CBD v THC: The difference between THC and CBD

CBD v THC: The difference between THC and CBD

THC v CND: today we’re gonna be talking about the difference between CBD and THC let’s get to the bottom of it get the big words out of the way and just tell you in plain English what it actually means for you okay so let’s just get the big words out of the way THC stands for it tetrahydrocannabinol and CBD to use stands for cannabidiol so it doesn’t really matter that you know these terms just think about it as CBD v THC it’s just a short form so most people know about THC because it gets them high it’s the part of the plant that can make people feel intoxicated from cannabis but it does so much more than just that but one of the main things in my practice when people come to see me for cannabis medicine to treat an illness or to help with their health they’re really worried a lot of times though getting high they don’t want to feel out of control because a lot of times when they have a chronic illness they’re already feeling out of control in their life so they’re really really scared that they’re gonna feel high all day when they take CBD even or cannabis medicine sometimes they don’t even know the difference so what I usually do is I start with explaining about what CBD does what THC does and how they can actually even work together in some cases okay so we’ve already established CBD doesn’t get you high let’s talk about THC first for a second so THC it works on your brain receptors called the cb1 cannabinoid receptors and it works in places in the brain like the hippocampus learning and memory which is why it can cause short-term memory impairment temporarily when you have really high amounts of THC for example smoking it recreationally which again is not what we do with cannabis medicine it can also affect balance centers in the brain which is in the cerebellum so with high high doses of THC recreationally we can get a lot of these symptoms however in really small doses and when it’s used medically and I turned it up over a period of time for some people who might need it like in severe chronic pain for example THC also has a lot of medicinal qualities that we can use one of these qualities is this called an antispasmodic which means that helps this muscle spasm it may also have anti-seizure mechanism control in addition to what CBD can do we can also use it to help stimulate appetite and people who are going through cancer treatments and have lost their appetite for example and THC can also be used to help with treatment-resistant insomnia or really bad sleeping problems again usually in combination with CBD sometimes we try CBD first and if it doesn’t work we add a little bit of THC so there’s lots of different effects of THC in the brain.

CBD, Cannabis and Psychosis

CBD, Cannabis And Psychosis Video Transcript

In this episode I’m gonna be tackling CBD, cannabis and psychosis I’m gonna be kind of untangling a lot of the confusion around cannabis and psychosis telling you what we actually know for sure and how I’ve used it in patients who may be at risk with sub psychosis and what to actually avoid so the relationship between cannabis in general usually high THC cannabis in psychosis is a really complex one and the research we have coming out so far has been done in actually recreational smoked cannabis that is very high THC so the stuff that gets you really high and very low CBD so the stuff that’s potentially mood balancing so this is the first problem with the research we have is it’s not an accurate picture of how we use medical cannabis how I would use it as a medicine and it doesn’t tell us anything about CBD so the first thing that I usually tell patients who may be a risk of psychosis or of mania or bipolar is that they should really avoid THC because THC in some vulnerable people and again this is just a very small proportion of people who would use THC even high doses of THC may make them more likely to tip over into a psychotic episode or into a bipolar manic episode again it’s still a very low risk but it’s a potential risk if they’re genetically predisposed and if they have other risk factors like a family history for example or they’ve had an episode of mania in the past or they’ve had an episode of psychosis in the past so in general I just tell those people really to avoid THC on the other hand we have CBD CBD has actually been shown in multiple studies to have an T psychosis properties so that means it might help imbalance mood in people who may be treated disposed to psychosis and people who actually already have schizophrenia and psychosis and manic episodes it may actually help them be used as a treatment for their episodes and potentially as a longer-term treatment in schizophrenia there was one side of that paired one of the main drugs used in schizophrenia one of the anti-psychotic drugs to CBD and actually both were shown to have an antipsychotic effect on the brain areas involved in schizophrenia psychosis but CBD actually had a much better scientific profile than some of those other medications so right now we don’t know enough to say that CBD alone can be used as a treatment for schizophrenia but certainly has a lot of promise in that area so if someone has a history of psychosis or bipolar Armenia I usually still tell them it’s probably pretty safe for them to use CBD and it may actually even help their condition so the safest form of CBD for someone who has a genetic predisposition to use would be CBD from hemp in a combination that has less than 0.2 or 0.3 percent THC so a really really good quality CBD oil made to from suitable grade standards made it’s a medicine but really really low in THC even oils CBD oils that are produced for the medical market in Canada for example sometimes that I have up to one percent of of THC and really really high CBD are probably still pretty safe but again the lower this the THC content probably the better in the safer to make matters more complicated there was actually a really interesting study that looked at people who are already diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder so bipolar one with manic episodes and then they look to see who smoked cannabis so this is against smoking recreational high THC cannabis and who didn’t and what they actually found was really interesting when they put these people into a brain scanner and functional MRI machine they found that the people who smoked cannabis even the high THC cannabis and again these are people with already have schizophrenia and bipolar they actually had less grey matter less brain gray matter loss than the people who didn’t smoke cannabis so that’s a really interesting finding and we don’t know what this means does that mean that THC sometimes as someone who already had schizophrenia isn’t as bad as we thought the question is remains and we just don’t have the answer yet so in general I still think because it’s a big question mark generally avoiding definitely all smoked cannabis which we never use medically and avoiding hc’ in general is the safest option for now okay so getting off to CBD what’s the evidence there well there was actually a really interesting study in an RCT or randomized controlled trial which means that’s a really high-quality study with respect to like conventional evidence base and it actually looked at the effect of CBD of cannabidiol on people’s brains that already had been diagnosed with schizophrenia or psychosis and they actually showed that after giving them a single dose of CBD the brain areas involved in psychosis were normalized these involve some of the midbrain straddle areas of the brain and it’s really interesting to see that a single dose a single large dose of CBD had that reversal of some of those that some of those effects in the brain that we see with psychosis so again this is pretty strong evidence that it has an antipsychotic effect in the brain and there’s many other research studies that are starting to support the same thing so getting back to what is the actual evidence we have for CBD and psychosis well there was a really interesting study done in 2018 done in people at high high risk clinical risk of psychosis so these are patients that normally you wouldn’t want to give any THC to so they gave them a single high dose of CBD and then they scan their brains and saw what happened and what they found was the brain areas that are involved in psychosis and are lit up in people who have schizophrenia they dampened down and normalized after the single dose of CBD so this is pretty strong evidence for an anti-psychotic affective CBD in the brains of people who are at really high risk of developing those problems so again we don’t have the full picture yet but this is pretty promising another really interesting study is where they took healthy people so people who didn’t have any psychosis in their history and they gave them a dose of CBD and then they gave them a high dose of THC to see if the CBD given beforehand which basically dampened down and prevent the pro psychotic chi high high THC effects in the brain and what they found as it actually worked so again it appears that see is protective in the brain and it may even help with THC induced psychosis so we think that a lot of the earlier research about cannabis predisposing people who are predisposed anyways to psychosis it’s probably largely because of the fact that they were smoking high high high THC and very very low CBD street cannabis so in summary CBD is anti-psychotic it seems and THC may be problematic in people at high risk for psychosis so best to avoid it so if you liked this video please like it leave a comment or share it with someone who may be interested in CBD and medical cannabis and if you want more on CBD medical cannabis and evidence-based natural medicine in brain wellness please come over to dr. Danny Gordon comm and sign up for my free resources.

