HS 395 FBF - Train Your Brain, Transform Your Life with Nicky VanValkenburgh
7 Dec 2025 · 21 min
Podcast episode (Flashback Friday edition of the Holistic Survival Show) featuring Nicky VanValkenburgh discussing non-drug treatment for ADHD via a home neurofeedback/brain-training system. VanValkenburgh presents a 60-day, 12-session protocol (sensory-motor rhythm / "rhythm of peak performance"), contrasts it with pharmaceutical treatments (Ritalin, Adderall, etc.), cites clinical origins and academic work (UCLA, Lubar), and offers a commercial product (Alert Brain Training System) and a book (Train Your Brain, Transform Your Life). The episode also critiques widespread ADHD diagnosis and pharmaceutical industry incentives.
Questions this episode answers
Train Your Brain, Transform Your Life: Conquer ADHD in 60 Days Without Ritalin.
60 days (12 sessions, each repeated five times).
Headphones, LED-light eyeglasses, a control box with preprogrammed sessions, carrying case, AC adapter, and spare battery (Alert Brain Training System).
$395 (with a 30-day money-back guarantee and financing option mentioned).
www.trainyourbraintransformyourlife.com.
Chapters
This show is produced by the Hartman Media Company. For more information and links to all our great podcasts, visit hartmanmedia.com welcome to this week's edition of Flashback Friday. Your opportunity to get some good review by listening to episodes from the past.
That Jason has hand picked to help.
You today in the present and propel you into the future. Enjoy.
Welcome to the Holistic Survival show with Jason Hartman. The economic storm brewing around the world is set to speak into all aspects of our lives. Are you prepared? Where are you going to turn for the critical life skills necessary to survive and prosper? The Holistic Survival show is your family's insurance for a better life. Jason will teach you to think independently, to understand threats and how to create the ultimate action plan. Sudden change or worst case scenario, you'll be ready. Welcome to Holistic Survival, your key resource for protecting the people, places and profits you care about in uncertain times. Ladies and gentlemen, your host, Jason Hartman.
Welcome to the Holistic Survival Show. This is your host, Jason Hartman, where we talk about protecting the people, places and profits you care about in these uncertain times. We have a great interview for you today and we will be back with that in less than 60 seconds on the Holistic Survival Show. And by the way, be sure to visit our website at Holistic Survival. You can subscribe to Our blog, which is totally free, has loads of great information and there's just a lot of good content for you on the site. So make sure you take advantage of that@holisticsurvival.com we'll be right back.
What's great about the shows you'll find on jasonhartman.com is that if you want to learn about investing in and managing income properties for college students, there's a show for that. If you want to learn how to get noticed online and in social media, there's a show for that. If you want to know how to save on life's largest expense, there's a show for that. And if you'd like to know about America's crime of the century, there's even a show for that. Yep, there's a show for just about anything only from jasonhartman.com or type in Jason Hartman in the iTunes store.
My pleasure to welcome Niki Van Valkenburgh to the show. She is the author of Train youn Brain, Transform youm life, conquer ADHD in 60 days without Ritalin. And if you've listened to some of my prior episodes, I know you are aware that I think our society is massively overdosed and over diagnosed on These various drugs. So we've got another expert to talk about this again today on a specific segment of it. Nikki, welcome. How are you?
Thanks, Jason. Glad to talk to you today. It's a real important topic.
It is a very important topic. There's no question. Well, tell us about the problem, first of all, and let's go into the causes and then the solutions.
Okay, well, USA Today newspaper says that six out of every ten people have attention Deficit Disorder with or without hyperactivity, and it's called adhd. And most people take prescription meds like Ritalin or Adderall. But there's another way to tackle ADHD without taking drugs, and this is brain training. And my book describes a method of brain training that's currently used in clinics across the country. It's very popular. It's clinically tested and very effective. And now you can do it in the comfort of your own home. You can train your brain to conquer ADHD at home. And that saves you, of course, time, energy, and money.
So my first question is, I've got to just differ. I mean, this USA Today thing, six out of 10 people, is that what it was?
Yeah.
I mean, Nikki, doesn't it just blow your mind? Are people. Is our society really this sick? I mean, what happened the last five to 40,000 years before this? Was everybody just walking around with a zillion problems that were undiagnosed, or are we just. Are we just making a symptom for everything so these pharmaceutical companies can unload a bunch of overpriced drugs on people?
