What is Biofeedback?: Part One

Your body talks to you. 

The pain you feel. The energy you have or don’t have. How you feel after a meal. 

These are some of the ways your body is communicating with you. Oftentimes these signs and signals are ignored or brushed off as “normal.” The body knows when something is off and wants to get back to its neutral, thriving state. 

The body provides biofeedback on a number of areas:

• Sleep

• Stress

• Digestion 

• Soreness

• Blood Glucose

• Hunger levels

• Energy levels

• Menstruation

Not only do these areas play a role in how we feel, they influence physical progress.

Let’s talk a bit about a few and why they’re important. 

Sleep

Sleep affects everything. Your body will tell you when it’s craving sleep. The best thing to do is to honor it – go to sleep when you feel tired. 

When sleep suffers, so does our gut, mind and body. Someone with little sleep could be gaining weight, experiencing anxiety, having low energy, hitting a plateau in the gym, etc. Refer back to our article about sleep for how to optimize your sleep.

Stress

Are you constantly stressed? When stress is high, especially for long periods of time, it can negatively impact digestion, sleep, hunger, performance and recovery. Stress will cause these areas to fluctuate and your body will tell you. 

When in this state it’s possible that: your digestion will be off, sleep won’t be great, you won’t be as hungry, you won’t be able to lift as much and you’ll tend to be sore for longer periods of time. 

Remember to manage stress both proactively and reactively. Make time for the things that help you decompress. Aim to include at least one thing a day – examples include practicing yoga, nature walks, journaling and meditation. 

Digestion

This is a HUGE one. How do you feel after a meal? Do you feel satisfied and full, or stuffed and crampy? Do you feel energized?

Pay attention to what foods make you feel certain ways. Do you have bloating, acid reflux, indigestion, etc?  What makes you feel good and bad?

Are you having daily bowel movements? If not you may need more protein and/or fiber. It’s a sign that your body needs a change.

This is the process of being in tune and mindful with your body. 

Water is also a huge aspect with digestion. It undoubtedly aids in digestion. However, too much water during a meal can have the opposite effect. 

Digestion actually starts in the mouth due to saliva containing digestive enzymes. As you swallow, the food continues to be broken down while traveling to the stomach. Chugging water while eating means your saliva doesn’t get to do its job. 

It carries food to your stomach in bigger than ideal pieces. This causes the stomach to work harder and use more energy. Digestion then struggles. 

Soreness/Recovery

Are you sore every day or every week? Especially after a workout? This is a sign that what you’re doing currently isn’t serving your body.

You might need to manage the volume and intensity of your workouts. Are you incorporating rest days? Your recovery ties into hormones, sleep, your hunger levels and energy. Poor recovery means these things will suffer too. 

Takeaways

We will cover blood glucose, hunger levels, energy levels and menstruation in part two. 

In the meantime, it’s crucial to highlight how these areas are intertwined. If even one becomes imbalanced, the others will feel the negative impact. These signs, symptoms and signals are always tied to something beneath the surface. 

YOU are capable of making changes and improvements to help aid your body’s functions. 

Listen to your biofeedback. Your body wants you to listen. Make changes, be proactive and live freely.