CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — Cracking the code to wellness is now costing Americans $1.8 trillion annually.
For the average American, that breaks down to more than $5,300 per year.
Those numbers come from the Global Wellness Summit's 2024 trends report.
The report also shows that the global wellness economy, which generated $5.6 trillion in 2022, will continue to surge and reach $8.5 trillion within the next three years.
A driver of those staggering stats is ‘biohacking,’ which is the term for do-it-yourself biology.
It has generated 951 million views on TikTok and over on Google, there's been a 900% increase in searches for ‘biohacking.’
"The way that i like to describe it is using what we know about biology to help us become better versions of ourselves," said Britney Cirillo with Alternative Therapeutics.
‘Biohacking’ can be anything from using a smartwatch to track our heart rate to jumping in an ice bath and neuro-feedback therapy.
The idea behind neuro-feedback therapy is that we can essentially re-train our brain to tackle mental health issues like depression, anxiety, trauma, and OCD, which Emily Dean suffered from for about a decade.
"Was pretty afraid to even leave my house alone. At my worst, I was unable to care for my physical health," said Dean.
Dean ultimately needed to check into the hospital as her mental health declined.
After being discharged, she discovered neurofeedback therapy.
"It completely changed my life," said Dean.
Dean said the sessions at Alternative Therapeutics in Cuyahoga Falls provided relief that medications and traditional therapies could not.
"We're not your average counseling practice," said Cirillo.
Cirillo uses neurofeedback therapy to balance electrical activity in a patient's brain, regulating delta, theta, alpha, and beta levels.
"If any of those brainwaves are being overproduced or underproduced, that will correlate with symptoms that the client is experiencing," said Cirillo.
The goal is to essentially retrain the brain using operant conditioning, a learning process in which voluntary behaviors are rewarded.
"We tell the brain to do a certain thing when it does that certain thing, they're rewarded instantly by that video game that they're playing," Cirillo.
I was so interested in how it works that Cirillo gave me a taste of a typical session.
My goal was to keep the flames of a fire burning bright and the sound of the crackling strong while playing a game on a tablet.
Cirillo was checking to make sure my brain was in an ideal zone.
I only sat there with the tablet for a short time, but a typical therapy session lasts about 20 minutes.
"And so, with more and more practice, the brain starts to recognize what it's supposed to do and it reinforces that pathway, strengthens it to the point that that's their new normal," said Cirillo.
Despite gaining popularity during this ‘biohacking craze,’ neurofeedback therapy is still considered experimental.
"I think it's an interesting phenomenon," said Dr. Robert Lufkin with the USC School of Medicine.
Lufkin said regulating the brain could give people better outcomes when it comes to their mental health.
"I think in my opinion, this can have beneficial effects on an individual," said Lufkin.
Lufkin said regardless of what form of ‘biohacking’ people choose, it's shifting the balance of the doctor-patient relationship.
"It's certainly exploding in recent years, and I think it reflects the fact that all of us as, as patients are taking control of our own health," said Lufkin.
Dean is beyond grateful she gained control.
"Neurofeedback therapy and Alternative Therapeutics saved my life," said Dean.
After completing 20 sessions five years ago, Dean has been able to maintain her progress with a few booster sessions, along with some tools to help her navigate the world.
A world that, for years, Dean navigated with crippling fear.
"Before neurofeedback I was afraid to go to the grocery store alone. Last year, I went to California alone. That is something that I never thought would be possible for me," said Dean.
With insurance companies still considering neurofeedback therapy experimental it is not covered.
However, Cirillo said many of her clients have success when they submit for out of network reimbursement.
On average, people will need about 20 sessions to get the end results they're looking for.
