be a slick guide to anything, nor is it preventative, diagnostic or curative. Grab a mug of your favorite warm beverage and snuggle in for about 40 minutes of shared time together. We hope you’ll enjoy it!
Oh, and please do email me if you have feedback. If there is enough interest, Shay is willing to come back and do a more structured presentation on interpersonal neurobiology.
HERE ARE THE LINKS THAT SHAY MENTIONS IN OUR CONVERSATION. WE HOPE THESE ARE BENEFICIAL.
Gateway of the Inner Body meditation audio by Eckhart Tolle
This recording is one of many tools you can use to help you become more familiar with your felt sense, the sense of the inner body, a vital connection.
Hand Washing Without Stress video with Imogen Ragone
“Take the tedium and the anxiety out of washing your hands for at least 20 seconds with this practice. Each time you wash you hands you can not only be getting rid of those pesky germs, but also letting go of excess tension and stress so you feel more at ease in yourself!”
Healthy Mind Platter from Dr. Dan Siegel
Dr. Siegel’s website details the seven daily essential mental activities to optimize brain matter and create well-being: Focus Time, Play Time, Connecting Time, Physical Time, Time In, Down Time, Sleep Time.
Flower/Candle breath exercise: Break the Cycle of Distress with Self-Regulation by Shay Seaborne
Self-regulation is a key ability for all people, one often disrupted by trauma, especially in those with earliest onset. These simple practices can help an anxious person down-regulate to a more positive and prosocial activation level. They are most beneficial when practiced in advance of anxiety so they are familiar as a go-to for relief.
Shay Seaborne’s website
Recently revamped for trauma awareness activism, Shay has begun to offer tips and insights on how to minimize the impact of pandemic stress so we can come out in the best possible condition.
Intensity of Exercise and Cognitive Health
Research from the University of Basel that was published in the journal Nature Human Behavior and summarized in Science Daily addresses the importance of exercise on cognitive fitness. It suggests that rather that recommending one particular type of sport or exercise, intensity of exercise is a more important factor in improving brain health. In these times of increased stress loads on our bodies due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it’s more important than ever to take care of ourselves. Please do click through to the Science Daily article for an overview. The journal article is available here, but information beyond the abstract is behind a paywall.
New Finding–Autism and Attention
A study done on individuals with autism that is published in the Journal of Neuroscience and summarized in yesterday’s Neuroscience News is fascinating. It shows that the pupils of individuals with autism dilate irregularly compared with those who do not have autism. This finding, in turn, points to a bigger piece of the autism puzzle.
The pupil dilation response is controlled by a part of the brain called the locus coeruleus, which is in turn a part of the reticular activating system in the pons of the brainstem.
Put more simply, the reticular activating system is in charge of what we pay attention to in our daily lives. This example may help: if you were to consider purchasing a blue Honda Accord, you would start noticing blue Hondas everywhere. That wouldn’t be because there were suddenly more blue Accords on the roads, but it would be because your reticular activating system was calling your brain’s attention to the ones that it sees.
This means that knowing how one part of the reticular activating system is dysregulated, we may have a glimpse into why those who have autism pay attention to their world differently than others, and why they may have exaggerated responses to the world around them. Let’s hope those researchers, who are from Carnegie Mellon, New York University, and the University of Pittsburgh, keep going and take this new insight to the next level.
You can access the Neuroscience News article here and the study itself here.
New Growth
A few years ago, a client gave me a small shamrock plant for St. Patrick’s Day. It had 6 or 8 stems and was just small and sweet enough to be really pleasing.
My office at the time had a tiny window, so although I kept the shamrock alive, it wasn’t thriving. That changed last year, when I moved to a new office suite that is full of wonderful, natural light. My little plant came alive, growing 12 stems at one point. It continued to give me joy.
Then, by this February, the little shamrock was down to two stems, and one of them wasn’t looking so good. I had the great fortune of spending time with a dear friend and former mentor who, I noticed, had two huge and happy shamrocks growing in her sunroom. I asked her secret to them thriving, and her response was, “Love.”
I chuckled, but she meant it. She also told me that shamrocks are tougher than I think and to try repotting it to see if it would help.
I came home and dutifully placed my sad shamrock into a new pot.
Within days, new stems were popping up right and left. Now, a month later, my shamrock not only has close to two dozen stems, it is flowering.
It is happy, and so am I. Love does, indeed, make a difference.
