We think of ourselves as rational, thinking beings. But your brain, in an effort to best manage its energy needs, has developed subconscious brain circuits that carry out our moment to moment behaviors.  We can’t “think” our way through the day without them, there isn’t enough time or energy.  These processes have become automatic “habits”.

From physical things like moving our bodies, driving a car or riding a bike to emotional ones like how we feel when asked to give a speech or a parent says something hurtful.

The job of neurofeedback training is to help the brain reorganize those subconscious brain circuits, those habits it has built up over time.  To let it learn to keep ones that are useful to us and disassemble the ones that aren’t.  That is the gift of neuroplasticity. Our brains know how to do it, they need cues. Where better to find those cues than by observing its own behavior. It’s not easy or quick.  Brain circuits are robust if used regularly, that’s called Hebb’s Law.

“Change your habit in 21 days!” Just not true. How long it takes to change a habit is very individual and it’s more than 21 days, that’s a minimum.  The actual science says an average of 66 days, ranging from 18 to 254 days depending on many factors.

That rightly compares to our experience with clients doing neurofeedback training with us.

Changing subconscious brain circuit activity, those routinized habits, takes time.  It is incremental and cumulative. The results are worth it.

Improved brain behavior equals improved behavior for you.

If you want to know more about habit formation, here are two articles that informed me.

Habit formation; The 21-Day Myth by Jason Salk

How Long Does it Actually Take to Form a New Habit? (Backed by Science) by James Clear