How does NeurOptimal Neurofeedback work?
NeurOptimal Neurofeedback works by this: NeurOptimal offers information to the brain about what it has just done, which the brain can then use to organize itself. But how does it do that?
During a NeurOptimal session you will wear ear clips and two small sensors on the sides of your head. These pick up the delicate electrical activity of your brain. You relax and close your eyes and listen to music or watch a movie. NeurOptimal processes your brain signals very rapidly and when it detects them moving into an “instability”, the music or movie pauses very briefly. That’s it. That’s all that happens. This is the “feedback”.
Consciously of course, this has no meaning for us — in fact we may not even notice them. But unconsciously our brain understands the mathematics behind the timing of the pauses, which act a bit like a “rumble strip”. The brain adjusts its activity without any effort from you (you can be completely zoned out if you want), to stay “within” the rumble strip. The brain does this on its own — NeurOptimal doesn’t tell it to. Imagine you are walking along a path on a cliff side, in the dark. You’d probably be floundering. But then a flashlight is shone showing the cliff edge. The flashlight doesn’t tell you what to do, but now you can use the extra information you have (the location of the cliff edge) to walk more certainly along your path. The brain learns from the information it is given until over time and without your conscious awareness or effort, it learns to organize itself more efficiently. And this manifests in your life by blocks dropping away and life just seems easier.
NeurOptimal is simple. But its simplicity belies its power. It’s powerful because it communicates directly with your brain, and there is nothing to interfere with that. There is no outside person having to evaluate or diagnose you, and no outside person deciding what training you need. It’s your brain effectively communicating with itself and making its own changes. Period.
Think about that!
Your brain really does know best.
What is NeurOptimal For?
Getting the information (or feedback) the brain needs to organize itself, allows the brain to release patterns that can get in the way of it functioning well.
How would you know if your brain is not functioning at its best? If you are feeling off and not maximizing your potential, ask yourself what stands in the way of you being or achieving what you would like in your life. It’s possible your brain could use some hurdle help.
Have you experienced times when you have felt “on target”, maybe even invincible, untouchable, where you are mentally in your “A game”? Or where you have felt clear, poised, “in the now”? Or maybe warm, safe, connected and loving. During these moments your brain is organized, your CNS is flexible and resilient to whatever challenges it faces, and you’re reaping the benefits in the moment.
Using NeurOptimal is like having a “defrag” of your hard drive, it’s suddenly easier to get out of your own way and access your “A game”. Roadblocks can fall away and life can just seem easier, more in flow.
No matter where you are starting from, every brain has a potential best, its own level of optimal flow and function. It doesn’t matter if you are a peak performing athlete or performer, or if you are struggling with relationships or your studies in school, or whatever your situation — given the right information about itself, every brain can reveal its best.
Whether you are looking for personal or spiritual enhancement, that edge to help prepare you for exams or a performance, or whether you just want to “get your ducks in a row”, we believe NeurOptimal can help you reach that goal.
Be your best you. It’s time.
Who can benefit from using NeurOptimal?
We are often asked: “Who can benefit from using NeurOptimal?” Our answer: “Anyone with a Brain.”
This is because there are no criteria to determine whether you can use NeurOptimal or not. It is used on toddlers to our oldest citizens, by the sick and the well, by those not functioning at their best to those who excel at what they do.
There are no circumstances that preclude its use, and there is nothing to ever change when you do use it. There is no expertise required — just hit Go and you’re off.
Every time you use NeurOptimal your brain receives information about what it has just done, micro-second by microsecond. It works with you wherever you are in that instant. So there is never any evaluation to do ahead of time, no decisions to make and no settings to change. You don’t have to worry about doing anything wrong, and neither can you over train. If your brain gets tired it just ignores the information, just as you might ignore a television that is on in the background. Safe, and effective.
Anybody. Anywhere. Anytime.
Do the results last?
Doing NeurOptimal sessions is a bit like learning to read — minus the hard work!
Once you know how to read, you can’t not know. So yes, it lasts. But if you don’t read for a very long time, you might get a little rusty. Then once you jump back in, you quickly catch up and you’re off!
NeurOptimal is very like that. Once you have done say 20 sessions, we like to say “you have it in your back pocket”. But if you get thrown off by something happening in your life, a session or two or three can get you right back. You can also stop training any time you want, and pick back up again later. It’s really up to you.
Alternatively, those of us who own NeurOptimal frequently consider it part of our own self-care, much like exercise. We are living tissue after all, and daily life stressors and pollution all take their toll. You might want to run yourself weekly or monthly to stay tuned — it’s really up to you. It’s your brain doing the training after all. It will let you know when it wants a session!
At Zengar, we have found ways to easily keep it in our lives. We will often run a session while we are working. As long as we are not moving wildly (such as running on a treadmill) it’s fine because NeurOptimal automatically ignores the noisy signal that prevents other systems from working. And our children will often do a session while doing their homework or playing a quiet game.
So yes, the benefits of NeurOptimal do remains with you, and when life throws you an unexpected curve a few sessions can quickly help you find your way home.
Is NeurOptimal Safe?
There are many reasons why NeurOptimal is so safe.
When you are listening to NeurOptimal you will hear brief micro-pauses in the sound. Once you settle in to a session, you might hardly even notice them. If listening to pauses in music were risky, our founder Dr. Val Brown jokes that you would have to hold the record companies liable for damages from old scratchy records! Certainly playing records in their hey-day did not seem to adversely affect millions of music lovers.
There is another reason though, that NeurOptimal is so safe. Unlike other systems, NeurOptimal does not train states of consciousness. Indeed, it does not do anything to influence any outcome. Instead it is up to your brain to use the mathematical information it receives, or not — as it will. For this reason NeurOptimal is an extraordinarily safe tool for self-optimization. In fact, history of its use world-wide as revealed in two extensive surveys of our users indicate that we have now well over three million hours of safe usage under all our belts. And that number is growing exponentially.
NeurOptimal can help unleash your personal, social, spiritual, physical performance or academic potential. There’s little to lose and possibly much to gain!