Other friends who are humoring my excessive interest in my little gift tell me that shamrocks tend to die back, then regrow. There is a cycle to their lives, but they are resilient and will come back again.
I think we as a society are getting repotted right now. Things will change in our lives, as they must and really should. And, we will regrow again. We will bloom.
Tools for Neurofeedback Training at Home
As I mentioned in a previous post, home-training neurofeedback is an option. It’s not for everyone, though. In fact, most people are likely better served by working with a professional trainer. However, these are challenging times, and if you are dedicated to doing neurofeedback right now, home training is the way to go. (If you don’t want to do home training, give me a call or send me an email. I’m now creating a list for when my office reopens to new clients.)
There are three things you need to get started: the right equipment, the right know-how to do training, and the right mind-set.
Equipment.
Let’s get started with equipment. First, you need a Windows-based computer. It’s preferable to have one that’s solely for brain-training use, because Windows updates and some online activity may interfere with software functioning. People think this isn’t a hard and fast rule, but it really is better just to download what you need for brain training, then disconnect from online activity. You also should have a secondary monitor. This isn’t absolutely necessary, but it makes life much simpler. Monitors, and even small televisions, are relatively inexpensive these days.
Next, you need an amplifier. By the time it makes its way through the skull, the electrical signal that comes from brainwave activity is quite faint, and an EEG amplifier captures the signal and magnifies it so that the computer software can use it. Along with the amplifier, you need electrodes–either individual ones or a cap. You will need some sort of connector to help capture the signal—there is prep gel, conductive paste, conductive gel, or saline, depending upon what electrodes you choose. Then, you need software to capture and process the electrical signal so that it can reward your brain for making changes…and neurofeedback is reward-based.
It sounds complicated, but getting the right gear is fairly straightforward, especially if you reach out for help in your decision-making.
Know-How.
If you purchase a package of training from a website called brain-trainer.com, they include a significant amount of video-based training. This means that you can watch and re-watch videos to learn how to use the equipment. If you don’t purchase their training, I can help you navigate their free training, and, even before the coronavirus outbreak, I was offering online training sessions to get people started with home training. (I also offered in-person training and group workshops. Those will resume when it’s safer to do so again.) uiop[]789+lkjhvc
After 00learning how to operate the equipment, one must learn what and where to train. For most people, this is done by conducting a brain-map, which is a snapshot in time of the electrical signals of 20 spots on the scalp. Again, this can be done virtually, so one is not left at home, alone with complicated gear and instructions.
The data collected from the brain map can then be sent to me for processing using software called a Trainers’QEEG. This data compares the brain against itself—and NOT a normative database—and I use this data to help you come up with a plan for what and where to train. We go through this plan together during an online session to be sure you know how to use the software. Then, you’re off and running!
However, even after this, you’re not on your own. I’m available for questions, and if you purchase your gear from Brain Trainer International, they have free forums on which you can ask questions and learn from others’ questions.
Mind-Set.
One of the biggest problems with home training is NOT the learning curve involved. It’s the fact that many people start off with fits of enthusiasm, learning what they need to do. Then, as enthusiasm fades, those folks get busy with regular life and gradually forget that they intended to do training.
Brain trainers who succeed at brain training are able to bypass this sand through several means that we can talk about during training sessions. One of the biggest tips is to put neurofeedback at home in the calendar and behave as if it’s an appointment with an outside practitioner. When you make an appointment with yourself or your loved one, it’s much easier to keep it.
Another thing that helps people keep going is that they push through until they start to feel results (which happens generally within in the first ten sessions). Then, feeling and acting better propel successful home trainers in to doing more of what made things better. Success creates its own momentum.
How to Get Started
If you want to explore home training, reach out to me, and I’ll offer you a 30-minute session to talk about your needs and whether home training makes sense for you. If you decide that it does, I can walk you through the website where you can purchase equipment, or talk to you about rental options. I’m happy to do this even if you opt not to work with me to learn to train. If you decide that you want to do neurofeedback but home training is too much for you, we can also discuss in-office training for when it’s healthier to do that.