Cannabis And Epilepsy

Cannabis And Epilepsy Video Transcript

Today we’re gonna be talking about cannabis and epilepsy. Cannabis has been used as a medicine for treatment of seizures for millennia and many different cultures and most recently in the modern world and in modern medicine it’s been used to treat children with specific forms of childhood epilepsy who failed many many drugs to control their seizures so I’m gonna tell you a little bit about how we think cannabis and epilepsy work and the most common ways that it’s used so CBD oil and cannabis medicines are really gaining traction as a potential anti epileptic treatment for children with epileptic disorders in childhood seizure disorders especially who’ve not responded to conventional drugs and there’s been quite a few high-profile cases in the media of children who are trying to get access to cannabis because it’s helped them reduce their seizures quite considerably or in some cases even really have no seizures for periods of time after really trying every drug on the market and one of the mainstays of therapy when it comes to cannabis and seizure control or epilepsy is CBD or cannabidiol that’s because CBD has been quite well studied as far as the cannabis plant molecules for its anti seizure activity so it has the ability to reduce seizure activity increases your threshold in a number of animal models in preclinical trials and in many many cases with children who have these epilepsy disorders that are very difficult to treat especially one called your vet syndrome and another one called Lennox gastro syndrome so what are we actually talking about like what products are people actually using when it comes to treating epilepsy with cannabis well both hemp derived CBD oils and medical cannabis with a slightly higher amount of THC have been used to treat different types of epilepsy generally what you do especially with it flipsie is you start with a very very low THC very very high CBD oil so generally speaking that’s a CBD oil sometimes even from hemp that has less than 0.2 or 0.3 percent THC sometimes if you’re starting with a medical product you might start with something that’s slightly higher in THC potentially a 1% THC with 18 to 20 percent CBD so again we’re talking about very very high CBD low THC forms of oil how it potentially works in the brain to help decrease seizures by a number of mechanisms one of them seems to be by a g-protein coupled receptor one of them seems to be by a serotonin receptor mechanism one of them we think is about by it something called Avenel Lloyd receptor and many many more so we’re still really learning about why CBD can actually work for seizure control when other drugs fail on average children who resort to medical cannabis and CBD have tried an average of 10 different antiepileptic drugs before they try CBD so we’re talking about really this is a last resort treatment but it actually works very very well for a number of patients there’s another form of CBD that’s actually been made by some pharmaceutical companies and only contains CBD it’s what’s called it CBD islip medication versus a full-spectrum CBD oil that contains other parts of the plant and even in those studies many patients have responded positively but in some cases especially in some of the case reports some that patients still do better on the full-spectrum CBD oil than they do on the the pharma base to CBD products so we’re still really learning what is best one of the things that patients always ask me about is well what about should I add any THC well generally with seizures we start out with high CBD very very low THC and then sometimes for very specific cases in some instances where people stop responding to the CBD we add a little bit of THC in an oil as well to the CBD and sometimes we get better seizure control again the reason for this again it’s very complex we have an idea of maybe that the CBD and the TFC are interacting at these different receptors in different pathways and they’re working what it’s called what in when it’s called synergy with each other in addition to THC another molecule that is quite useful that I’ve used in my medical practice with adults with epilepsy is something called THC a THC a is a non psychoactive so it doesn’t make you feel high form of a precursor to THC so it’s really useful in cases where you tried CBD by itself you’ve got maybe a partial response or really not met much response at all and you want to try something that’s not going to make someone feel intoxicated or high so that’s where THC a can be really handy in seizure control as well so we’re really just at the beginning of the research when it comes to full-spectrum CBD oil cannabis oil for seizure control and there’s so many compounds in the plant many of which may have anti seizure activity so we’re really just at the beginning of our understanding but we already know it can be very helpful in cases where other things have failed something that you have to keep in mind when you’re you know using CBD and cannabis for seizures is interactions with other drugs so one of the most well known ones is with a drug called Club Azam you can still use them together under close medical supervision but you have to check the drug levels well because sometimes the CBD can push out the drug levels and it can affect things like side effects for example in my own practice I don’t focus specifically on epilepsy but I definitely have treated a few standout cases in my patients who had epilepsy and seizure disorders who tried every drug Under the Sun were very disabled by their condition they couldn’t drive anymore many of them had really really low quality of life and we really house found and their brain function was severely affected by their seizures and after we added medical cannabis in they were able to decrease their other seizure medications improve their quality life vastly eradicate a lot of the side effects that they were getting like feeling sleepy and groggy and inability to communicate and medical cannabis for them really changed their life so I’m a really big believer that I can do great things in specific types of epilepsy especially that have been difficult to treat with other medications and what I’ve found when I treat patients with epilepsy and I add the medical cannabis to their treatment plan it’s not just the patient who benefits their whole family see the difference because it’s just the whole disease affects the whole family as a unit and these medications have made so much difference for the whole family so that’s why I’m really a believer in really trying this option for many patients with epilepsy and of course if you’re using medical cannabis or thinking about using it or thinking about using CBD even from hemp to treat a medical condition especially a serious one like seizures or epilepsy it’s really important to do it under the close supervision of your doctor who understands how to work with cannabis and your other drugs so if you enjoyed this video please like it and comment and share it with someone who is interested in cannabis or CBD – and if you want more on cannabis medicine CBD evidence-based natural medicine and brain wellness so you can thrive in modern life please come over and join me on dr. Danny Gordon comm and sign up for my free resources.

Cannabis And Depression

Video Transcript – Cannabis And Depression

In this video I’m going to talk about cannabis and depression so cannabis and depression is a really hot topic it’s a controversial topic for many people and before I started adding cannabis medicines to my own practice I have a lot of misconceptions myself about cannabis and depression over a decade ago when I was in medical school we didn’t really learn anything about the endocannabinoids system about cannabis in general but the things I did learn were really negative I was told you know people who smoke cannabis will be a bigger risk of depression it will make their depression and mood disorders worse universally it didn’t really matter what was in the cannabis whether it was really high CBD low THC there was no even distinction in what we were talking about so there was a lot of fear in the medical community around cannabis of all forms even CBD around mood disorders and depression in particular what I found when I started using cannabis medicines in my practice was that I was getting a lot of referrals with patients who suffer with depression and as most people who have suffered with depression will know or know someone who has suffered with depression it’s not that depression is just in isolation and everything in there about from there life is amazing usually my patients who are suffering with depression also have an element of anxiety with their depression they sometimes have sleep dysfunction they oftentimes have chronic pain they have other things that are going on so oftentimes depression is part of this bigger picture and sometimes depression is the final common endpoint for things that have gone wrong in the brain in the body and it really the brain is in this withdraw and protect mode not going out into the world and kind of you know approach behavior mode which we all kind of want to be in to really thrive and I do a lot of brain stuff as well and when we look at eg studies of the brain when we actually look at the electrical things that are going on in the brain with depression we have an underactive left frontal lobe with depression so basically in depression want to wake the brain back up and help people interact with the world in a better way so this is where cannabis medicines can come in handy – my initial surprise so initially when someone comes to me and depression is a main feature of why they’re coming to see me they’ve usually already tried a gazillion different things for their depression they’ve usually already tried things like therapy and CB CBT cognitive behavioral therapy they’ve tried exercise a lot of times they’ve tried lots of drugs a lot of times they tried other herbal medicines and none of them really worked that well so these are the times of patients who come to see me for cannabis medicine and usually what I do to start them off someone with depression is I start out with a CBD oil as a base of their therapy and I started out with taking the CBD oil in the morning in the mid afternoon or around lunchtime with food always and then really around like 5:00 p.m. in the evening and if that you know I usually do that for four weeks or so see how people respond and if they have sleep dysfunction which can be a major driver of depression because sleep dysfunction the next day makes the brain more irritable then sometimes I add in a little bit of THC before they go to bed to help with their sleep and very very very small those along with more CBD and then if they’re still having trouble with motivation and getting going in the morning that’s when I find that actually a little bit of vaporized cannabis which contains some THC as well as some CBD can be very very helpful and it has to be the right strain so with a lot of my patients who suffer with depression and anxious depression or anxiety and especially my patients who have chronic pain on top of this it can take them three hours to get their day going in the morning so that really leaves them quite crippled as far as not being able to work not being able to just do housework or to see their friends or to see family members or take care of their children and the way that they want to and what we see with when I add cannabis in a vaporize form is it can help wake the nervous system up if it’s the right strain and help them get going so instead of taking 3 hours to get their day going they can take them 20 minutes like most of us without depression just kind of wake up and you know get going so usually what I you there is I would start with a strain that’s high in things like D limonene these citrusy uplifting terpenes and a more sativa dominant strain again the genetics get tricky here because everything’s kind of a hybrid now but to keep things simple really what you can think about it as is using a sativa dominant delimiting rich strain of cannabis in a vaporizer and usually I like to combine it with a strain that’s high in CBD so they’re not getting that straight-up THC in general with patients with depression I try to avoid THC only I really really think that adding CBD is very important to keeping the mood stable and the reason that I do it this way is because there’s been lots of studies with the CBD in particular as an antipsychotic agent as a mood balancing agent and people who have mood balance issues so people with bipolar disorder for example people with schizophrenia and psychosis so that’s different than depression but I still find in my patients that when we use more CBD a lot of CBD and then add a little bit of THC in if they need it is the best way to go with depression another really interesting thing I found working with my patients with depression using cannabis medicines is that often times part of the the reason that they’re having trouble is because they really want to engage with the world they want to do things like cognitive behavioral therapy they want to do things like exercise socially engaging their friends and their family because we know all those things help with depression but they have really low brain motivation because their left frontal lobe is under active and they just can’t engage so basically we can use cannabis medicines as a catalyst it kind of like is it is a catalyst to get everything going so what I do sometimes with patients is I get them to vaporize a little bit of cannabis before they want to go work out or before they want to go for a run and sometimes even before they want to go out socially and engage with the world and that can be really helpful to get them going and the really cool part is that once they get going and they start doing all the other behaviors that are anti-depressive naturally like exercise getting social doing CBT doing therapy if that’s part of their treatment plan they just get better and better and better and it’s a snowball effect and then they need West cannabis to help them because as other things start to kind of take hold in the brain so if you liked this video please like it share it with someone who might benefit from it and leave me a comment let me know what your experience has been with mood in cannabis or CBD and if you want more on cannabis CBD evidence-based natural medicine and brain wellness please come over to dr. Danny Gordon comm and sign up for my free resources

Cannabis And Cancer

Cannabis And Cancer Video Transcript

In this video I’m going to talk about one of the most common questions I get asked and what the heck to do with cannabis and cancer. So I get asked this question all the time by my patients by email on social media and usually it comes in the form of you know.

