Optimizing brain health results in more resilience
to face stressors and trauma, promotes faster processing
to make life or death decisions, and increases capacity
to be dynamic people off shift.

Brain health is foundational

Stress, trauma, poor sleep, and head injuries are all prevalent in first responder fields and have significant impacts on brain health, which has direct links to job performance, satisfaction, and sustainability.

Prolonged stress can lead to the dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, resulting in excessive release of cortisol which can damage the hippocampus, affecting memory and learning.

Trauma exposure can interrupt healthy brain functioning, leading to long-term consequences such as altered stress responses and increased risk of mental health disorders. Both stress and trauma can also contribute to structural changes in the brain, affecting neurotransmitter levels and connectivity between brain regions, ultimately impacting cognitive function and emotional regulation.

Physically, inadequate sleep weakens the immune system, making individuals more susceptible to illnesses and resulting in missed work. It can also increase the risk of developing chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.. Mentally, poor sleep is linked to cognitive impairment, mood disturbances, and an increased likelihood of developing certain mental health disorders. Insufficient or poor quality sleep affects concentration, productivity, and overall quality of life.

Head injuries are a common risk for first responders and can have deep neurological and quality of life implications. Head injuries can range from concussions to mild or severe traumatic brain injuries,

Supporting brain health and helping to restore healthy brain functioning are vital interventions for our first responders.

What is neurofeedback and why does it work?

  • What is it?

    The most comprehensive form of neurofeedback is called “swLORETA” and stands for "standardized weighted Low-Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography." This advanced technique is a form of neurofeedback that allows for precise localization of brain activity in real-time.

    This technology provides a picture of the electrical functioning of a person’s brain. Licensed clinicians then use the data gathered through a quantitative EEG (QEEG) and create functional, individualized maps of the brain showing where any area of the brain is working outside of normal, healthy patterns. Through this analysis, QEEG professionals are able to create customized training protocols that target where the dysregulation is occurring and that equips and motivates the brain to return to healthy functioning.

    Neurofeedback is a non-invasive and effective tool used to improve brain function, enhance cognitive performance, and address various neurological and mental health conditions. It offers a unique insight into brain activity and empowers individuals to take an active role in optimizing their brain health.

  • How does it work?

    Neurofeedback involves in-office training sessions wearing what looks like a swim cap with electrode sensors on it. Working off of an individual’s real time EEG data, the software used will instantaneously disincentivize the brain when it is working outside of optimal brain wave patterns, and will reward the brain when it is firing properly. This is the principle of operant conditioning.

    This is often accomplished through filters applied to a movie or tv show. When the brain is working within healthy limits, the viewer’s screen size, color, and volume are normal. When not doing so, the color fades, the screen shrinks, and the volume decreases.

    Through this system the brain is rewarded for producing desirable, healthy patterns, and people learn to self-regulate their brain activity. Through repetition they can train their brain to achieve a more balanced and optimal state.

    One of the most exciting parts of neurofeedback is that the process is entirely subconscious. No conscious effort is expended to produce specific brainwave patterns to try to achieve the rewards, yet the brain learns to function better. Because the brain is training and learning, not having a treatment applied to it, the changes and regulation that come as a result of neurofeedback training last even after training has concluded.

  • How do you know change happens?

    The statistical analysis preformed on an individual’s EEG data shows, in many cases with a 95% degree of accuracy, if and where someone has functional brain dysregulation, which is often experienced as physical or mental health symptoms.

    Instead of educated guesswork on what protocols will best deal with a client’s concerns, swLORETA Z-Score Neurofeedback provides a comparison between the client’s brain and a normative database of brain maps from people reporting no mental health symptoms. Specially designed protocols train the brain towards the “norm”, most often resulting in symptom alleviation or elimination.

    This neurofeedback technology provides something rare in outcomes tracking for mental health. Through the regular quantitative EEG analysis that is performed, various objective metrics regarding brain functioning and change, scored against a normed database, are available in detailed graphics that allows for progress tracking on a neurological level, in addition to a client’s self-reports of change. Clients can “see”, as well as feel, when change has occurred.

    The vendor used by the Heart Matters Restoration Initiative has over a decade of experience providing swLORETA neurofeedback, along with an 85% or greater success rate of symptom reduction or elimination for their clients.

At the Heart Matters Restoration Initiative we care about quality, compassion, experience, and results.

The vendor we partner with to provide neurofeedback training to our project recipients, Heart Matters, LLC, is a premier provider
of state-of-the-art neurofeedback services, with a proven track record
in the areas we value.

When donors support the Heart Matters Restoration Initiative, they can be confident that their contributions are maximized by our partnership with a provider who has what it takes to facilitate life changing neurological healing and growth.

Visit www.theheartmatters.org for a more comprehensive look at the science and art of neurofeedback.