Choosing What’s Next—Neurofeedback and COVID-19
If you’re reading this blog, I have to imagine that you’re researching neurofeedback while at home, doing your part to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus while simultaneously seeking ideas to help you or a loved one live better. As I see it, you have three options:
The first is to wait until the crisis lifts, when we can start interacting a bit more normally. You are always free to reach out to me to schedule a phone or video consultation so you can plan ahead, but in-person meetings will need to wait awhile. Once we’re given the all clear to meet again, I imagine that there is going to be a combined pent-up need for neurofeedback training along with financial concerns about how to pay for training. Please be aware that, especially in these new times, I will not turn people who want to do neurofeedback training but due to the virus and quarantine are unable to pay my full fee. And, for those who are able to afford training, I am offering $150 off a brain map for any new clients for the first 30 days after I re-open to new trainees.
The second option is to purchase your own equipment and learn to train at home. There is a rather significant learning curve involved in this, but if you’re already at home and have time to get started, this is a good choice, because you don’t have to wait! I can help you choose the right system for your needs, and there are excellent training videos that come with certain packages. I can also provide online instruction to get you started, so you won’t truly be alone.
The third option is to rent a system from me. You still have the learning curve, but you aren’t stuck with gadgets in your house that you don’t want to own forever. I have a limited number of rental systems available, but this is less expensive than purchasing your own gear.
Feel free to email or call with any questions. In the meantime, stay well!
COVID-19 and BrainShape
As of March 17th, BrainShape remains open to see existing clients. My colleagues and I are doing our best to keep the office suite clean and sanitized. We ask that everyone who enters the office immediately wash his or her hands in one of the two office sinks. Out of an abundance of caution, we also ask that anyone who is experiencing any sense of unwellness to call and reschedule or cancel their appointment, even if one believes the problem is nothing more than a cold. We have clients who fall into the at-risk groups and do not wish for them to fall ill.
My colleagues and I are also doing what we can do reduce the number of people in our office. They are offering telehealth services to most of their clients. I am looking at ways of spreading out client appointments so that people are not encountering each other at all in the office suite.
For people who are interested in starting neurofeedback training for the first time, I am offering video consultations rather than in-person ones. It’s important to get to know the person who might be training you, to see the equipment, and get information about the process, and although video is imperfect, it is preferable to in-person sessions at this time. There is no charge for this service. New clients who are not family members or who have not already had a consultation may begin brain training once we have a better sense of how the pandemic is unfolding, but in any event no sooner than April 1st.
Thank you for your interest and cooperation during this uncertain time.
Teen Brains and Junk Food
A review written by University of Ontario researchers and published in The Lancet’s Child and Adolescent Health argues that teen consumption of junk food undermines self-regulatory processes in adolescent brains that are working to grow brain development of regulatory control, creating a vicious circle. Avoiding junk food, they argue, helps brain development and high-calorie, nutrient poor food impedes development. The review itself is behind a paywall at https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(19)30404-3/fulltext, but you can find an excellent summary of the review at Neuroscience News: https://neurosciencenews.com/fast-food-neurodevelopment-15889/
Brain Inflammation, Microglia, and Neurofeedback
Every now and then a book comes along that I feel is worth sharing, and The Angel and the Assassin: The tiny Brain Cell that Changed the Course of Medicine, by Donna Jackson Nakazawa is one of those books. Jackson Nakazawa takes a complicated topic—the function of a specialized brain cell called microglia—and breaks down her message into a fascinating story that reads a little bit like a detective novel.
As she explains it, microglia are a type of glial cell in the brain that function like microphages—themselves a type of white blood cell that consume unhealthy substances in the blood. They compose about 10% of all brain cells, and yet their function was overlooked until the past few years. Scientists have now realized that the brain has an immune system response, and microglia are the brain’s version of white blood cells, swooping up what doesn’t belong.
When microglia are functioning well, they secrete what is needed to stimulate the growth of new neurons and make new synapses, as well as the growth of myelin—the protective sheath around brain cells that works like the protective cord covering the wiring on all electrical devices. These important functions are what help keep our brains healthy.
Interestingly, The Angel and the Assassin looks at what happens when microglia get overactive. Microglia can start consuming parts of the brain that should not be consumed, much like white blood cells can get overactive, leading to auto-immune disorders. The scientists Nakazawa Jackson interviews point to overactive microglia as inflammation in the brain and show how this, and not the long-debunked chemical imbalance theory, is behind mental health disorders. She points to several promising approaches to resolving this, such as fasting-mimicking diets, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and neurofeedback.
I will be keeping a copy of this fascinating book in my office for clients who wish to borrow it, and I encourage anyone who knows someone who suffers from mental health problems to pick up a copy of this book. It’s likely to change how you look at mental illness and physical wellness.