I have cancer or one of my loved ones have cancer can I use cannabis to help them is it the treatment for cancer can they use it as for side effects management what the heck can they do with it and how to actually use it and what products to actually use so before I get into how I’ve used it with my patients who do have cancer.

Just something to be really clear on is I don’t use cannabis as a primary treatment for cancer. I used to help them with their side effects of their primary cancer treatments to get them through the treatments and make their life easier, made their quality of life better and to help a fatigue and nausea, and all those other side effects. In fact I often get asked you know, can I just quit all of my cancer therapy and just use cannabis instead?

The answer right now is no, because we just don’t have the evidence to say that cannabis can cure cancer. And in fact I’ve actually had patients who before they got to see me had tried to treat their cancer on their own and for going all medical help except for just using cannabis themselves to treat their cancer. And they’d actually missed a really important treatment window to treat their cancer when it was curative.

So I’m really really clear when I talk to patients and when I talk to my family members and my friends, who are going through cancer that they should definitely not use cannabis as their primary method of treating their cancer. And they should always go with Western medicine best approaches first.

So how do I actually use it when I have a patient sitting in front of me in my medical practice, who’s come to me for help with their cancer symptoms. So a lot of my patients going through chemotherapy radiation all the kinds of cancer therapies often have a really hard time getting through those therapies without lots of help, because they’re really really hard therapies they’re really hard badi, they’re hard on your brain and I have found cannabis to be quite useful in helping people get through these treatments.

So normally what I would do is I start with what’s called a CBD oil. And I often use to help with cancer related anxiety and treatment related anxiety, because going through cancer treatments is really anxiety provoking. It’s just a normal response so that can be really useful it can also be really useful in helping with the calming down of the nervous system and potentially even with the neuropathy, or the nerve pain side-effects from some of the chemotherapy drugs.

I also sometimes recommend vaporizing cannabis to help with the chemotherapy nausea and vomiting, because it works really quickly. We need a prize it and also to help with appetite and to help with the other fatigue associated side-effects from the chemotherapy, or from the cancer itself. I found when people vaporize cannabis and usually I use a combination of CBD and THC. We start with just a little bit of a string the THC and high CBD and then we add more THC. If we need to and we have the vaporizer in a vaporizer it really can be helpful.

And it’s kind of an immediate onset action to help with some of these side-effects that other drugs sometimes, just don’t really work that well for with my patients who I’m treating, Hugh have cancer they have found it to be such an incredible tool to help them get through the treatment. But also to just improve their quality of life, help them really spend time with their loved ones, help them actually have some quality of life as they go through their treatments. And also as they recover from their cancer once they finish their treatments and also in my patients who were considered, you know palliative care where their cancer is probably not going to be curative but they really want to have a quality of life with the time that they have and they want to really enjoy their friends and family. and they want to have good pain control without relying on huge doses of morphine, that they need to manage that pain.

I’ve found with my patients who are palliative and they have a terminal cancer diagnosis, it can still really really help them with pain management. With things like being able to be awake and alert and able to interact with their loved ones, in a way that morphine and those other pain medications that we often use are just not really that helpful with. Because they make people feel really slow and they have lots and lots of side effects. Sometimes when people come to see me for a cancer and they’re asking me, okay how is the cannabis gonna interact with my chemotherapy? that’s really where I have to tell them that we don’t really know the answer to that question for sure.

The research is just at the beginning, when it comes to the drug in the herb interactions between cannabis even CBD and cancer drugs. So really it’s a big question mark and people really have to understand this if they’re gonna use cannabis as they go through their chemotherapy. And I’ve had a few patients who have for example cancers that are curative especially ones related to a melanoma type of skin cancer, and certain types of lung cancer. where there’s been in one small study showing that cannabis combined with the chemotherapy drug which works on the immune system for that kind of cancer it may actually decrease the response to that drug.

So in some cases with those patients, they’ve actually decided to wait and hold off on using cannabis until they’re finished their treatments. There’s also been a lot of research done in animal models aid with cannabis and cancer, but the tricky thing is when we apply an animal model so like research done in rats or in the test tube or in a petri dish. To humans it doesn’t always pan out and we’ve tried to do this before with other drugs and got all excited about animal models. And then when you put it into real humans it doesn’t work the same way, because we’re not actually the same as an animal model or a future dish model.

So we know that a lot of the cannabinoids like THC and CBD have anti-tumor effects in a petri dish and it’s a promising area of research for cancer, but we don’t know yet how exactly to use it to actually treat cancer yet in humans. The most the furthest we’ve got with this research is with a type of brain tumor called glioblastoma. Where they’ve combined certain types of cannabinoids with conventional medications conventional chemotherapy agents to try to reduce the tumor size. And so far those studies are promising but they’re still early stages. Then there’s this whole thing about tumor receptor types so every tumor has little proteins on it and there’s different receptors for every tumor type and some tumors actually have cannabinoid receptors.

So again how does that work when we add cannabis into the mix does it help the tumor grow does it shrink the tumor the answer is probably maybe a combination of both depending on the dose, depending on the type of cannabis use whether it’s CBD or THC. And again even within that we’re not really sure what dose is best for each type of cancer and there’s probably some cancers where cannabis is just not good in general. And there’s probably some cancers where cannabis may help shrink tumors potentially especially in combination with some other therapies. So there’s a lot that we still don’t know, so really right now the bottom line is cannabis can be helpful with treatment side-effect management as long as people are aware of the relative potential risks of using it.

That way another really exciting and promising area that I’ve used where I’ve used cannabis with my cancer patients is helping them with the cancer recovery process. So the crushing post-cancer fatigue that kind of can turn into this kind of chronic fatigue type syndrome that can go on for years after people have finished their primary cancer treatments, is something that not a lot of people talk about. Doctors don’t really warn patients about it and patients are always left on their own a lot of the time to deal with this crushing fatigue, and they can often get anxiety and they have you know emotional trauma from going through their cancer, you look a bit of PTSD type symptoms.

And this is where I find medical cannabis really helpful, so in my patients who have stopped their treatments there they’ve been sent they’ve been discharged, so they’ve been kind of given that you know you’re free card from their cancer team. And they’ve been sent back into the world to live their normal life post cancer. I use CBD usually in an oil form and also sometimes vaporized cannabis with a little bit of THC to help with things, like daytime fatigue to help with things like sleep. And to help with this really this whole recovery process of cancer that not a lot of people really talk about.

I find when I use it this way even helping with people recover the nerve pain damage that sometimes the chemotherapy drugs can cause, it’s been really helpful for a lot of my patients. So the taxane based chemotherapy agents for example can cause a lot of numbness and tingling and burning hands and feet. And I’ve used CBD oil in some of my patients who are recovering from cancer to help with their their pain and they found it very useful over a period of months. So these are just some of the ways that I have found cannabis and useful CBD oil useful and helping my patients who are going through cancer to help get through their treatments recover.

And as far as an actual treatment for cancer we hope that we will have more information on this in the near future as more research emerges. So if you liked this video please give it a like please leave me a comment and share it with someone, who may benefit to someone in your life who may be suffering with cancer and wants to know about cannabis. and if you want more on CBD cannabis wellness evidence-based natural medicine and brain wellness come join me on drdanigordon.com and sign up for my free resources.

