Neurofeedback At Home: The Ultimate Guide

Training sessions with neurofeedback devices (such as Healium VR paired with a Brainlink Headband) improve overall brain health from the comfort of your home. But what exactly is neurofeedback, and how can it be effectively practiced outside of a clinical setting from the comfort of your own home?

Neurofeedback is a form of biofeedback that works with your brain’s electrical activity. It measures brain waves in real-time through electroencephalography (EEG) and provides a feedback signal, typically in a visual form. Essentially, neurofeedback translates brainwaves into measurable data, allowing individuals to gain awareness and control over their brain’s activity.

By monitoring brainwave patterns, neurofeedback devices like Healium can help users self-manage anxiety, ADHD, improve focus, and enhance overall mental wellness. These conditions often arise when one band of brainwaves is more active than another. Through neurofeedback training, you can learn to influence your brain’s electrical activity and shift into a more focused and calm state.

Interested in Healium? Here’s how it works!

The Benefits of Neurofeedback

Neurofeedback offers numerous benefits backed by scientific research and user experiences:

• Improved Mood

• Reduced Anxiety

• Enhanced Calm

• Better Focus

• Better Sleep

Healium’s neurofeedback tools are supported by peer-reviewed studies, ensuring their effectiveness and reliability. As more research is conducted, additional benefits continue to emerge, making neurofeedback a valuable tool for mental wellness.

How to Do Neurofeedback at Home

1) Choose a Wearable Neurofeedback Device

First and foremost, you’ll need neurofeedback equipment to measure your brainwave activity. Fortunately, you don’t need a cumbersome EEG cap with wires and glue. Consumer-grade, dry sensor EEG headbands are available that provide accurate data without being overwhelming.

Recommended Device:

• BrainLink Lite EEG Headband: This headband is adjustable, lightweight, and rechargeable, making it a practical choice for at-home neurofeedback.

2) Select the Right Software or App

Once you have your EEG headband, you’ll need software or an app to translate your brainwave data into understandable information. There are many neurofeedback training programs available, each offering unique features. In general, you’ll want to consider:

• Ease of Use: Ensure the software is user-friendly and aligns with your technical comfort level.

• Real-Time Feedback: Look for programs that offer real-time feedback to help you adjust and improve during sessions.

• Visual and Interactive Elements: Programs that provide visual cues or interactive elements can enhance the training experience.

Healium as a Solution:

• Real-Time Brainwave Data in VR: Healium allows you to see your brainwave data in real-time within virtual and augmented reality environments. For example, in Healium, your brainwave states are represented as a glowing firefly that moves higher or lower depending on your performance in the focused calm protocol.

• Interactive Experiences: The content in Healium is directly affected by your brainwaves. In one experience, more butterflies hatch from the chrysalis when you’re successful in your training, providing immediate, engaging feedback.

3) Establish a Baseline and Measure Progress

Just as physical fitness programs use before-and-after photos to track progress, neurofeedback requires a method to measure your mental fitness improvements. Before starting your training, measure your baseline brainwaves. This baseline represents your brain’s electrical activity without any intentional changes. Then, regularly compare your current brainwave data to your baseline to see improvements and identify areas needing more focus.

Healium’s Approach:

• Baseline Measurement: Healium measures your baseline brainwaves at the beginning of your training.

• Visual Progress Tracking: The firefly in Healium flows along your baseline. You can challenge yourself by adjusting your baseline higher and maintaining a high score even after increasing the difficulty.

4) Regular Practice and Consistency

Consistency is key to gaining the benefits of neurofeedback. Regular practice allows your brain to adapt and improve over time. Establish a routine by setting aside specific times each week for your neurofeedback sessions. Begin with short sessions and gradually increase the duration as you become more comfortable. Choose content that you find enjoyable and engaging to maintain your interest and motivation.

5) Monitor Your Well-Being

Pay attention to changes in your mood, focus, and overall well-being as you continue your neurofeedback training. Keeping a journal of your experiences can help you track subtle improvements and identify patterns.

How Does Virtual Reality Improve the Effectiveness of Neurofeedback?

Virtual reality (VR) enhances neurofeedback by making it immersive and engaging. According to this published study on VR impacting mood states in the Journal of Neuroregulation:

“The apparent success of VR in reducing anxiety may be, in part, due to the strong feeling of “presence” achieved in these environments. “Presence,” is defined as the subjective feeling of being in another place. Rather than simply removing a potentially stressful environment, VR can replace these stressful cues with an environment designed to be soothing, comforting, and mood-enhancing. VR research for pain management has shown that this strategy works quite well. For example, VR experiences designed to assist burn victims often utilize visual scenes that include cold weather and snow, taking advantage of the brain’s tendency to respond physiologically to environmental cues.”

In short, VR helps the effectiveness of doing neurofeedback at home by providing:

• Immersive Environments: VR helps users focus entirely on the experience, reducing distractions and enhancing the sense of presence.

• Enhanced Engagements: Interactive VR feedback, like Healium’s glowing firefly, makes neurofeedback engaging and easy to understand.

• Tailored Experiences: VR can create customized environments for specific mental health needs, such as reducing anxiety or improving focus.

• Physiological Responses: VR elicits strong physiological responses, leveraging the brain’s reaction to environmental cues to reduce anxiety and manage pain.

• Accessibility: Affordable and portable VR headsets, like the Meta Quest, bring professional neurofeedback training into the home.

Healium’s own virtual reality content is nature-based and most have guided meditations informed by our Chief Scientist, Dr. Jeff Tarrant and founder, Sarah Hill who also self-manages her anxiety with neurofeedback. 

The Best At Home Neurofeedback Devices

1) Healium VR with Brainlink Lite EEG Headband

Healium VR is a unique neurofeedback tool that combines virtual reality with real-time brainwave data. Paired with the Brainlink Lite EEG Headband, Healium offers an immersive and engaging way to practice neurofeedback at home. Users can see their brainwave activity represented visually, such as through a glowing firefly, and adjust their mental states in real-time.

2) Muse 2

Muse 2 is a popular neurofeedback device that measures brain activity, heart rate, breathing, and body movements. It provides real-time feedback to help users achieve a calm and focused state.

3) Myndlift

Myndlift offers a mobile neurofeedback solution that pairs with Muse headbands. It provides personalized training programs and professional remote guidance from certified neurofeedback therapists.

4) Versus Headset

Versus is a wireless EEG headset that offers neurofeedback training focused on performance enhancement. It provides brain training programs designed to improve focus, calmness, and peak performance.

5) NeuroSky MindWave

NeuroSky MindWave is an affordable EEG headset that provides a variety of brain training games and applications. It’s a great entry-level option for those new to neurofeedback.

—

Note: BrainLink and Healium are not diagnostic or treatment tools.  Think of the EEG feedback as self-awareness that displays a representation of your feeling state. It will not tell you if you have anxiety or depression. If you have questions about your mental health state, please consult a medical or neurofeedback professional who can give you a brain map with a full 19 sensor EEG cap.