South Florida Biofeedback and Stress Management Educational Services
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Biofeedback has evolved from a fascination in the 1960s and 70s to a mainstream methodology today, for helping with certain issues and improving human performance. This evolution has been driven by years of scientific research demonstrating that the mind and body are connected, and that people can be taught to harness the power of this connection to change physical activity and improve health and function. Let South Florida Biofeedback help you optimize your lifestyle through learning vital self-regulation skills.
Biofeedback is a process that enables an individual to learn how to change physiological activity for the purposes of improving health and performance. Precise instruments measure physiological signals such as heart function, breathing, muscle activity, brainwaves and skin temperature. The instruments used instantly "feed back" precise information to the client. The presentation of this information — often in tandem with changes in thinking, emotions, and behavior — supports desired physiological changes. Over time, these changes can endure without continued use of an instrument.
Biofeedback is the description for varied sorts of learning that teach psychophysiological self-regulation. There our quite a few different forms of biofeedback, including biofeedback for the breath (Breath Biofeedback), muscles (EMG Biofeedback), body temperature (Temperature Biofeedback), for the heart-rate variability rhythm (HRV), electrodermal response (EDR and Skin Conductance Biofeedback) as well as brainwave (Neurofeedback). Most of these examples are forms of peripheral (body, bottom up) biofeedback. One the principles of biofeedback is that there is a reciprocal relationship between the brain and body.
This means that not only does the brain control the body, but the body also controls the brain. The brain constantly monitors the body for changes. Biofeedback is based on “operant conditioning,” also called positive reinforcement. Research has shown positive reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behavior repeating when a behavior is reinforced, repeatedly, over time. Then this behavior can be learned and retained. This is reason why biofeedback learning is remembered long after the lessons end. When the body learns a new behavior and habituates to it, there is no reason to go back to the older dysfunctional patterns.
At South Florida Biofeedback we use the bottom up approach or peripheral biofeedback with a variety of complimentary tools and techniques to get the best results possible. One of the main targets of peripheral biofeedback is the human autonomic nervous system, particularly the sympathetic nervous system (“fight or flight” system). The sympathetic nervous system is involved in most forms of anxiety, and those who are hindered by anxiety will often show excessive sympathetic nervous system activity. In fact, Temperature, HRV, and EDR biofeedback are just different ways to train the autonomic nervous system.
Many years of biofeedback and psychophysiological work have demonstrated that a person can indeed exert a great measure of control over the sympathetic nervous system when they are provided with accurate feedback of its functioning. This is the basis of biofeedback, and the reason it is used in hundreds of professions as diverse as teaching, business, artistic, atheletic, and psychotherapeutic as well as many other areas where performance, focus, and stress management are vital components.
We look forward to working with you to help you or your loved ones!
Call South Florida Biofeedback: 914-721-0070