Well, you know, the American Psychological association, apa, they published this definition for Attention Deficit disorder in their handbook. It's called the DSM 4. They have the DSM 5, the DSM 6. They publish it every year. And when they publish a definition in that book, that makes it legitimate for insurance agencies to bill, and doctors and psychologists, psychiatrists can actually prescribe drugs for anything listed. So once they came up with that definition for Attention Deficit hyperactivity disorder, that just opened the door for everybody getting all kinds of drugs for this condition.
When did it come about? When did they invent adhd? And you notice I said invent, not discover, right? There's a distinction there. When did they invent adhd?
Well, at first, ADHD had something. They called it minimal brain disorder, and that was in the late 60s. Then in the 70s, the definition changed, and they were kind of experimenting with it. But one thing, now it's called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. And that's kind of an umbrella term it could be attention deficit by itself, or it could be attention deficit hyperactivity or a combined type. So now it's kind of an umbrella term, but there's a. She's an allelopathic physician, Dr. Mary Ann Block, and she made a very good point and she said this term, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This was come up with by a bunch of doctors and psychiatrists sitting around a roundtable and just coming up with a working definition.
There's no blood test for this. There's nothing to substantiate that a person really does have this. So it's not like diabetes or something like that that you can quantitatively measure. This is a list of symptoms and that's what we're working with today.
Unbelievable. So these symptoms have probably always existed, I'm sure, throughout history, and suddenly there's something that needs to be diagnosed. Okay, so Ritalin, is that the only drug that is for ADHD or isn't Adderall for that too?
Right. Adderall is the most popular drug on the market day. That's one that is most highly prescribed. Of course, there's Ritalin, there's Concerta, there's intuitive, Stratura, a lot of drugs. They're basically all amphetamines. These are very dangerous drugs. They're on the chemical level, they're on the same level as cocaine. And the center for Disease Control, the fda, they've published many reports of overdoses, accidental deaths of recalls on the medicine because it caused psychotic problems. Even the Columbine killings in the schools, the shootings a couple of years ago, those kids were on Ritalin and some reason it caused psychosis. And actually psychosis is one of the side effects listed in the Physician's Desk Reference. This is already documented, but this is a multi billion dollar industry. That's why there's a lot of money to be made on the advertisements on the pharmaceutical end, on the doctor's end. But of course there's also a lot of problems with it. And that's why I'm telling people about brain training now. Attention deficit high activity disorder. If a person has these symptoms and they're doing fine at work, they're doing okay at school, then fine, you probably don't need to do anything. But a child who is struggling to make it through school, they read a book, they can't remember what they read, they're having test anxiety. An adult that is having trouble concentrating, focusing, being productive during the day, if you're having those problems, you probably want to do something about it. But what I'm saying is don't take drugs. Don't go that route. Go the natural route, which is brain training. This is a natural way to boost the serotonin and dopamine levels in your brain. It provides oxygen and blood flow to the brain. And it actually is a way to train your brain with a rhythm that was discovered by a neuroscientist at UCLA back in the late 60s. This has been tested, it's been documented, and it's very effective. Now you can do this in just 20 minutes a day. So I'd like to tell people this is a very easy way. This is a lazy man's way to conquer attention deficit.
Yeah, yeah. Well, okay, so maybe we'll have a couple of moments after we talk about how to train one's brain to talk about the problems of these drugs, because people need to understand how serious these and powerful these drugs are. But I think a lot of our listeners probably already believe that because they're smart and because we've done other shows on that topic. But these, these drugs are bad news. Fol. I think they're really bad news. You know, I'm not a doctor, but that is my becoming, my very strong opinion that these drugs are very bad news. But let's talk first about how do you do it in 22 minutes a day? How do you train your brain?
What I have is a home based neurofeedback system. And the protocol was discovered by Dr. Barry Sherman at UCLA. It was originally found in feral cats. It was later found to be effective with his lab assistant who had epilepsy. And then later the protocol was taken over by Joel and Judith Lubar, two psychology professors at University of Tennessee. And they took this protocol and were testing it with learning disabled children and had remarkable results. I mean, children getting out of special ed, out of resource, back into the normal classroom, finishing high school, going on to college, and never needing drugs again. This is a very natural way to boost the neurotransmitters in your brain and to increase blood flow and oxygen to the brain and actually retrain your brain so that you can conquer attention deficit disorder.
So how does one do it? Do they just breathe deeply and meditate? I mean, what's.