CBD Oil For Pain / Chronic Pain

CBD Oil For Pain – Video Transcript

In this episode today we’re going to be talking about CBD Oil for pain. So how can CBD oil help chronic pain conditions, what kind of chronic pain conditions it helps with and which ones it may not be so helpful with and then we’re going to talk about how to actually use CBD and the experiences I’ve had using high CBD types of hemp in medical cannabis with my patients with chronic pain. So this is a question I get asked all of the time in facebook groups by email and of course with my patients is they really want to try to use CBD and usually in an oil forms of CBD oil for their chronic pain now there’s some CBD oils that you can get over-the-counter in some countries that are from hemp and they don’t have any THC in it or less than 0.2 percent THC so basically none and then there’s the medical cannabis that really has high high high CBD low THC but does it a little bit of detectable THC in it let’s say 1% THC so in my medical practice in Canada where medical cannabis is legal I use a lot of very high CBD very low THC oils to help patients with chronic pain now chronic pain it’s a just a huge broad area of medicine because there’s so many areas where pain can come from pain can come from the nervous system being injured and come from the nerves called neuropathic pain or nerve pain it can come from inflammation so if someone who has an autoimmune disease or they have arthritis from just wear and tear they can all get different types of pain and you have pain in the nerve endings and you have pain in the body and then you have pain that starts in the brain that’s again something called central pain so with all of these different types of pain actually one of the most important systems in our body to manage pain is our own cannabis system in our body our endocannabinoids system so what this means is that when we are facing pain whether it’s chronic pain or acute pain there’s molecules in our body there’s chemicals our body makes to help fight that pain and our body makes cannabis like compounds cannabis like molecules called endocannabinoids it helps to really regulate our pain perception how we kind of perceive pain and also how pain really changes the brain over time so a really common question I get is you know what should I do when I’ve already tried CBD from somewhere over the counter from a hemp store for example for my chronic pain and it didn’t do anything does that mean that cannabis medicine in general and CBD in general it just can’t help me the answer is usually no usually the answer is that it probably can be helpful somewhat but it really depends on the type of CBD the concentration of CBD it’s different for every person in every pain condition and a lot of other factors like was it a full spectrum cannabis medicine product with lots of different chemicals in it besides the CBD or was a just CBD without anything else like a CBD islip what I find with a lot of chronic pain conditions is because CBD actually interacts with our own cannabis system in our own bodies called the endocannabinoid system it doesn’t actually turn pain off directly like a painkiller for example what it does instead is it down regulates our perception of pain and the kind of tones our our nervous system so to speak so it can help with chronic pain over a period of time but often times it might take weeks or months to see in effect and it doesn’t cure chronic pain so you have to keep taking it so what can happen with a lot of people is they start taking a very small amount of CS CBD oil and they don’t really see much difference if anything oftentimes they have to use a different dose a different product or sometimes adding a tiny bit of THC so using in Canada for example where this is legal a strain of cannabis oil that has a tiny bit of THC and still very very high amount of CBD actually works better for chronic pain in many cases because it actually binds directly to some of the the pain receptors using the THC and then the CBD makes the THC work even better even at these tiny little doses so normally even at those tiny doses of THC people don’t normally feel impaired or high so a lot of times people think that CBD oil is going to work directly for their chronic pain but again because CBD actually doesn’t bind to either one of the cannabis like receptors in our body the cb1 or the CBT receptor like THC does it works in a more kind of overall toning capacity like a lot of herbal medicines it’s all about really toning the nervous system and this is where CBD can be helpful over time there’s also still so much we don’t know about CBD and about the cannabis plant in general we’re really only at the beginning of our scientific understanding and this is really I mean I mean when I say the beginning I mean I read the most up-to-date cutting-edge research every week on this topic and I’m still feeling like you know we’re really at the beginning so that being said how can you actually use CBD if you have chronic pain well one way that you can use it is you can help use it to help decrease the anxiety that comes with chronic pain because what happens when you have chronic pain is in the back of your mind even though your brain gets used to having chronic pain it takes up so much bandwidth in your brain so much mental and brain energy to basically dampen the pain signals so you can just go about your life and not feel like you’re in constant trauma that over time it can cause a lot of brain anxiety and it can cause a lot of fatigue so what I find seem to be helpful with when someone has chronic pain one of the ways there’s many but one of the ways is helping to decrease the brain anxiety levels so basically it helps kind of calm their brain down which dampens the fight-or-flight response or you know the danger response system in the brain and that also dampens pain signals and it also dampens our pain perception because when you have chronic your nervous system is on edge all of the time it’s like you’re caught in this fight or flight running away from a saber-toothed tiger cycle all of the time and everything is heightened so your awareness of everything of sounds of smells of bright lights and of pain everything gets amplified so basically it just helps kind of calm everything down a notch and even in itself that’s really helpful with chronic pain sufferers another way that can actually help chronic pain is if the chronic pain has an inflammation component so that’s actually most types of chronic pain even indirectly if you have nerve pain sometimes there’s an inflammation component as well so what CBD does in animal models we know and we think in humans although we need really bigger research studies to say exactly how this works but it’s probably very similar to what we’re seeing in animal models is that CBD actually works on inflammation through a number of different pathways in the body so it can shut down inflammation in some pathways so if pain is coming from inflammation CBD used daily over time may help reduce inflammation and that kind of pain as well another factor in many forms of chronic pain even if you didn’t start out this way is the longer the pain goes on the nervous system tries to adapt to the pain and basically your own endocannabinoid system in your other pain control systems they get out of whack they just don’t work as well and they kind of reach this new baseline this new kind of dysregulated baseline of I’m okay but actually the nervous system is really just regulated so this is where CBD may be able to help again because it may be able to help rebalance the endocannabinoids system when it’s gotten out of whack so the last thing that I’m just gonna mention is okay what types of chronic pain do I see enjoy treat with medical cannabis and high CBD strains especially so I see quite a variety of chronic pain conditions one of the really interesting things that I’ve noticed in my clinical work with patients and this is not something that’s really in the published literature yet is after someone’s received chemotherapy for cancer in many cases they use different drugs that really affect numbness and tingling and burning sensations of burning pain the hands and the feet and this is kind of a neuropathic or nerve type of pain that specifically people get after a lot of chemo therapies especially the breast cancer chemotherapy regimens and what I’ve found is when patients use CBD oil after they finish their chemo and they keep using it their pain their burning pain in their hands and their tingling pain in their hands and their feet tend to tend to go away a lot quicker then I would say on average so it may be really a place specifically receiveed II show some promise there’s some animal studies on that type of pain specifically using CBD and we need more research to say exactly how it works in humans but it’s really promising another type of pain that I treat is fibromyalgia I also treat arthritis pain and pain that’s associated with a lot of other chronic diseases so I’m gonna talk about each of those in another video specifically but in general I think for chronic pain CBD holds a lot of promise especially when it’s combined with other chemicals in the cannabis plant and potentially with other herbals and other medications so if you like this video please subscribe to our Channel and also please share this video with your friends and family who might benefit from it too and if you want more great free resources from me on CBD cannabis medicine and evidence-based natural medicine come over and join me on dr. Danny Gordon comm and sign up for our emails where you’re going to get updates for me personally and exclusive content

Peak Performer Brain Frequency Training For Brainfog & Fatigue (Case Study)

In 2014, whilst living in Bali starting Zen Brain Lab (our brain resilience & wellness centre in Bali) I came down with Dengue Fever-for the second time.

What that means is that when you get a second strain of Dengue Fever you get REALLY sick–for me this meant I ended up unconscious on the bathroom floor of our villa.

I had to be rushed in the backseat of a car in the middle of the night to the nearest hospital over an hour away where I was dangerously ill and bed-bound in hospital for days.

Luckily, I recovered from the acute phase in about a week and was able to go home, but I was basically unable to function.

For weeks after I had no appetite, crushing brainfog, fatigue and memory issues with headaches, dizziness, nausea and had to cancel my telemedicine medical practice for a few weeks.

I also had a weird heart rhythm that would come out of nowhere and leave me feeling slightly out of breath and feel my heart skipping beats.

This was pretty scary since normally I’m quite lucky in that my brain works really well.

I meditate and eat the best brain fuel and supplements.  I am blessed with a great memory and had hacked my productivity to quite high levels.

But now I was lying in bed for days barely able to string a sentence together and literally unable to do much of anything.

Even scarier was my normally amazing memory seemed to have deserted me and I wasn’t getting deep sleep.

But this is where my neurofeedback training kit comes in.

I had used it to treat clients of mine who had similar symptoms with chronic fatigue, chronic lyme symptoms and post-viral brainfog and fatigue and now I needed it myself for the very same reason.

Here’s what my brainmap looked like:

This map shows the dominant frequency of the alpha brainwave band.

Alpha activity is between 8 and 12 hz, and normally in a healthy brain, we want to see the majority for the alpha activity between 9.5 and 10.5 hz.

Ideally this map should be green, but a blue map is indicating that the alpha activity has slowed, to the 8 – 9hz range.

We often see this signature in conditions where people experience problems thinking clearly with brainfog and in low energy states like adrenal fatigue and people with thyroid issues.

I knew from experience with clients and patients that many people never fully recover from the brainfog and fatigue from getting dengue for the 2nd time, so I put myself on a daily neurofeedback training program to accelerate my recovery.

It took me 6-8 weeks of training but at the end of it I was back to my fully functioning self again!!

My 2nd brainmap showed my alpha activity had returned to normal, back to the 9.5hz to 10.5hz range.

You can see in this map the blue colour has mostly turned green.

I had used what’s called the peak performance rhythm training protocol, which is also known as sensory motor rhythm training (SMR).

I used it to speed up my sluggish alpha brainwaves and literally ‘wake up’ my brain again but without causing anxiety or hyperarousal.

It works by increasing the 12-15 hz brainwave frequency or Low Beta, the ‘in the zone’ or ‘flow state’ frequency over the motor strip area of the brain.

It is an incredibly powerful protocol and helps regulate the thalamo-cortical loops (which is basically how the frontal lobes speak to the limbic system) and is very stabilizing for the brain which is why it has proven effective in 100s of research studies to help a large number of medical conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome, insomnia, anxiety and ADHD.

There are also many studies showing it enhances performance, focus and productivity in many different types of people and peak performers and has even been proven to improve the performance of surgeons during surgery!

After each session I would feel a bit calmer and more focused and feel a bit more like my normal brain was coming back online.

The coolest part is that your brain starts to make more SMR and rebalance even BETWEEN sessions. It helps your brain start to neuro-regulate better so you get more and more of the brain benefits not just while you are training, but all the time as you do more sessions.

There is even a cool story about this technique was discovered….

