We Have More Control Than We Thought
So it turns out that humans have greater control over the different functions of our bodies than science ever previously thought.
Our body has a “command center” called the nervous system. This is a vast and intricate system of nerve cells that run throughout the entire body and send and receive signals constantly. The nervous system can be broken down into two categories. The central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system, which includes the nervous system structures throughout the rest of the body.
The peripheral nervous system can further be broken down into two categories as well. The somatic (voluntary) and the autonomic (involuntary) nervous systems. The voluntary nervous system includes all of the functions of the body that we have conscious control over, like muscle movements. Everything else falls into the “involuntary” nervous system category. This system controls all of the functions of the body that science previously thought we had no conscious control of. Such as heart rate, skin temperature, digestion, so on and so forth.
Well it turns out that scientists underestimated the extent to which human beings can actually control their physiology. In recent years it has been proven definitively that we actually do have the ability to consciously control many of these functions that were previously thought to be “involuntary”.
Of course people have known about this ability for thousands of years. Monks throughout history who practiced meditation their entire lives have been able to teach themselves how to raise and lower their body temperatures just by focusing on it. Well, in recent years, science has finally caught up and confirmed what humans have intuitively discovered throughout history, that we do in fact have this voluntary control over many of these functions in our bodies.
What is the benefit of having this control over our nervous system? It allows us to regulate ourselves more efficiently. This better regulation, in turn, gives us more resilience, a better mood, less anxiety, more focus ect. It essentially translates to more calmness and better performance in pretty much every area of our lives. And there’s some good news. You don’t have to shave your head and live in a monastery in order to learn this control over yourself. Thanks to developments in technology an entire field of science has formed around training people to develop this conscious control of themselves. It’s called biofeedback.
It translates to more calmness and better performance in every area of your life.
What is Biofeedback?
Biofeedback is the process of measuring a particular biological activity and then feeding back that information to a person so that they can learn to gain conscious control over that activity. This biological activity could be any one of a number of different functions of the body. For example, at Woodlands Psychotherapy and Brain Training (WPBT), we have a system that measures different aspects of breathing and gives feedback about those different aspects. When a person is breathing correctly, then the system will give positive feedback in the form of reward signals.
Biofeedback is a 3 step process:
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A specific biological function is measured and recorded.
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A trainee is reinforced (rewarded) each time that function is performing in a way that is desired.
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Voluntary control over that biological function develops.
How Can Biofeedback Benefit You?
There is an intimate connection between the body and the mind. This mind-body connection is not one-way but rather a two-way connection. Meaning that the mind directly influences our body but our body also directly influences our mind.
Different psychological and emotional states have distinct physiological markers. When you are in a stressed state, your physiology is going to look totally different than if you are in a positive psychological state. This is an example of the mind influencing the body. But it works the other way as well. If you achieve those physiological markers that characterize positive states your psychological state actually shifts to match what is happening in the body. This is the body influencing the mind. This is what I mean when I say that the mind-body connection is a two-way connection.
Our goal at WPBT in using biofeedback is to teach our clients, firstly, what these positive physiological and psychological states feel like. Once they know what it feels like to be in these positive states, our next goal is to help them train themselves to access these positive states more readily and to maintain them for longer and longer periods. Biofeedback is a powerful tool to accomplish this goal. The way biofeedback accomplishes this is by giving a reward signal that reinforces the client whenever the physiological function that is being recorded is accomplishing a desired activity (an activity that correlates to these positive states).
There are many different biological functions that we can measure and feed back to a client to help them gain conscious control of the function. One physiological function in particular that has great influence over many aspects of our mind and body, including our physical health, emotional states and cognitive functioning, is something called our heart rate variablity pattern.
You may have heard of heart rate variability (HRV) before. HRV is the difference in time between beats of the heart when we are in a resting state. It used to be believed that when humans are in a resting state the heart would beat at a regular, non-changing rhythm, much like a metronome. We now know that this isn’t the case, but rather the heart, even in a resting condition, beats at an irregular, constantly varying pace.
Well, it turns out that if you track the pattern of someones HRV over time, it is indicative of quite a lot of things about that person. One thing that it is indicative of is the physical health and resilience of a person. Our HRV reflects our ability to adapt and respond to stress and environmental changes. Another thing that the pattern of our HRV over time can be indicative of are our psychological states. The reason for this being that our HRV responds to our emotions and even our very thoughts.
Yes you read that right. The pattern of our HRV will change depending on what we are thinking about or feeling at the time. This is another example of the mind influencing the body. But remember, it works the other way also. And because of this we can measure someone’s HRV pattern in real time and use that to train them to access positive, desirable psychological states. One of these positive states in particular that we can use our HRV pattern to help us learn how to access and maintain is something called coherence.
Our goal is to help our clients train themselves to access these positive states more easily and maintain them for longer periods of time.
Coherence: The Measurable State of Harmony
When we are in a positive psychological and emotional state our body responds to this in a scientifically measurable way. Our physiology in this state is characterized by increased order and harmony throughout all of our physiological systems and functions. Everything in our mind-body system seemingly matches up, harmonizes, becomes synchronized. This positive psychophysiological state is referred to as coherence.
“Psychophysiological coherence is state of optimal function. Research shows that when we activate this state, our physiological systems function more efficiently, we experience greater emotional stability, and we also have increased mental clarity and improved cognitive function. Simply stated, our body and brain work better, we feel better, and we perform better.” (HeartMath).
So the key points to remember are that you have great control over your mind and body. This control is a learnable, trainable skill. One of these things you can learn is how to access positive psychological and physiological states
and maintain those states longer and more consistently. Finally, biofeedback is a powerful tool to help you develop these skills more efficiently and in the shortest amount of time.
It's time you took control over your physiology, and your life!
Contact us for a free consultation.