No, we have actual equipment. The equipment is a pair of headphones and some special eyeglasses and a little control box with programmed sessions. And the little box is about the size of a cell phone. So you put on the headphones, you put on the eyeglasses, you lay back on your bed, you flip the switch on the control box and you just close your eyes and relax and you'll see some mild flashing lights and you'll hear some heartbeat sounds. And what you're seeing and hearing is actually the rhythm of peak performance. It's the rhythm of a person who's optimally listening, focusing, tuning out distractions, getting organized and being productive. It's that person that we all want to be and, and doing these sessions, just 22 minutes a day, we're actually practicing them. And we'll practice them until we've mastered them. And then once we've mastered them, it becomes an automatic response.
The scientific name, I call it the rhythm of peak performance because that's the outcome. But the scientific name is the sensory motor rhythm because it's a rhythm that deals with the sensory motor rhythm part of the brain, our brain waves. If you have adhd, your brain waves may be too fast, they may be hyperactive, or they may be sluggish, they may be too slow. But if it's too fast or too slow, this protocol teaches you a brainwave rhythm that's even keeled and stable. It's not too fast, it's not too slow, but it's just right. And it teaches you this beta brainwave rhythm, the sensory motor rhythm, so that you can actually maintain that and create new neural pathways in your brain so that your brain won't go the ADHD route that distracted struggling to concentrate and focus, but instead go this new route which is the rhythm of peak performance or the sensory motor rhythm.
And how long does it take to learn this?
Well, we have a 60 day protocol. You do one session for five days, then you go on to the next one. You do that five days, then you go on to the next one. So there are 12 sessions, you do them five times each for a total of 60 days.
Every session works on a different part of the brain. Like some sessions work to calm, other sessions work to wake up to make you more alert. And then we blend the left brain, the right brain for every second of the one before it. But the end result is that you're practicing the sensory motor rhythm so you can master it so it becomes an automatic response.
And so I assume the hardest part about training your brain with this method is sticking with it and being consistent. I mean, it's really something someone has to do versus taking a pill, which is common thing that our culture recommends.
Well, it's actually a very enjoyable therapy. It's kind of like getting a massage. It's just incredibly relaxing.
You'll see Some mild flashing lights and you'll hear this heartbeat sound, but it's an incredibly relaxing rhythm. And most people have the sensation of going under an anesthetic or falling asleep. So you're taking kind of a 22 minute cat nap. And then when the sounds gradually taper off and stop, that's when you wake up and you can go back.
So when someone buys this course, what do they get? What type of. You said there was equipment. What type of equipment?
Yeah. Well, you get the headphones and you get some special eyeglasses with LED lights in it and you get a little control box with pre programmed sessions. And the control box is about the size of a cell phone. And the protocol is 12 sessions that you do five times each for a total of 60 days. And then there's some extra sessions. Like there's an insomnia session, there's a brain brightener session, and there's an extra session for depression, just some extra ones. There's a Schumann residence session built in there. So it's a great little machine.
Yeah, so it does some other stuff and has some other uses too. I was going to ask you about that. So yeah, I've seen those types of glasses before and you know, a lot of them claim to help you with concentration and things like that. Do they have even more uses than the ones you mentioned?
Well, actually the system is part of the Health Canada initiative. So if anyone lives in Canada, you can walk into any doctor's office in Canada, tell them you have adhd, depression, anxiety, panic attacks or even post traumatic stress disorder. You can have this device covered by your insurance bylaw. It's a Class 2 medical device and it's part of the Health Canada initiative. We don't have that in the United States, but I've written a little report information for your doctor. You can download it free from my website and take it to your doctor. Maybe you can get this covered too. Just check it out.
Yeah, good stuff. How much does it cost?
Well, I have my book which is $24.99. My book is Train youn Brain, Transform youm Life, conquer ADHD in 60 days without redlining. And then the brain training system is called the Alert Brain Training System. And like I said, it comes with the glasses, the headphones and the control box, a carrying case and an AC adapter for your wall and then an extra little battery if you want to go mobile with it. The brain Training system is 395 and we have a 30 day money back guarantee. And we also have a program Called Bill Me Later. So if you pay on the Internet with PayPal, you have up to one year to pay for it without interest. So really that comes out to about $40 a month if you want to divide up the payment.
