Neurofeedback is a valuable therapeutic tool, but what are the best pieces of equipment and how much will they end up costing you? We have your answers here.
Jump to: Is Neurofeedback Worth the Cost? | Which Type of Neurofeedback is Right for You? | At-Home Neurofeedback Equipment | Professional-Grade Neurofeedback Equipment | How to Find a Provider
Neurofeedback is a non-invasive method of monitoring and training your brain waves through electronic equipment (typically EEG devices like the BrainLink Lite Headband) in order to evaluate your mind and body.
Neurofeedback therapy helps you become a more well-rounded person equipped to tackle adversity as well as enhances your mental fitness so you can enjoy a balanced life and healthy relationships. Neurofeedback equipment plays a key role in optimizing your mental fitness. Never before has capturing your brainwave data been so accessible!
With the right equipment in hand, you’re able to train your brain and the specific brainwave patterns associated with aspects of yourself you wish to improve.
With the growing popularity of neurofeedback therapy, many people are curious about the available options and associated costs. This guide will help you understand the different types of neurofeedback equipment and whether it’s worth the investment.
Is Neurofeedback Worth the Investment?
In our humble opinion, yes, very much so!
There’s no getting around the fact that neurofeedback can be costly depending on the approach you take (whether or not you do neurofeedback at home or go to a professional neurofeedback clinic makes a big difference in total cost).
However, the benefits that regular neurofeedback training can give you, especially when combined with immersive virtual reality meditation, are absolutely life changing and worth the investment.
– Insightful Feedback: Neurofeedback provides you with valuable feedback which will grant you insight into how your brain is working. Positive feedback is generated for healthy brain processes, while negative feedback is created for unhealthy brain processes.
– Relaxation and Calmness: Neurofeedback promotes relaxation by increasing your alpha waves, which can lead to a peaceful and relaxed state of mind. According to Forbes Health, alpha waves help control and treat anxiety and stress.
– A Focused Mind: Neurofeedback sharpens your focus by boosting your beta brain waves. These waves are connected to your alertness, attention span, and concentration. Beta waves play a role in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
– Sounder Sleep: Neurofeedback improves your sleep patterns and the quality of your sleep as a whole. In fact, neurofeedback therapy has grown in popularity as a drugless and self-managed way to help insomnia.
– Learning Skills: Neurofeedback training hones your learning skills by enhancing alpha wave activity. It can be used to manage and treat learning disorders like dyslexia and dyscalculia, based on a study published by the Basic and Clinical Neuroscience Journal.
– Neurodevelopmental Function: Neurofeedback improves neurodevelopmental functions, and can be instrumental in the treatment of autism.
– Addiction Recovery: Neurofeedback could help you to recover from drug and alcohol addiction and dependence. It can minimize your cravings for illicit substances, which could make you less vulnerable to the temptations of drugs or alcohol.
Identifying the Right Neurofeedback Equipment For You
If you’re considering adding neurofeedback in your mental fitness toolkit, there are essentially two roads you can take: buying the proper equipment to practice neurofeedback at home, or finding a neurofeedback practitioner to conduct neurofeedback in a clinical setting.
Each of these routes has pros and cons, and each will have different associated costs.
Naturally, at-home neurofeedback devices grant you the benefits of neurofeedback training at a more affordable price point while staying put in the comfort of your own home. The drawback to this approach is that you’re reliant upon yourself to practice neurofeedback training correctly and regularly. If you can find the level of dedication required, this is often a great and affordable way to train your brain and build a consistent practice.
Alternatively, clinical neurofeedback therapy brings you a more in-depth and professional neurofeedback experience. Your neurofeedback therapy sessions will be overseen by a licensed professional who can help translate your brain data and direct you to further resources if needed. This approach to neurofeedback will be more costly, though, and depending on your location it could be difficult to locate a practitioner within feasible driving distance.
Let’s break down the equipment used for each approach a bit further:
At-Home Neurofeedback Equipment
There is a plethora of home neurofeedback devices on the market today. Some neurofeedback equipment you’ll find within a traditional medical setting, while others are more geared for users to experience the benefits of neurofeedback at home.
At Healium, we fall into the latter category.
At-home neurofeedback equipment are consumer-grade tools that can be used by non-professionals to undergo DIY neurofeedback therapy. Here are our favorite neurofeedback devices we recommend for those looking to experience neurofeedback for themselves.
– Healium ($29.99/Month Membership)
Healium is a mental fitness app that utilizes virtual reality to help you self-manage your stress and anxiety as part of a healthy lifestyle. The Healium experience is active, visual, and immersive, making it the ultimate meditation experience. Also, the foundation behind how it helps improve your brain is rooted in neurofeedback!