Barry Sterman, PhD. was a sleep researcher at UCLA who stumbled upon neurofeedback in 1965.

He had been experimenting with cats and found that he could train them to make more of this 12-15 hz frequency by giving them a pellet of food each time their brain increased the 12-15 hz frequency.

A year later he was doing some research again using cats for NASA to test the toxic effects of exposure to rocket fuel in animals before sending humans into space.

By chance, he discovered that the cats he had used in his previous experiments who had learned to produce more 12-15 hz were far more resistant to the stress and seizures that were induced when they were exposed to the toxins.

Their brains were far more resilient!

With this breakthrough in cats, the ability to increase their resistance to seizures, Dr Sterman then went on to experiment with drug-resistant epilepsy patients.

Instead of food pellets, the patient was shown a green light when they produced more 12 -15hz. When the patient produced SMR a green light came on.  When she was not producing SMR a red light came on. Her task was to keep the green light on to make more SMR.

The results were incredible – A 65% reduction in grand mal seizures when nothing else had worked.

The results were replicated in several other laboratories throughout the world and published in the medical journal Epilepsia in 1978.

This SMR brainwave work was then tried successfully with children and adults with ADD/ADHD and this  paved the way for this peak performer rhythm neurofeedback training to assist with all types of conditions.

And it is all because of an accidental discovery with Ultra Resilient NASA cats!!  :)

About Neurofeedback And Neuromeditation

Neurofeedback, also known as brain biofeedback, is a direct way of training and changing the brain using non-invasive safe technology that teaches your brain what to do differently.

It is an entire science with 40 years of research and is recognized as the number 1 treatment tool for ADHD recommended by the American Paediatric Association Physician group.  

It is used extensively in the treatment of issues like depression, anxiety, insomnia, addictions, PTSD especially in the USA who are the leaders in this field and technology.

It is also used in the peak performance world by:

    • NASA astronauts
    • Olympic champions
    • Real Madrid, Chelsea and AC Milan
    • Tony Robbins
    • The London School of Music

 

How It Works

    • Your Brain Activity is picked up by electrodes
    • A Computer program reads the brainwave patterns and feeds it back to person by giving a reward sound when the brain ‘does the right thing’ makes ‘good brainwaves’
    • It can change how brain cells ‘talk’ to each other and what they ‘say’
    • It Tells your brain what to do differently–removes the guesswork for brain!
    • Helps the brain change dysfunctional patterns directly
    • Based On Neuroplasticity, neuroregulation & brain networking research-40+ years to help the brain function better under stress
    • It can change Neurotransmitter & cortisol stress hormone levels
    • Enhances brain’s ability to self regulate
    • The Brain changes are long term
    • It Takes Motivation to meditate out of equation & the changes are trackable

 

 

Beta Brainwaves

  • Beta fast waves are needed for focus and concentration
  • Too much Beta in the wrong area of the brain cause anxiety, worry, overthinking, body tension including:
    • High right hemisphere beta waves
    • High beta in the back of the head
  • Beta wave imbalances lead to burnout, brain anxiety & toxic stress symptoms because the brain has no ‘off button’ and cannot return to a low arousal

 

Alpha Brainwaves

  • Alpha brainwaves are the ‘middle frequency’ waves made when the brain is conserving energy or is ‘idling’ / relaxed but awake
  • Too much alpha in the LEFT frontal lobe is associated with low moods, motivation, problems getting up & going in the am
  • Slow alpha waves especially in the front of the brain is a marker of brainfog and mental sluggishness

Theta Brainwaves

  • Theta brainwaves are part of the slow waves along with delta waves.  
  • Theta waves are involved with emotional processing, memory and deep trance states
  • Theta is highly linked to the brain’s limbic system & amygdala and the brain’s response to stress
  • Low Theta to beta ratio in occipital lobes -issues with energy management and inability of the brain to self-rejuvenate
  • Low posterior theta- adult ADD symptoms (poor focus)
  • High frontal lobe theta-brainfog and inability to focus under mental strain

History of Neurofeedback

In the 1960’s researchers (Dr. Joe Kamiya & Dr. B. Sterman) discovered you can retrain brainwave patterns by using EEG brain feedback and they first used it to treat drug-resistant epilepsy with positive results.  

But the initial equipment was hard to use, large and extremely expensive-only used in research labs and studies at big university centres.

We now use a modern higher-tech and portable form of this ‘fast brainwave’ training to balance right and left brain hemispheres, enhance focus and mental clarity and target specific brainwave pattern issues that contribute to symptoms such as anxiety, low mood, fatigue, brainfog and even unrestorative sleep and morning tiredness.

History of Neuromeditation

At the same time, other researchers were developing a different form of neurofeedback training the slower brainwave frequencies and tapping into the ‘deep states,’ and this was led by Dr. Elmer Green, who was himself a devoted meditator as well as researcher and clinician.

He took his equipment to India and brainmapped advanced yogic monks in states of deep meditation to look for brain signatures of these states that took decades to master.

He discovered through this process a specific brain signature at the back of the brain when they entered into these deep states, and then created a way to use the EEG brain biofeedback to train the brain of any normal person into this deep state, called the ‘twilight state.

This deep brain training was called ‘alpha theta neurofeedback’ and used subsequently to help treat war vets suffering with PTSD and patients with alcoholism addiction. 

Dr. Eugene Peniston found that using it, Negative ‘problem personality traits’ disappeared and his patients were able to maintain sobriety even after 2 years vs ‘standard treatment’.

The reason it worked in these difficult to treat cases of addiction and emotional trauma has to do with its ability to put our brains in a unique ‘twilight state’ in between sleeping and waking where the amygdala and fear centres are taking ‘offline’ and the brain can reintegrate.

This same training is also used by peak performers to have more ‘aha moments’ of great insight or invention and to help solve problems that seem ‘unsolvable’ using normal ‘frontal lobe’ conscious awareness problem solving.

Modern Neuromeditation

This special state allows the brain to resolve deep psychological issues of the unconscious mind and brain, enhance novel thinking & creativity and help to heal the brain & body physiology from the long term effects of chronic stress and burnout.

We use a modern form of this Deep State alpha theta neurofeedback combined with specific guided meditations as a ‘brain warm up’ to guide your brain into the ‘twilight’ state.

Spending time in this unique brain twilight state lowers levels of brain and body cortisol (stress hormone) and enhances the body’s natural feel good chemicals (Beta Endorphin, serotonin).

The results from deep state brain training often go way beyond what talk psychotherapy offers and with greater depth for both healing and personal development and mental performance.  

What is the Twilight State?

This special state is marked by the intersection of the alpha and theta brain waves and is called a ‘crossover’ or twilight state.

Alpha brainwaves are generally found when we are awake and conscious but relaxed, like in many meditative states.

Theta brainwaves are related to day dreaming, emotions, memory and deep trance states.

In modern life, we no longer know how to access this twilight state because we are either ‘awake’ or asleep and only pass through the twilight state for a few seconds as we fall asleep each night.

When you are able to harness staying in this special ‘twilight’ state for more than a few seconds, profound brain changes occur to help the body and brain maintain health, heal and recover.

Anxiety, stress, depression, insomnia, worry, & digestion problems are all conditions that can be solved very effectively by tapping into the the twilight brain state.

Tapping into this and similar ‘altered states’ is actually the basis of most ancient / traditional healing techniques eg. shamanic journeys, research with psilocybin (magic mushrooms), LSD, other traditional psychoactive compounds used by various tribes in ritual, etc.  (note: good reading material on this topic: DMT: The Spirit Molecule: A Doctor’s Revolutionary Research into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experiences by Dr. Rick Strassman)

This is what deep state brainwave training or neurofeedback does but without any substances or shamanic help.

This technology allows you to ‘cheat’ by guiding your brain into the twilight state and keeping you there for 30 minutes to allow this healing state to occur without spending years in meditation.

‘Brain Fear & Anxiety Loop Reset’

The number one health & healing ‘roadblock’ is in the brain.  This roadblock is hyperarousal of the limbic brain and amygdala (the brain centre for fear and anxiety) overactivity.  

When the brain is constantly in fight or flight due to low grade everyday stress of modern life it gets stuck in ‘background’ noise loops of mental chatter, worry and hyper-vigilance.  

In this state the brain cannot integrate trauma, rebalance body hormones or maintain a calm balanced mood.  

Being in this state too much of the time also affects the ability to get restful sleep at night and shut off the mind.

In order to break these loops, the brain has to be able to shut off the amygdala, that brain centre that is driving fear memory and fight or flight reactions.

When you are in the twilight crossover state, the amygdala part of your brain naturally goes ‘offline.’ At the same time, your memory and emotional centres remain active but without the fear memory or ‘fight or flight’ response.

This unique combination of emotional awareness without fear, panic or anxiety reactions allows your brain to heal old neural patterns of stress, anxiety, worry and trauma that are taking up brain resources and running as ‘open programs’ in the background of your mind constantly.  

