What are Biofeedback Machines?

Biofeedback is a revolutionary therapy tool that assists people suffering from a variety of afflictions, including anxiety, depression, attention deficit disorder, and stress.  Here is how it works:  by measuring physiological signals in your body, such as your sweat glands, skin temperature, or brain waves, biofeedback machines then give you a custom-tailored report on what is out of balance in your body, and the actions you can take to fix it.

Biofeedback is widely used and medically accepted – in fact, one biofeedback machine, the Stress Eraser, has even received approval and regulation from the Food and Drug Administration.  In essence, it helps patients gain voluntary control over subtle psychological and physiological processes that are exacerbating, or even causing, life-affecting conditions.  Biofeedback has even been shown to help drug addicts get clean and victims of seizures lead healthier, more normal lives.

Biofeedback machines are available in many shapes and sizes, but there are three general categories that they fall into:

1.       Professional-grade biofeedback machines - These machines are typically found in hospitals and clinical environments, and tend to be larger and more sophisticated than machines found in households.  They are used to treat a variety of afflictions, and usually have more advanced (and much more expensive) technology to create higher quality, more complex games and training regimens.  They also come in specialized varieties to treat advanced conditions that patients should not try to treat themselves.

2.       Handheld biofeedback machines - You may find these in a professional therapeutic setting as well, but these are also available for patients to use at home.  The machine mentioned earlier – the Stress Eraser – falls into this category.  There are hundreds of different devices from a slew of manufacturers in this segment, all with different targeted conditions and functionality; however, all conditions that respond to biofeedback machines may not be addressed by handheld equipment. For instance, EEG neurofeedback to treat anxiety and attention deficit disorder (ADD) does not come in a home-use, handheld device.  Handheld biofeedback machines tend to focus on stress reduction, though they can be helpful with other afflictions, as well.

3.       Smartphone apps - The last category of biofeedback machines doesn't actually contain a machine, unless you are counting your iPhone or Android smartphone.  These apps use smartphone functionality, such as the camera, to collect information about your physiological processes. These tend to be far less accurate than medical-grade biofeedback machines, but they are also substantially less expensive and convenient, because you do not have to purchase and account for yet another electronic device.

TRY BIOFEEDBACK NEUROFEEDBACK!