Biofeedback can help with a variety of health conditions—from headaches and asthma to chronic pain and high blood pressure. But it can also be used for stress management and anxiety.
During a biofeedback session, electrical sensors are connected to different areas of your body. These sensors give you information about what’s going on in your body. As a result, you can learn to make changes and have more control over your own body’s responses, as well as your mind.
While it might sound a bit outlandish at first, a lot of people are turning to biofeedback in place of more traditional healing methods because it can be very effective.
So, how exactly does biofeedback work? And how can it help you to manage your stress?
Monitoring Your System With Biofeedback
As noted in the outset, biofeedback is a way to monitor and receive information about different areas of your body. Depending on your problems and/or goals, a therapist can use different types of biofeedback to help you get the results you want. Everything from your brain waves and breathing patterns to your heart rate and temperature can be monitored.
When it comes to measuring stress and how it manifests within your body, temperature and muscle contraction are big factors. Temperature sensors will monitor your blood flow. If there is a drop in temperature, it can indicate that you’re under stress. If your muscles are tightly contracted, it could be another indicator of stress.
A variety of monitors can be used to get accurate readings. For example, some therapists use sensors that attach to your fingers or your ears.
There are also wearable devices that can connect to smartphone apps. These devices allow you to track your breathing patterns and more. They can also send you an alert when the feedback indicates that you’ve been tense for too long.
How Biofeedback Can Help You Manage Your Stress Level
Biofeedback is meant to change physical reactions, emotions, and/or behaviors. When it comes to stress management, you can learn to control your stress levels by seeing how stress manifests itself in your body. For example, if your heart rate goes up or your breathing patterns become rigid, a therapist can teach you how to calm down by practicing deep breathing exercises, meditating, or finding different ways to help you reduce your stress levels.
Some of the wearable devices mentioned earlier offer to guide you through deep breathing exercises too. Practicing these exercises can help to reduce stress and calm you down out of session and throughout your day, whenever you receive an alert or reminder.
Eventually, the information you receive from biofeedback sessions can help you to recognize your body’s stress signals on your own, without the help of monitors. You can take what you’ve learned in session and apply it in your everyday life. This can help you to create positive changes, especially if you have a hard time managing stress.
Biofeedback is a noninvasive treatment with very few risks, which is why it’s becoming increasingly popular. Each biofeedback session lasts anywhere from 30-60 minutes. How many sessions you’ll need depends on how well you’re responding to them and making changes.
Everyone deals with stress. But when you can learn your body’s own signals, you can start to manage that stress on your own. This creates lasting habits that will help you throughout the rest of your life.
If you want to learn more about biofeedback and how it can help you with your stress levels, please contact us. We’re happy to provide you with more about this process since many people are still unfamiliar with how it works.
