ADD & ADHD
Many parents have concerns about side effects. The list of these can be long, but can include a loss of appetite (especially in growing children), cardiac risks, interference with sleep, or even becoming “less personable.” There’s concern that children are taught that pills can solve their problems.
The longer someone takes medication, the larger the risk of side effects. You can build up a tolerance to medication, which means that medications get changed, or the dosage is increased, or additional medications are added. This can also increase the risk of side effects.
Most people are unaware that brain training can better regulate focus while decreasing distractibility, impulsivity, and behaviors which are annoying to teachers and loved ones.
How do stimulants appear to slow down a hyperactive client and help them focus? It is common knowledge that stimulants speed you up. With hyperactive ADD there may be too much slow activity in brain regions that regulate focus and attention.
ADD patients compensate for this slower than normal brain activity by stimulating their brains with constant body movement to “wake their brain up”. Stimulants increase brain activity so one can focus without the constant body movement. Slow activity in certain brain regions is also associated with lack of motivation, distractibility, inattention, depression, and worry.
Excessive fast activity in the brain can also cause problems. That can include impulsivity, aggressiveness, and anxiety. Imagine your brain racing so fast that it’s difficult to listen or sit still. People with ADD are normally very intelligent. They often get the big picture right away. Because their mental pace may be faster than the person giving the instructions, they move ahead and miss many details.
Because ADD is a brain problem, doesn’t it make sense to work directly on the problem?
Your brain drives all learning. When your train your brain with neurofeedback, it helps you learn how to become focused, calm, and to gain self-control.
Most people can’t control the number of heart beats you make per minute without training. It’s also hard (without brain training) to learn to control the rhythm of the brain. If the brain’s waves are “not in sync” or are too fast or slow, it may be very hard to focus, stay calm, or be in control.
The good news is various studies conducted over many years show that brain training with neurofeedback improves inattention, distractibility, impulsivity and self control.