Right, right. And this you can use for years and years and years, which the bottle of those rotten pills that are messing up your body and head. Those you have to keep getting them replenished.
Right, right, right. Yeah. It's really a great system. And anybody who is holistic, interested in natural health, this is a much, much better alternative. It's a safer alternative. You know, there's a book out and it's Dr. Peter Bregan and it's called Talking Back to Ritalin.
We had Peter on the show, by the way. Have you read that? Oh, no, no, I haven't read the book, but I had Peter on the show and then, and he interviewed me on his show as well.
He's well known, he showed in his book that if you take Ritalin, you won't experience a long term improvement in your ability to pay attention, concentrate and focus. That pill only lasts as long as you take it. The next morning you're right back to where you started. There is no long term benefit in taking this drug.
It's just.
A fix, just quickly hit the disadvantages. Talk to us about the evils of Ritalin, Adderall, those types of drugs.
Right. Well, Ritalin turns you into a zombie. Your eyes are going to glaze over. And that sounds really strange, but it really does happen. You're going to be under the influence of a drug. Studies have found that it causes ocd, obsessive compulsive disorder. It makes you crazy, it stunts the growth of children, it has irreversible side effects like heart damage. And the whole ADHD Ritalin movement, it's fueled by a partnership between the American Psychological association and the drug companies. And that's something that Dr. Peter Breggen documented in his book Talking Back to Ridland. They came up with a way to make money and this drug was the answer. But Ritalin is a very dangerous drug. It's chemically the same as cocaine. It's an amphetamine. There are different types of ADHD drugs. Adderall, Concerta, Stratura, intuitive. But they're all amphetamines. They're all in that amphetamine family. And these drugs have been responsible for deaths and injuries all over the country.
And this, there, there are so few people talking about this and I assume it's because of the vast pharmaceutical conspiracy or the way, if you want to put it another way, the pharmaceutical industrial complex. It's just amazing. I mean, when the Columbine shooting and you look at the influence of these drugs there, you look at the recent horrific shooting in the theater in Colorado and all of this stuff. The media just doesn't cover this because the drug companies advertise with them, Right?
Exactly. Yeah. Even if you watch Entertainment Tonight, they're playing drug commercials, the evening news, you see all those drug commercials. These are the people that back that program. So they're not going to report on drugs and all that and the side effects. And they may not even need training because there's more money to be made with drugs.
Unbelievable. Well, Nikki, give out your website if you would, and also tell people where they can get your book.
Okay. My book's available Amazon, barnesandnoble.com different places online. Or you can come to my website, www.trainyourbraintransformyourlife.com and if anyone has a question they want to email me, it's Nikki v elsouth.net n I c k y v ellsouth.net good.
And again, the title of the book is Train youn Brain, Transform youm Life, conquer ADHD in 60 days without Ritalin. Thank you for doing this work, Nikki. It's obviously very, very important and keep getting the word out about this.
Thank you.
Want to know what you've missed in the Creating wealth series? Well, here's your opportunity with Jason's five book set that's shows 1 through 100 through digital download. You save $288 by getting this five book set. Learn all of the advanced strategies for wealth creation. For more details, go to jasonhartman.com.
Thank you for joining us today for the holistic Survival show Protecting the people, places and profits you care about in uncertain times. Be sure to listen to our Creating wealth show which focuses on exploiting the financial and wealth creation opportunities in today's economy. Learn more at www.jasonhartman.com or search Jason Hartman on itunes. This show is produced by the Hartman Media Company offering very general guidelines and information. Opinions of guests are their own and none of the content should be considered individual advice. If you require personalized advice, please consult an appropriate professional information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
More from Jason


2482: AI Labor Displacement and the K-Shaped Housing Affordability: High-End Housing and the New Economic Divide with Adam Taggart


2482: AI Labor Displacement and the K-Shaped Housing Affordability: High-End Housing and the New Economic Divide with Adam Taggart


2480 FBF: Investor Mindset & DuckDuckGo Founder, Super Thinking Mental Models & Traction, How Any Startup Explosive Growth by Gabriel Weinberg


2480 FBF: Investor Mindset & DuckDuckGo Founder, Super Thinking Mental Models & Traction, How Any Startup Explosive Growth by Gabriel Weinberg


2478 FBF: Jim Rickards on The Death of Money, Aftermath, Currency Wars & The New Great Depression


2478 FBF: Jim Rickards on The Death of Money, Aftermath, Currency Wars & The New Great Depression


2477: Builder Profit Margins Hit 26-Year Lows and Solving the American Housing Crisis

