Sleep Disorders
Difficulties encountered which could be enhanced
On a regular basis, you have difficulty falling asleep, you often wake up during the night or very early in the morning and have difficulty getting back to sleep. You may be suffering from insomnia.
The causes can be quite variable. Some of these may be related to lifestyle habits such as caffeine consumption, lack of exercise or health problems (such as sleep apnea or chronic pain). In some cases, brain activity may be involved.
In certain people who are anxious or distressed, brain activity will often be hyperactive, that is to say, it will have a rapid excess of waves. This hyperactivity will make it more difficult to slip into sleep, which requires a slowdown in brain activity in order to fall asleep.
In addition, if a person has a “hyperactive” brain, it will be more difficult for them to enter the deep sleep phases, which allow a better recovery. We could then notice more frequent awakenings during the night and a fatigue that is always present in the morning, even if the individual seems to have had a suitable night’s sleep.
In other people, we will notice in the EEGq, a lack of slower frequencies, which are necessary to slip into sleep and, thus, recover.
In both cases, we can train the brain using Neurofeedback to bring brain activity back to a better functioning. As workouts progress, we usually notice a decrease in insomnia.
Depending on what we want to improve, several regions or networks can be targeted. Here are some examples of networks often trained to improve cognitive performance.
- Falling asleep faster
- Less frequent awakenings during the night
- Better quality of sleep
- Awakenings often easier
- Decreased fatigue
A scientific article published by Hammer (and colleagues) in 2010 showed a significant decrease in symptoms of insomnia following a Neurofeedback training. The following graph shows the improvements.
These results were presented at the AAPB Annual Conference in 2010. The complete poster can be found at the following link:
http://www.brainm.com/software/pubs/HammerAAPB2010.JPG
At the Neuroperforma Clinic, our clients also notice great improvements in their sleep as a result of Neurofeedback training.
