Biofeedback
is a mind-body technique in which a practitioner uses
a special monitoring machine to teach people how to
control bodily functions, such as heart rate, blood
pressure, skin temperature, and muscle tension, in
order to improve their health and well-being.
The first important studies on biofeedback were conducted
in the late 1960s by Barbara Brown, of the Veterans
Administration Hospital in Sepulveda, California,
and Elmer and Alyce Green of the Menninger Foundation,
a clinical and research center for mental illness
in Topeka, Kansas. Prior to these studies, it was
thought that the body's autonomic functions--heart
rate, digestion, blood pressure, brain waves, and
muscle behavior, for example--could not be voluntarily
controlled. The researchers' studies of Indian yogi
masters showed that the nervous system and metabolic
rate could be consciously regulated.
Their work led to an exploration of the use of biofeedback
for a wide range of physical ailments, including migraine
headaches, insomnia, and circulatory and gastrointestinal
disorders. How Does It Work? During biofeedback, the
therapist uses electronic equipment to help you understand
how your body responds physiologically to various
situations--to stress, pain, or other conditions.
The therapist will also teach you relaxation techniques,
such as guided imagery and progressive muscle relaxation,
to provide a way to actively control these bodily
responses. While biofeedback is known to be quite
effective for stress, it differs from other stress-reduction
techniques in that it focuses on a particular stress
response--tension in the neck and shoulders, for example,
or variations in breathing patterns--rather than on
relaxing the whole body. With help from the therapist,
you learn to control the actions of your nervous system
during and after times of stress.
