The
Neuroscience
of Quality Sleep
Your Brain Controls Your Sleep... A Healthy Brain = Quality Sleep
Taking 30 min. or more to fall asleep, restless sleep, and waking without energy can be signs of brain dysfunction.
Consistently needing too much sleep (more than 8 hours) is a sign of an underlying sleep cycle issue.
Rarely dreaming, sleep talking, or nightmares are typically associated with abnormal sleep brainwaves.
An EEG brain map can objectively identify the brainwave dysfunction causing sleep issues.
Neurofeedback Retrains Your Sleep Cycles
When someone experiences chronic poor sleep it's often the result of slow brainwave dysregulation. When you close your eyes at night, alpha brainwaves should increase, which calm the brain and start shutting down thinking. Then you cycle into theta brainwaves, which shifts you in and out of consciousness until you eventually fall asleep.
However, when something is interrupting your alpha rhythms, whether it's anxiety, stress, a trauma response, or chronic pain, falling or staying asleep becomes difficult, or sometimes nearly impossible.
Sleep is one of the first things to typically improve with neurofeedback training. As the EEG activity stabilizes, people generally fall asleep much faster, stay asleep through the night, and wake feeling more rejuvenated. They typically report that they feel they have much deeper sleep.
Additionally, neurofeedback training can greatly reduce chronic nightmares, talking in your sleep, and excessive movement during sleep.
At the Brain Performance Center we use EEG brain mapping to objectively measure brainwave function. An EEG brain map can identify electrical dysfunctions in the brain that can cause sleep cycle dysregulation. Over 85% of our clients report improvement in their sleep quality.
EEG Brain Mapping - Identifying The Source
A brain map takes less than 20 minutes to record and is neither invasive nor painful. You simply wear a cap with 19 sensors that record your brain’s electrical activity while you relax in a chair. It is similar to having an EKG record your heart. It’s as safe as a stethoscope!
EEG brain mapping objectively measures brainwave function. A brain map quantifies regions of the brain that are stuck in high-alert (over-activation). Once we know the location and electrical activity perpetuating the chronic pain, we can use EEG biofeedback therapy and nutritional interventions to return the brain activity to a normal resting state, which in many cases can reset the brain's pain alert system back to normal function and greatly reduce or eliminate chronic pain.
"We have 8+ years of referrals resulting in significant improvements from neurofeedback training at the Brain Performance Center. Quality sleep is one of the first improvements typically reported".
Ellen Crowe, M.D.
Emergency Room Physician
Board Certified in Family Practice
Enhancing sleep quality and memory in insomnia using instrumental sensorimotor rhythm conditioning
Objective as well as subjective sleep and life quality improved following neurofeedback training. The number of awakenings decreased and slow-wave sleep as well as subjective sleep quality increased. Additionally, neurofeedback training was found to be associated with overnight memory consolidation and sleep spindle changes indicating a beneficial cognitive effect.
Schabus, M., Heib, D., Lechingera, J., Griessenberger, H., Klimesch, W., Pawlizki, A., Kunz, A., Sterman, B., Hoedlmoser, K., (2014). Enhancing sleep quality and memory in insomnia using instrumental sensorimotor rhythm conditioning. BioPsychology, v95, 126-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2013.02.020
Neuroflexibilty and sleep onset insomnia among college students
"This study provides a degree of empirical support for interventions designed to enhance neuroflexibility in the treatment of some people with sleep onset insomnia".
Buckelew, S., Degood, D., Taylor, J., Cunningham, N., Thornton, J., Mackewn, A. (2013). Neuroflexibility and Sleep Onset Insomnia Among College Students: Implications for Neurotherapy. Journal of Neurotherapy. 17. 106-115. 10.1080/10874208.2013.784681.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an EEG Brain Map?
An EEG brain map objectively measures brain function for people between the ages of 6 and 92. It identifies specific regions of the brain that may be producing too much, or too little electrical activity compared to a controlled, normative database of your same age and gender.
A brain map takes less than an hour to record and is neither invasive nor painful. You simply wear a cap with 19 sensors that record your brain’s electrical activity while you relax in a chair. It is similar to having an EKG record your heart. It’s as safe as a stethoscope!
Is there supporting research
validating EEG brain mapping?
Yes, there are hundreds of research studies on EEG for a wide variety of symptoms, including memory problems, anxiety, depression, traumatic brain injury (TBI), ADD/ADHD, and processing issues.
EEG is considered the “Gold Standard” in neuroscience for measuring real-time brain function. EEG brain mapping is used by the Department of Defense as well as top institutions including UCLA, UCSD, Stanford and many others.
Will insurance pay for my EEG brain map?
Even though EEG brain mapping has hundreds of research studies, currently, insurance does not pay or reimburse for EEG brain maps. The current insurance model is to prescribe medications solely based on symptoms and history. EEG technology is still a few years away from being considered a “main stream” medical diagnostic tool. However, the Brain Performance Center has recently reduced the price for a full EEG brain map to only $495 (the price for the last 5 years has been $975). This helps make it an affordable, out-of-pocket brain health investment.
How will a brain map help me?
Without an EEG brain map, healthcare providers and therapists rely solely on subjective information like symptoms and history. Neuroscience research has identified 6 different types of brain physiology that can produce anxiety symptoms and 6 others that can produce ADHD symptoms.
Many symptoms can be the result of abnormal brain activity during sleep cycles. Understanding the physiological source is imperative to any treatment plan. EEG brain mapping is the technology that provides an objective assessment to help direct the most effective brain health interventions.
Can I record a brain map even if I
am currently taking medication?
Yes, continue to take your medications prescribed by your doctor. We know how medications affect your brain map and can account for this when reviewing the results.
How do I schedule an EEG brain map?
Based on my EEG brain map,
will you recommend specific interventions?
An EEG brain map can help identify if your brain function is being affected by nutritional deficiencies, environmental factors, genetic factors, sleep cycle dysfunction, or due to post-concussion activity. If one or more of these are identified, we will recommend specific nutritional interventions, changes to your diet, changes in lifestyle, specific genetic tests, or EEG biofeedback sessions (Neurofeedback) to optimize your brain’s electrical activity.
Who reviews my brain map results with me?
Once your brain map is fully processed, you will have a 1-hour consultation to review your brain map findings with our Director of Neuroscience, Bryan Hixson. Mr. Hixson is one of the leading neuroscience experts in quantitative EEG brain mapping, neurocognitive testing, neurofeedback brain training, and nutritional cellular health.
Mr. Hixson is a brain health expert consultant for AARP’s Staying Sharp platform, serving 38 million members. He is also the Director of Digital Brain Health for Sharecare/DoctorOz.com, the founder and neuroscience director of the Brain Performance Centers, and an EEG brain mapping contractor for the U.S. Army. Additionally, Mr. Hixson is the co-founder of BrainSpan Laboratories, which is used by over 1,000 doctors nationwide. It is the most clinically validated blood spot test available for optimizing fatty acids related to brain health.