The RAS Arousal Brain System & Toxic Stress

When the fight or flight overdrive is taken care of, your brain also changes its level of arousal at a deep level in a brain network called the Reticular activating system in the brainstem, the oldest part of the brain.

The RAS is your arousal system that controls motivation and need for stimulation.

Deep state training resets your RAS to a lower healthier level of arousal by deactivating your amygdala (fear and worry).  

This process also lowers your cortisol (the stress hormone that is toxic to your brain’s memory cells in the hippocampus), increasing beta endorphin levels (natural feel good brain chemicals) and helps body operate at lower level of baseline arousal so you don’t exhaust your neurotransmitters related to overarousal (Dopamine & Norepinephrine).

Exhausted neurotransmitters result in symptoms related to stress & burnout, chronic fatigue, brain fog, anxiety and panic and eventually depression.  

Balance can be restored to all of these systems  by getting your brain into the natural crossover ‘in between state’ modern life has forgotten how to access and prolonging this state to allow for total deep brain rest and reset.   

How is a Session Done?

You will place the EEG sensor on the back of the head and asked to close your eyes.   

The first 8 minutes after you close your eyes is spent listening to a guided relaxation and imagery program to help transition to a relaxed receptive mental state.  

Then the brain feedback reward tones will start to guide the brain to increase both alpha and theta waves in specific proportions to guide you into the twilight state.

What Happens When You Close Your Eyes

When you close your eyes, your alpha brainwaves naturally rise briefly before falling gradually until consciousness is lost.

With eyes closed, theta naturally rises with delta as sleep approaches but does not normally rise high enough to meet alpha until sleep occurs.

With these reward noises, the alpha is encouraged to stay higher and maintain consciousness and not drop into sleep so rapidly and the theta is encouraged to rise higher than normal whilst still conscious.

Reaching the ‘Twilight State’

The tones can thus guide you into the elusive alpha theta state, but you don’t have to worry about what the sounds mean, your brain knows what to do naturally so you can release all mental effort.

The tones keep you in this twilight state in between the states of awake and sleep. Normally you fall asleep if left on your own.

The tones you hear coming from the computer holds you in that normally fleeting state of conscious.

Session by session the brain becomes more skilled at remaining around the cross-over state and profound changes begin to occur in how you feel in waking life and old traumas are cleared out.

Benefits of Deep State Sessions

You will become more resilient to stressors.  You will have more ‘aha moments’ and more creative ideas.  

You become less ‘reactive’ to situations and people that normally provoke you.

Solutions to major life & health/healing ‘roadblocks’ start to emerge because your brain engages naturally again in novel behaviours, once anxiety and fear loops are broken.  

This state allows the brain to get rid of negative subconscious ‘mental chatter’ that is taking up brain resources.

Most clients report enhancement of their personal meditation practice done outside of the sessions and the mind calms down and becomes quiet more easily. 

Benefits

  • Increases ability for novel behavior by breaking brain’s stuck patterns of thinking and behaving
  • Decreases brain and body stress hormone (Decreases Cortisol)
  • Increases Beta Endorphin Levels
  • Decreases Addictive Tendencies/Behavior
  • Resets the brain’s attentional network- your RAS (reticular activating system) to lower baseline level of arousal so you can perform better under pressure
  • Decreases fear, worry and anxiety
  • Decreases racing thoughts/constant thinking you can’t ‘shut off’
  • Increases social accuracy (which is your ability to get social resources-ie get what you want from other people in social, romantic and business relationships by intuitively reading people and situations accurately and responding most appropriately to meet their emotional needs)
  • Enhances Self Awareness
  • Enhances Creativity & creative problem solving
  • Helps to heal emotional trauma by reintegrating old trauma memories by taking the amygdala offline.  This free ups brain capacity
  • Enhances effects of daily meditation practice
  • Gives your brain the ability to calm down better especially under pressure
  • Helps to resolve Insomnia by resetting RAS and sleep wake cycles in the brain that become dysfunctional over time due to modern life habits and stress
  • More ‘Aha’ Moments of spontaneous insight & invention

Neuromeditation training also enhances dreams for many people.  

We get messages from our subconscious in the forms of dreams, although most people are unaware of most dream material.

During the deep state brain training process, the majority of clients begin to dream more frequently and have vastly better dream recall.  

This is a sign of brain integration as the older parts of the brain start to talk to the newer thinking brain.

Many people experience major positive life changes in the realm of career, relationships and personal growth as a result of their training.

Summary

Both Neuromeditation deep brain training as well as ‘fast-wave’ customized to your brain training can now be done at home and is a core component of our Ultra Resilience Program due to its unique ability to change the brain in a fraction of the time vs traditional mindbody approaches or nutritional approaches alone.

Alpha Theta (Neuromeditation) Research

Improvements in Mental Performance, Memory, Neuroplasticity and Resilience

Neurofeedback for enhancement of memory and concentration

The effect of training SMR neurofeedback protocols on cognitive performance

Optimizing microsurgical skills with EEG neurofeedback

SMR Training for Enhancing Golf Performance http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26866770

Shutting down sensorimotor interference unblocks the networks for stimulus processing: an SMR neurofeedback training study.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24794517

SMR for Inducing Calmness http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23357178

EEG-neurofeedback and SMR for optimising performance: a Review of the literature: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24125857

Neurofeedback training induces changes in brain white and gray matter.

Neurofeedback: an emerging technology for treating central nervous system dysregulation

Tuning pathological brain oscillations with neurofeedback: a systems neuroscience framework.

Endogenous control of waking brain rhythms induces neuroplasticity in humans http://www.nici.ru.nl/twiki/bin/viewfile/Main/MoniekMunneke?rev=1;filename=2010_Ros_et_al_-_Endogenous_control_of_waking_brain_rhythms_induces_neuroplasticity_in_humans.pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20384819

Training Upper Alpha band for enhancing cognitive performance:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S105381191001181X

Enhancing ability to handle mental workload:http://www.sid.ir/En/Journal/ViewPaper.aspx?ID=531322

QEEG brainmapping for brain performance and resolution of stress-related symptoms & burnout http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7846849/

Replication of Elite Musical Performance in novices using neurofeedback peak performer rhythm training https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301051113002238

EEG-based upper alpha neurofeedback training improves working memory performancehttp://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6090651/?reload=true

EEG-neurofeedback for optimising cognitive performance:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763413002248

Enhancement of short term memory:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167876012005478

Improvements in Executive Function & Mental Performance: Boosting Brain Functions with Neurofeedback

Gaining Direct Control over brain functions:

How Neurofeedback allows you to ‘experience’ and gain control over your brain

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3798979

Emotional Regulation, Anxiety and Mood (Depression/anxiety)

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167876012006678

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3819266/

Neurofeedback to Reduce Anxiety

Neurofeedback for depression

ADHD, Focus & Concentration

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167876016307826

Neurofeedback outperforms ADHD medication for academic performance without side effects

Neurofeedback changes brain structure in both grey and white matter related to attentional processes

Lubar, J.F. and Shouse, M.N. (1976) EEG and Behavioral Changes in a Hyperkinetic Child Concurrent with Training of the Sensorimotor Rhythm (SMR): A Preliminary Report. Biofeedback Self Regul. 1976 Sep;1(3);293-306. ABSTRACT

Lubar, J.O. & Lubar, J.F. (1984) Electroencephalographic Biofeedback of SMR and Beta for Treatment of Attention Deficit Disorders in a Clinical Setting. Biofeedback Self Regul. 1984 Mar;9(1):1-23. ABSTRACT

Insomnia & Sleep disorders

Hoedlmoser, K. et. al. (2008) Instrumental Conditioning of Human Sensorimotor Rhythm (12–15 Hz) and Its Impact on Sleep as Well as Declarative Learning. Sleep. 2008 October 1;31(10): 1401-1408.

US Military Use of Neurofeedback

http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA582852

Migraine & Chronic Pain Syndromes

https://behavioralandbrainfunctions.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1744-9081-6-9?__hstc=173329852.8c1a2092c1d34cb91fb1b4a95b48df35.1473811200301.1473811200303.1473811200304.2&__hssc=173329852.1.1473811200304&__hsfp=1773666937

Neurofeedback therapy in patients with acute and chronic pain syndromes–literature review and own experience

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & ME

EEG biofeedback as a treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome: a controlled case report.James LC, Folen RA Behav Med 22 (2): 77-81 (1996)
Chronic fatigue syndrome: Its response to 14 Hz EEG neurotherapy training.Tansey, M.A. (1994). Presentation at 1994 Society for the Study of Neuronal Regulation, Las Vegas NV.
A controlled study of the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) with 13-14 Hz beta band electroencephalograph (EEG) biofeedback.Lowe, F. (1994). Presentation at 1994 Society for the Study of Neuronal Regulation, Las Vegas NV.
EEG Patterns and Chronic Fatigue SyndromeKatherine M. Billiott, M.A., Thomas H. Budzynski, Ph.D., and Frank Andrasik, Ph.D. Journal of Neurotherapy, 2(2), 1997

 

10 Hz Elevations as the Core of Eyes Open Alpha in ADD, Chronic Fatigue, Depression

by Brown VW, Ph.D.

