So is there a way to increase our awareness of what the body is going through during times of stress? Yes. It’s called biofeedback. And here’s a brief overview of what biofeedback is.

What is biofeedback?

Biofeedback, bio-feedback, or bio feed-back, can be categorized as an alternative medical way to measure those physiological processes occurring in the body that can be measured. Things like your blood pressure, your heart rate, skin temperature, muscle tension, respiration (i.e., breathing) rate, brain activity, and sweat gland activity are viewed to be highly influenced by the introduction of stress, and they can also be easily measured with relatively inexpensive equipment. If you know how to take your pulse, then you can measure your heart rate. That’s a simple and free way to apply the principle of biofeedback.

Biofeedback is a form of mind-body therapy. When you can master and apply the principles of biofeedback, you can assert the power of your mind to control your body and its functions. Instead of waiting 30-45 minutes for a pill to take effect and calm your stress, you can have immediate results with mind-over-body techniques.

Biofeedback translates the human physiological processes into a language we can understand and see. For example, when you want to know what your blood pressure is, it’s not helpful to say it’s high or low. A blood pressure cuff (or sphygmomanometer for you techies our there) translates the force of your blood through an artery into numbers that are more useful to us: 120/80 mmHg, 90/45 mmHg, or 240/128 mmHg. Using these numbers is more helpful because we can see what our blood pressure is. This gives us a more accurate starting point we can use to help us decide what we want to do next in terms of healing.

The overall goal of biofeedback is to change a person’s reaction to stress. Over time, a person who does not change their reaction to stress will produce damaging physiological reactions within their body that will lead to pain and disease. When you are stressed out, a whole bunch of things are happening in your body at the physiological level - increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, muscle tension, etc. If kept constant or if this occurs frequently and chronically, the body’s ability to repair and heal itself decreases, and irreparable damage can occur. Biofeedback helps people modify their responses to stress-related conditions.

If you can learn to recognize what your body goes through during times of stress using biofeedback, you can learn to change your reaction to stress, which leads to a more peaceful mind, which in turn decreases harmful physiological responses…which in turn lead to a more peaceful mind…which in turn decreases harmful…you get the point?

What is biofeedback used for?

Research has shown that biofeedback is very useful in treating stress. In fact, it can often be preferred over traditional methods of stress management such as medications, depending on the practitioner. Clinical trials around the world are evaluating it to see if it’s useful in other health related conditions such as:

Asthma
Headaches
Hot flashes
High blood pressure
Incontinence
Constipation
Panic attacks
Chronic pain
Irritable bowel syndrome
Raynaud’s Disease
Epilepsy

How does biofeedback work?

In order to understand how to use biofeedback, most people may want to go to a biofeedback training clinic, a physical therapy clinic, or medical center where there are trained biofeedback therapists. The therapist will attach sensors to your body to measure your physiological responses to the thing causing you stress. You’ll be able to see or hear some sort of cue that alerts you to what’s happening within your body. This is biofeedback.
You’ll learn to associate a specific visual or auditory cue, or feedback from your body, with what’s ailing you.

Biofeedback is typically paired with relaxation training exercises. It’s not useful to just know how fast your heart is beating, or how cold your skin is getting when you are under stress. Knowing these things is half of the equation. You must know what to do to make a healthful healing change. Therefore, it may not be uncommon to be taught progressive muscle relaxation or deep diaphragmic breathing exercises.

In addition, people may be taught how to identify those situations that trigger stress, how to avoid them, and how to cope with them. They are also taught how to make healthier life changes and are encouraged to drop unhealthy habits. It can be a total health and lifestyle program if the person is willing and motivated.

Session lengths are usually between 30-60 minutes, and this will be dependent on how quickly you learn to control your body’s physiology. There are devices marketed for home use such as the GSR/Temp 2x and the emWave, although a few initial sessions with a trained therapist may offer the best results. It is worth noting that these smaller hand-held devices may be more appealing due to their compactness and portability. And since people are often weaned off of the bigger bulkier equipment like the ones found in a biofeedback clinician’s office, many may find it helpful to use the small hand-held device at home for refresher sessions, or to continue a self-monitoring program.

What types of biofeedback are there?

There are several types of biofeedback devices and techniques used to measure your body’s physiological response. Most of these are typically found in hospitals, medical centers, or a biofeedback therapist’s office. While you can purchase some of these for home use, it’s typically not practical due to the high cost and bulkiness of some of these products. Plus, specific training on how to operate the machine, as well as safety instruction, needs to occur when purchasing certain medical equipment. Smaller hand-held devices, however, are now widely available for home use and can perform many of the basic functions of their bigger industrial cousins.

Electromyogram: An EMG measures muscle tension. It’s usually used to treat backaches, headaches, neck pain, and to help promote overall muscle relaxation, although it may be used to help treat asthma and ulcers, as well.

Temperature: In biofeedback, temperature measurements usually involve feedback from the skin. Cooler skin temperatures usually indicate stress. It also is used in treatment for Raynaud’s disease, a circulatory disorder, and can be useful in treating headaches.

Galvanic Skin Response: This type of biofeedback measures sweat gland activity and perspiration. It’s useful in detecting stress and anxiety, phobias, and even stuttering. FYI, the GSR/Temp 2x we sell is a small hand-held biofeedback device capable of measuring both galvanic skin response and skin temperature.

Electroencephalogram: The EEG measures and monitors brain wave activity. It is used in the treatment of sleep disorders, epilepsy, and other neurological disorders.

Heart Rate Variability: This biofeedback measurement tracks the time between heart beats while the user learns deep breathing patterns that promote increased heart rate variability - a desired effect that leads to relaxation. This type of instrument has found use in treating a variety of stress-related disorders. The small hand-held and portable emWave device has been developed for this purpose.

There are other types of biofeedback devices out there like mind machines (which are light and sound machines that actually produce changes in electrical activity in the brain; this should not be used by those with epilepsy) and cranial electrical stimulators (which are used for pain reduction, anxiety, and sleep disorders; these machines require a doctor’s prescription). Although clinical testing for effectiveness has been limited, these devices are gaining in popularity among alternative medical practitioners. The most common and widely used types, however, are the four mentioned above (i.e., EMG, EEG, GSR, and skin temperature).

Before you start biofeedback

While biofeedback, in its many forms, is widely considered safe and effective, please consult with your primary health care provider. Some severe forms of mental disorders like major depression and psychosis may not be appropriate for biofeedback. In addition, biofeedback can interfere with certain medications like insulin which may make them ineffective.