From biofeedback games to dog days, colleges work hard to defuse student stress during exams
Submitted by Abigail Hamilton on Tue, 12/22/2009 - 20:45According to US News and World Report, Colleges are pulling out all the stops to help students beat stress during high-pressure exam weeks. And biofeedback has a place at the table!
This is great news, since intense work and school pressure often make our minds cloudy and disorganized right when we need to perform best — and biofeedback training is a proven way to conquer our stress and move confidently through challenges. By physically, consciously calming our body, we calm our mind as well.
Other great ideas for strss-busting at colleges have been "dog days," during which faculty and staff bring their dogs to campus to play with stressed-out students, prayer events, contra dancing, and midnight breakfasts to raise money for charity.
A lot of the events at colleges stem from open communication between students and school administrators. At Bentley, students asked that special fitness classes, such as fitness and pilates, be offered during finals week. They got them. "We try to listen to what students are telling us in our efforts to help them with stress," says Andrew Shepardson, the school's dean of students.
Brain-fitness games can sharpen mental muscles for all ages
Submitted by Abigail Hamilton on Wed, 12/16/2009 - 17:09
Tampa Bay Online had a great and detailed look at brain fitness games across all age groups today.
The nice thing about the article is that it talks about what is "marketing hooey" as well as what has been proven to work; we at Somatic Vision are very committed to the success of our games, and the article very much reflected our point of view. Some important excerpts:
"It's similar to going to a health club and deciding you want to work on your biceps or your abdomen," says Alvaro Fernandez, a neuroscientist and co-founder of SharpBrains, an independent science-based clearinghouse that evaluates brain fitness games.
"It's similar to going to a health club and deciding you want to work on your biceps or your abdomen," says Alvaro Fernandez, a neuroscientist and co-founder of SharpBrains, an independent science-based clearinghouse that evaluates brain fitness games.
Brain fitness requires more than memory games and mental stimulation. It also involves nutrition, physical fitness and stress management, Fernandez says. Studies also have shown that socialization is important.
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Benefits of the Introductory Version of Alive
Submitted by Abigail Hamilton on Mon, 11/23/2009 - 18:47We've been working very hard on bringing Alive through development and into beta, pre-release, and now...the Introductory Version we are now offering at a great price.
What are the benefits of being an early purchaser of Alive?
Getting to start using it now! Without risk. We are working to incorporate auto-update features into Alive, and you will benefit from ongoing enhancements and improvements as we continue to bring this powerful software forward — at no extra cost.
In the works are new environments as well as a host of new Audio Workshops that make it easy to learn to relax in a traditional workshop sense...Close your eyes and follow the step-by-step instructions delivered by your own therapeutic session leader. You'll learn to breathe, use progressive muscle relaxation, and other techniques to build your ability to consciously relax and control your physical response to stressors.
The benefits of getting started with Alive before these features are fully incorporated are many, and you'll be the first to get the free updates as they become available.
Zapping migraine pain
Submitted by Abigail Hamilton on Thu, 10/29/2009 - 02:08
According to Dr. Joshua Wootton, a psychologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (a Harvard teaching hospital), a 22-year-old psychology student named Jennifer tried a variety of medications and trigger-point nerve block injections to treat the migraines she had suffered since she was 10, though none of these approaches really worked. Then she found out about biofeedback and meditation.
Read her inspiring story, in which she finds biofeedback training and meditation "completely zap the pain."
Wootten explains his process of using biofeedback to treat migraine pain:
“People can actually see on a computer screen what is happening in real time,” he says. “By increasing their awareness of how their bodies respond, patients can more easily devise strategies for improved response. For headache pain, we focus on musculoskeletal tension and autonomic nervous system dysfunction. Patients can see that by just being in pain they are raising their adrenaline levels and putting further strain on the system, exacerbating their pain and making it less treatable. I teach them an easy form [of relaxation] and ask them to practice it twice a day for 15 minutes each time.”
more »With or without biofeedback, video games can reduce stress
Submitted by Abigail Hamilton on Mon, 10/05/2009 - 16:44
According to a story in the Washington Post, video games are being proven to offer significant mental health benefits.
After being contacted by a customer who found the popular game "Bejeweled helped her better manage her depression, the makers of Bejeweled hired some researchers to study the possible mental health benefits of the game. The findings show why video games are gaining credibility as a medical intervention for those suffering from stress, depression, and anxiety:
Some games seem to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which can reduce the heightened tension that's a natural response to stress.
The researcher hypothesized that one reason for the apparent mental health benefits of video games is that many people in Western countries find it impossible to switch off; they're always alert and stressed out. When those Type A people try to relax, they get bored because they've come to require a certain level of stressful arousal.
Playing certain video games offers just enough mental challenge to keep such people occupied while putting them into a state of relative mindlessness. That state appears to have salutary effects on stress and other mental problems.
The story also shines a light on the power of biofeedback in gaming, the core concept behind all Somatic Vision games:
more »Out of pre-release and into the wild!
Submitted by Ryan Deluz on Tue, 09/29/2009 - 20:29Alive is now out of pre-release and available to all in its release version. Have fun — stay relaxed and healthy.
Alive pre-release
Submitted by Ryan Deluz on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 17:47
It's an exciting time at Somatic Vision — Our new comprehensive stress-reduction product, Alive, is in pre-release and is available to try out.
What does this mean to you? You can be among the first to benefit from Alive's multitude of audio and walk-through workshops, fun and diverse environments, and exciting games. Alive knows everybody learns best in their own way, and provides an array of on- and off-screen tools that will be sure to help you build balance, relief from stress, and better mental performance in your professional and personal life.
In an-ever busier world, Alive is a flagship product that trains you to develop drug-free, healthy skills and habits that are fun and easy to incorporate into your daily life to make it better. That's what Somatic Vision is all about.
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It is the most wonderful tool! We use it in my family with the conscious intention of reducing stress. I love this technology!
We got a call from the school principal: Our son is doing better! I'm sure that Dual Drive has had something to do with it. I love watching him calm down and breathe.