 

ABSTRACT

This presentation examines the phenomenology of the eyes open alpha demonstrated in a variety of conditions. Case review of 10 clients with mixed clinical presentation will be used to demonstrate that the core constituent of eyes open alpha elevations consists in prominent elevations at 10 Hz regardless of client presenting symptomatology.

 

 

EEG Patterns and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

by Billiot KM M.A., Budzynski TH Ph.D., Andrasik F Ph.D.

 

ABSTRACT

This study examined the relationship between EEG recordings of 28 females with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and age matched controls of the same gender. CFS subjects’ EEG recordings were also compared to their responses on the Profile of Fatigue Related Symptoms, and two questionnaires developed specifically for this study.

 

 

EEG Biofeedback as a Treatment for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Controlled Case Report [abs.]

by James LC and Folen RA

 

ABSTRACT

EEG neurofeedback has been identified as a potential diagnostic and treatment protocol with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) symptoms. In the present case study, the authors applied an EEG neurofeedback biofeedback paradigm as a treatment modality with a CFS patient. Baseline data were acquired using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised and qualitative and subjective ratings of cognitive improvement. Test results and clinical findings revealed improvements in the patient’s cognitive abilities, functional skill level, and quality of life. The patient showed significant differences in pre- and posttest levels on the Wechsler scale.

 

Fibromyaglia

 

Fibromyalgia

Research Papers

Treatment of Fibromyalgia Incorporating EEG-Driven Stimulation: A Clinical Outcomes Study [abs.]

by Mueller HH, Donaldson CC, Nelson DV, Layman M

 

ABSTRACT

Thirty patients from a private clinical practice who met the 1990 American College of Rheumatology criteria for fibromyalgia syndrome (FS) were followed prospectively through a brainwave-based intervention known as electroencephalograph (EEG)-driven stimulation or EDS. Patients were initially treated with EDS until they reported noticeable improvements in mental clarity, mood, and sleep. Self-reported pain, then, having changed from vaguely diffuse to more specifically localized, was treated with very modest amounts of physically oriented therapies. Pre- to posttreatment and extended follow-up comparisons of psychological and physical functioning indices, specific FS symptom ratings, and EEG activity revealed statistically significant improvements

 

Fibromyalgia treatment of 252 patients with Neurofeedback: http://www.drmueller-healthpsychology.com/f/Donaldson,_Sella,_Mueller,_1998.pdf

 

Neurofeedback Improves Symptoms Of Fibromyalgia In A Randomized, Controlled Study

by Fisher A PHD

 

ABSTRACT

In a recently published article in the journal, Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, researchers report that neurofeedback, a form of biofeedback, significantly improves symptoms of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). The authors devised a well thought out study that included a total of 36 patients who experienced FMS. Patient were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups: 18 in a neurofeedback group and 18 in an Escitalopram (i.e., Lexipro) group.

 

 

Neurofeedback Intervention in Fibromyalgia Syndrome; a Randomized, Controlled, Rater Blind Clinical Trial [abs.]

by Kayran S, Dursun E, Dursun N, Ermutlu N, Karamürsel S

 

ABSTRACT

We designed a randomized, rater blind study to assess the efficacy of EEG Biofeedback (Neurofeedback-NFB) in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Eighteen patients received twenty sessions of NFB-sensory motor rhythm (SMR) treatment (NFB group) during 4 weeks, and eighteen patients were given 10 mg per day escitalopram treatment (control group) for 8 weeks.

 

 

 

Chronic Lyme

 

Lyme Disease

Research Papers

EEG Biofeedback in the Treatment of Lyme Disease: A Case Study

by Packard RC M.D. and Ham LP M.A.

 

 

Neurofeedback and Lyme’s Disease: A Clinical Application of the Five Phase Model of CNS Functional Transformation and Integration

by Brown VW Ph.D.

 

 

The Sleep Rescue: How to Restore Optimal Sleep and Wake up Feeling Energized

Sleep is the new status symbol-and for good reason.

Non-restorative sleep, feeling groggy in the morning and needing an alarm or coffee to wake up, is a problem that dramatically affects how you feel and function every day and modern medicine has no good cure.  

Pills have scary side effects and new research is proving that they can even age your brain faster if you don’t deal with the core problem.

Non-Restorative Sleep & Daytime Fatigue Symptoms

  • Struggling to get out of bed in the morning
  • Needing to use waking up to horrible alarms
  • Needing coffee in the morning to feel human
  • Feeling groggy and cranky in the morning
  • Afternoon energy crash at 4pm, zero energy to finish your workday, or go to the gym.
  • Struggles enjoying your day, your work, and your favourite people
  • Chronic low energy and fatigue symptoms with all medical tests coming back as ‘normal’
  • Belly fat that doesn’t budge and carb cravings
  • Low stress tolerance

Brainwave Dysfunction Patterns of Sleep Problems

If you can relate to these things, you are suffering from an imbalance in your brain’s natural daily rhythm and ability to wind down the brain for deep sleep and rest.

The Hyperarousal Effect can explain insomnia by looking at HPA (hypothalamic pituitary adrenal) axis dysfunction from a brain level.

Modern lifestyles involving excess screen time, hectic work schedules + poor diets over years have led to dysregulated brains and nervous systems in huge numbers in western populations.

The hardest part about having sleep issues is that they are ‘invisible’ problems and most people suffer in silence for years.   

It’s something that most doctors can’t help you with except to offer sleeping pills, and you can’t change it with willpower.

But you can take control over back, get energized again and restore healthy sleep so you can spring out of bed in the morning looking forward to your day, and have the mental clarity and energy to do the fun stuff you’ve been missing out on!

They key to understanding chronic insomnia, non restorative sleep and other sleeping issues is that this is not just an ‘at nighttime’ issue, it is a disorder related to a 24-hr hyperarousal or ‘no off switch’ on a brain level that has both daytime and nighttime brain differences involved vs. people who sleep deeply without sleep aids and wake up refreshed.

Healing sleep issues starts by changing some of these key brain and nervous system patterns, like the ones we can see on an EEG brainmap.

 

Higher P3 v.s P4 in alpha. This is another brain marker of chronic insomnia and often seen in people who are light sleepers and have daytime fatigue

 

 

 

 

High Posterior Beta Wave activity. The brain cannot shut down and turn off thoughts for sleep time

 

 

Low Powered Brainmaps. This is a pattern seen often in people who have chronic fatigue and low energy from years of sleeping issues.   The brain can no longer make enough energy to keep up during the day.

Neurofeedback & Neuromeditation For Sleep

In sleep problems, the brain has lost the ability to shift into the correct state for sleep due to chronic stress, environment, food and/or genetic factors.  

Neurofeedback is the quickest evidence based way to help you to restore your natural sleep rhythms without the side effects of sleeping pills (which do not actually restore normal sleep).

It works by training brain control and flexibility and also specific protocols proven to restore normal sleep from chronic insomnia so you can make a smooth transition in the brain and body from activation to rest naturally each evening.   

‘Sleep Reset Training’

The problem with mind body techniques like relaxation and meditation you’ve tried before to help you sleep and failed is that they are too general and self-directed, which often doesn’t work well if you suffer from insomnia and you have brain hyperarousal.  

We use a specific graduated holistic strategy to restore normal sleep at UltraResilience.

Eating For Sleep

If you are eating at the wrong times & eating the wrong combinations of foods it will be much harder to fall asleep before midnight.  

Eating late at night is one of the most common sleep mistakes with food because often we work late and by the time we eat, it’s 8pm or later and this shoots up cortisol before bedtime keeping you wired.

You can increase the brain’s sleep hormones production from a neurochemical level with specific medicinal foods, supplements and herbal combinations that help support the production of GABA the brain calming neurotransmitter as well as specific amino acids such as L- theanine, calming adaptogens and sedative-hypnotic herbs in small amount such as chinese skullcap, passionflora and california poppy.

 

3 Quick Tips to Start Sleeping Better

  1. Shut off all screens 3 hrs before bed (and if you must look at a screen, wear good quality blue-blocking glasses, including smart phones, laptops and tvs since the blue light disrupts melatonin increases
  2. Wind down your mind before sleep with a breath-focused meditation done sitting up for 10-15 minutes.  A racing mind is the most common cause of not being able to fall asleep normally.
  3. Take a total caffeine holiday for 2 weeks-including coffee in the morning as some people are slow metabolisers and combined with a busy mind, even 1-2 cups in the morning can fragment your deep sleep, even though it won’t affect getting to sleep.

 

Neurofeedback and Insomnia Research

There are dozens of studies on neurofeedback to help re-regulate sleep patterns in the brain without drugs.  