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Our virtual reality experiences are directly affected by your heart rate and brainwaves via the BrainLink Lite EEG Headband. What’s more? The real-time brainwave chart (which we call the “firefly”) allows you a means to challenge and train specific brainwaves, while the data dashboard gives you the ability to track your progress over time.
Clinical studies have suggested that Healium can minimize moderate anxiety in as fast as four minutes.
– The BrainLink Lite EEG Headband ($179)
BrainLink or BrainLink Lite EEG headbands empower you to track your brain’s electrical activity via EEG sensors that are positioned on your forehead.
These soft leather headbands are the devices we recommend most often to new Healium users. They pair with Healium VR apps, providing users neurofeedback specifically for a focused calm state and improving sleep.
Wearing BrainLink Lite across the forehead provides a comfortable fit, is lightweight and adjusts to fit any head shape. Our favorite part? These devices are easy to grasp! There’s no crazy array of wires and sensors. Simply slip the band on your head, ensure it’s positioned properly and away you go. The fact that it is USB rechargeable is another added bonus.
– MUSE Headband ($249.99)
The Muse is a brain-sensing headband that can provide you with real-time biofeedback to help you refocus during the day and recover at night. The Muse 2 EEG headband is also compatible with Healium’s virtual reality app.
– Narbis ($690)
Narbis smart glasses use neurofeedback and NASA-developed algorithms to monitor attention, relaxation, and distractions in real-time.
– An EEG Headcap (typically $400 – $500)
More than likely, this is what you’re picturing when you first think of “neurofeedback device”.
EEG headcaps contain electrodes that are applied to the scalp. The cap itself assists in electrode placement, allowing the electrodes to be placed precisely and maintain sufficient contact with the scalp.
Professional Neurofeedback Equipment
Professional neurofeedback equipment is used by neurofeedback practitioners to provide neurofeedback therapy sessions to patients in medical centers. This type of equipment is only appropriate for professionals in the neurofeedback industry, and the equipment associated carries quite a hefty price tag.
These are some examples of professional neurofeedback equipment and their estimated cost:
-ATLANTIS II 2×2 Clinical Biofeedback System with BrainAvatar 4.0 Package ($1,995)
ATLANTIS II is a biofeedback system that showcases two channels of EEG and two channels of AUX signals. It provides extra biofeedback, plus real-time impedance recording. It facilitates total immersion through its auditory, photic, and vibratory feedback.
-BrainMaster Discovery 20 qEEG ($4,800)
The BrainMaster Discovery 20 qEEG is a biofeedback device that features whole-head EEG. It is characterized by a high-quality clinical-grade EEG acquisition. It has a wide variety of software and functions.
Interested in learning more about qeeg brain mapping? We’ve written an in-depth guide in our blog!
How to Find the Right Neurofeedback Practitioner and Center for Treatment
Neurofeedback clinics are a perfectly reasonable and effective way to manage and cope with a wide variety of mental wellness issues, including depression, ADHD, and autism.
However, at Healium, we cannot recommend a specific provider for anyone reading this blog. After all, we wouldn’t presume to know the ins and outs of your specific medical situation or the availability of neurofeedback centers in your specific area.
That being said, we’d love to offer you some advice on what to prioritize when considering all the available neurofeedback clinics near you :
1. Location: Obviously, proximity to your home will be a major factor, and while this seems like an obvious tip, it’s worth pointing out that this should carry even more added weight for neurofeedback clinics specifically because the effectiveness of neurofeedback therapy is tied closely to how regularly you conduct sessions.
In short: you’ll be driving to your chosen clinic a lot, so search for a neurofeedback center and practitioner who is located fairly near where you are based!
2. Specialization: There are different types of neurofeedback therapy, ranging from Quantitative EEG therapy to Alpha/Theta Neurofeedback. These specializations target and affect different brainwaves to achieve different results.
Make sure you’re knowledgeable about the different types of neurofeedback, as well as the different types of brainwaves and what they’re associated with when considering different neurofeedback practitioners.
3. Competence: Make sure that the practitioner and center are well-known for effective neurofeedback treatments and professional services. Read online reviews and ask for the honest opinions of friends and family who have tried the treatments of the practitioners you are considering.
Get Started With a Brain Training Program With the Aid of a VR Neurofeedback App
You can experience the benefits of neurofeedback therapy and increase your mental fitness by buying at-home neurofeedback equipment and trying neurofeedback yourself in a comfortable home environment!
Contact Healium to learn how our VR neurofeedback app and EEG headband can transform your mental fitness for the better.
