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. 2023 Feb;20(1):61-66.
doi: 10.36131/cnfioritieditore20230108.

Intensive Neurofeedback Protocol: An Alpha Training to Improve Sleep Quality and Stress Modulation in Health Care Professionals During the Covid-19 Pandemic. A Pilot Study

Beatrice Benatti  1   2 , Nicolaja Girone  1 , Dario Conti  1 , Laura Celebre  3 , Monica Macellaro  1 , Laura Molteni  1   4 , Matteo Vismara  1 , Monica Bosi  1 , Anna Colombo  1 , Bernardo Dell'Osso  1   2   5   6
Affiliations

Intensive Neurofeedback Protocol: An Alpha Training to Improve Sleep Quality and Stress Modulation in Health Care Professionals During the Covid-19 Pandemic. A Pilot Study

Beatrice Benatti et al. Clin Neuropsychiatry. 2023 Feb.

Abstract

Objective: health care workers (HCWs) represent a vulnerable group in the COVID-19 pandemic, given the exposure to greater risk and higher levels of work-related stress. Neurofeedback (NF) has shown to be effective in the treatment of stress-related symptoms. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of an alpha-increase NF protocol for the treatment of acute stress symptoms in HCWs exposed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method: eighteen medical doctors on duty during the COVID-19 health emergency underwent an intensive NF alpha-increase protocol. The mean alpha wave values were recorded at the beginning (T0) and at the last day of stimulation (T1). Rapid Stress Assessment: Italian version; Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI); Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Brief-COPE were administered as psychometric assessment.

Results: a significant increase in alpha wave values and a significant reduction of the PSQI scores from T0 to T1 were found.

Conclusions: NF alpha-increase protocol showed promising results in terms of stress modulation, sleep quality improvement, and safety in a pilot sample of HCWs.

Keywords: Covid-19; alpha-increase protocol; health care workers; neurofeedback; sleep quality; stress.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: BB has received lecture honoraria from Lundbeck and Janssen. BDO has received lecture honoraria from Angelini, Janssen, Lundbeck, Livanova, Arcapharma, and Neuraxpharm.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Comparison of alpha waves between registration phases
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Comparison of psychometric questionnaires between T0 and T1
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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