  • Bell, J. S. (1979). The use of EEG theta biofeedback in the treatment of a patient with sleep-onset insomnia.Biofeedback & Self Regulation, 4(3), 229-236.
  • Berner, I., Schabus, M., Wienerroither, T., & Klimesch, W. (2006).The significance of sigma neurofeedback training on sleep spindles and aspects of declarative memory. Applied Psychophysiology & Biofeedback, 31(2), 97-114.
  • Feinstein, B., Sterman, M. B., & MacDonald, L. R. (1974). Effects of sensorimotor rhythm training on sleep. Sleep Research, 3, 134.
  • Hoedlmoser, K., Pecherstorfer, T., Gruber, E., Anderer, P., Doppelmayr, M., Klimesch, W., & Schabus, M. (2008).  Instrumental conditioning of human sensorimotor rhythm (12-15 Hz) and its impact on sleep as well as declarative learning.  Sleep, 31(10), 1401-1408.
  • Mills, G. K., & Solyom, L. (1974). Biofeedback of EEG alpha in the treatment of obsessive ruminations [affecting sleep]: An exploration. Journal of Behaviour Therapy & Experimental Psychiatry, 5, 37-41.

Neurofeedback and Insomnia Research

  • https://www.zotero.org/groups/80298/items/collectionKey/9TBDT2WN/itemKey/HNK6VH8I/itemPage/2
  • http://www.indianjpsychiatry.org/article.asp?issn=0019-5545;year=2012;volume=54;issue=4;spage=359;epage=366;aulast=Sharma
  • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23574290
  • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22967281
  • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10617175
  • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10617175
  • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23594033
  • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23583625

 

The Secret to Peak Mental Performance Under Pressure

We work longer hours than previous generations, push our brains and bodies harder, all while being exposed to toxic environmental and lifestyle factors that can seriously affect mental and physical performance including:

  • Memory
  • focus & drive
  • Low Energy
  • Premature Aging
  • Hormone balance & Libido (for both men and women)

Hack Your Brain, Hack Life by Managing Brain Stress

Here’s the thing: we can’t escape stress.  It’s just not a possibility even if you went to live on a remote desert island, there will always be some trigger for stress because ‘stress’ as we feel it is actually in our brain (this is what we can change!) vs. ‘stressors’ are out there in the environment (these we have no or less control over).

When you decrease brain stress, it has huge rewards for:

  • Improving Focus
  • Improving memory
  • Enhancing Motivation
  • Working  better under pressure
  • Having ALL Day Energy without afternoon crashes

Turning Bad Stress Into Good Stress

It’s all about shifting your spot on the Curve called The Yerkes Dodson Law.  

This was discovered in 1908 and tells us that we need some level of stress to perform at our mental and physical peak, but if the stress (in the brain) becomes too hard to handle, it turns into ‘toxic’ or bad stress and hampers our performance (ie it starts getting into burnout territory).

 

So Bad Stress —  overwhelms the brain and body’s ability to cope, leads to burnout, fatigue, anxiety, sleep disruption and health problems, and inflammation

Vs. Good Stress —  helps you adapt, enhances your resilience, called ‘EUSTRESS’

We can actually shift how much stress we can handle effectively by working on a brain level with how the brain copes and processes stressors, shifting our spot on the curve.  

In other words we want to make more Good Stress to Become Ultra Resilient and to perform at our peak and thrive in modern life.

Unique Issues for Men & Performance

Men are  different from women when it comes to the best supplements, neuronutrition and hacks that support mens health and hormone balance and prevent low testosterone, one of the things that even in mild forms can have a dramatic effect on men’s energy levels, mental focus and clarity, mood, libido and body fat percentage.  

And despite what you may have heard, most men don’t need testosterone pills or shots to boost their levels without the potential dangers and side effects (ie infertility, mood swings etc) of testosterone injections/pills.

Unique issues For Women & Performance

Women’s hormone balance is also affected by stress and feeds back into affecting our mental clarity, emotional balance and stress tolerance levels and for women this balance changes at different times in our menstrual cycle.  (Read more about women’s hormones and stress resilience here).

How to Hack Brain Stress

We used to think we were stuck with the abilities our genes gave us and that the effects of stress are unavoidable, so unless we have time to meditate hours a day or quit corporate life it’s something we have to live with.  

The truth is, with modern brain science and neuronutrition as well as advanced brain neuro supplements that are made in high tech labs but are natural brain boosters, we can overcome flaws in our genes, perform better under high stress and pressure and enhance performance without giving up your city life and fast-paced lifestyle that is the reality for many of us.   

Poor Focus & Concentration Have Specific Brain Signatures

Many people have experienced symptoms such as poor focus/attention, mental fatigue, low drive/motivation, increasingly bad hangovers as they age and inability to function consistently at your peak under pressure.

We can see these issues on brainmaps.

 

 

Low posterior Theta waves: This signature is a common signature seen in ADHD.

 

 

 

 

High Frontal Alpha: High alpha at the front of the head is a a sign of the executive centres / idling and not being active.

 

 

 

Low beta wave activity: Low beta,  especially at the front of the head, is another indicator that the brain is having activating and focusing problems.

 

 

 

 

In addition, High Theta to Beta ratio and high High Delta to Beta ratio are also common poor concentration markers.

Neurofeedback Studies for Enhancing Cognitive Performance Metrics

These above patterns causing poor concentration are all brainwave patterns that can be changed using a combination of targeted brain nootropic supplements (ie ‘stacking’ or ‘brainhacking’, mindbody techniques and food based programs and neurofeedback brainwave training.

Problems with focus and concentration are just a ‘final common pathway’ and some people have different patterns causing these issues that need to be addressed from a brain level, which is now possible to do directly in ‘real time’ with neurofeedback brain training.

Mind-Wandering

Canadian Researchers led by Dr. Tomas Ros wanted to see if neurofeedback would affect mind-wandering–the brain’s irritating tendency to get distracted and decrease focus (Ros et al., 2012).  And it turns out it did—big time.  

After a 30-minute session of alpha-wave training, participants displayed better cognitive discipline compared to a control condition that was given false feedback. After the training those who’d received neurofeedback had enhanced performance on a test of attention. Supporting Research

Improved Memory

Neurofeedback has been proven to enhance memory through multiple effects on the brain’s learning and memory centre such as decreasing cortisol in the hippocampus, the centre for learning and memory and increasing the brains capacity to retain and categorize information and consolidate old and new memories. Supporting Research

Enhanced IQ

Neurofeedback has been proven to increase grade scores and IQ scores and the ability to learn new things faster with better retention. Supporting Research

Enhanced Problem Solving Under Pressure

Ros et al. (2009) gave ophthalmic micro-surgeons eight 20-minute neurofeedback sessions, then tested them against those not given the training. After the neurofeedback training, surgeons were more accurate AND also 26% quicker.  So not only did they get more precise they also were able to do it faster. Supporting Research

Adult symptoms of ADD/ADHD & Concentration

Neurofeedback helps you work better, for longer with more mental clarity and conquer attentional problems & ADHD.  Training can increase a particular brainwave frequency seen in elite athletes, professional speakers and other peak performers’ called the Sensory Motor Rhythm, or SMR or ‘low beta’ and reduces excess ‘high beta’ which is detrimental to concentration and focus.  

Training the brain towards increasing alpha + theta in neuromeditation sessions heals the sympathetic overdrive in the limbic system and hippocampus memory centres for better memory.Supporting Research

Neurofeedback is now recognized as a category A treatment for  ADHD by the AMA (American Medical Association). Dozens of published studies in mainstream medical journals in both Europe and North America on the use of neurofeedback for ADHD have shown impressive results, including long term major academic performance and better grades, improved school and home behaviour and impulse control, anxiety, learning disabilities, reading comprehension, math skills, and social skills that last years after the final session of neurofeedback training.

Neurofeedback works for focus and concentration by adjusting neural networks that control attention processes and then change the way these networks work so that the changes last.  

This is done through a process involving long term potentiation into stable (attractor) states within specific brain networks and areas.

Neurofeedback also creates in the brain an enhanced capacity to regulate ‘state changes’ and gated neural signals between brain attentional control areas, much like the operant learning process of learning to ride a bike only on a more complex level.  

Basically it gives you more control of your mental and physical states over time and ability to ‘self regulate’ and ‘self correct’ after a stressor.

3 Tips to Start Handling Brain Stress Better for Mental Performance

  1. Plan your workday in advance and avoid checking email or messenger apps first thing.  Don’t let your email inbox dictate your workflow, as this leads to fragmented focus, increased stress on the brain due to multitasking and prevents ‘deep work.’
  2. Build mini-meditation 1 minute breaks into your workday to do a quick ‘brain reset.’ Start with a simple breath-focused meditation and use a watch vibration alert as a reminder, add up how many you do in a workday-aim for 5 or more.
  3. Avoid the caffeine-alcohol cycle-ie coffee to perk up in the mid-afternoon followed by a glass of wine to ‘relax’ after work every day disrupts both your deep non REM sleep (caffeine) and decreases your REM dreaming sleep (alcohol) both of which lead to reduced stress tolerance and impaired cognition, problem solving and EQ the next day.  

Want to take your Mental Performance to the Next Level and Feel Great All the Time Not Just after a Vacation?  Book a free call with our experts to see how we can help.