hermes-agent/optional-skills/health/neuroskill-bci/references/protocols.md

# NeuroSkill Guided Protocols

Over 70 mind-body practices triggered by specific biometric (EXG) signals. These
are sourced from NeuroLoop's protocol repertoire and are designed to be suggested
when the system detects specific cognitive or physiological states.

> **⚠️ Contraindication**: Wim Hof and hyperventilation-style breathwork are
> unsuitable for epilepsy_risk > 30, known cardiac conditions, or pregnancy.

---

## When to Suggest Protocols

**Always ask before starting.** Match ONE protocol to the single most salient
metric signal. Explain the metric connection to the user.

| User State | Recommended Protocol |
|------------|---------------------|
| Focus < 0.40, TBR > 1.5 | Theta-Beta Neurofeedback Anchor or Box Breathing |
| Low engagement, session start | WOOP or Pre-Task Priming |
| Relaxation < 0.30, stress_index high | Cardiac Coherence or 4-7-8 Breathing |
| Cognitive Load > 0.70 sustained | Cognitive Load Offload (Mind Dump) |
| Engagement < 0.30 for > 20 min | Novel Stimulation Burst or Environment Change |
| Flow State (focus > 0.75, engagement > 0.70) | **Do NOT interrupt — protect the session** |
| Drowsiness > 0.60, post-lunch | Ultradian Reset or Power Nap |
| FAA < 0, depression_index elevated | FAA Rebalancing |
| Low RMSSD (< 25ms) | Vagal Toning |
| High stillness + headache signals | Neck Release Sequence |
| Pre-sleep, HRV low | Sleep Wind-Down |
| Post-social-media, low mood | Envy & Comparison Alchemy |

---

## Attention & Focus Protocols

### Theta-Beta Neurofeedback Anchor
**Duration**: ~90 seconds
**Trigger**: High TBR (> 1.5) and low focus
**Instructions**:
1. Close your eyes
2. Breathe slowly — 4s inhale, 6s exhale
3. Count rhythmically from 1 to 10, matching your breath
4. Focus on the counting — if you lose count, restart from 1
5. Open your eyes after 4–5 full cycles
**Effect**: Suppresses theta dominance and lifts beta activity

### Focus Reset
**Duration**: 90 seconds
**Trigger**: Scattered engagement, difficulty settling into task
**Instructions**:
1. Close your eyes completely
2. Take 5 slow, deep breaths
3. Mentally state your intention for the next work block
4. Open your eyes and begin immediately
**Effect**: Resets attentional baseline

### Working Memory Primer
**Duration**: 3 minutes
**Trigger**: Low PAC θ-γ (theta-gamma coupling), low sample entropy
**Instructions**:
1. Breathe at theta pace: 4s inhale, 6s exhale, 2s hold
2. While breathing, do a verbal 3-back task: listen to or read a sequence
   of numbers, say which number appeared 3 positions back
3. Continue for 3 minutes
**Effect**: Lifts theta-gamma coupling and working memory engagement

### Creativity Unlock
**Duration**: 5 minutes
**Trigger**: High beta, low rel_alpha — system is too analytically locked
**Instructions**:
1. Stop all structured work
2. Let your mind wander without a goal
3. Doodle, look out the window, or listen to ambient sound
4. Don't force any outcome — just observe what arises
5. After 5 minutes, jot down any ideas that surfaced
**Effect**: Promotes alpha and theta activity for creative ideation

### Dual-N-Back Warm-Up
**Duration**: 3 minutes
**Trigger**: Low PAC θ-γ, low sample entropy
**Instructions**:
1. Read or listen to a sequence of spoken numbers
2. Track which number appeared 2 positions back (2-back)
3. If comfortable, increase to 3-back
**Effect**: Activates prefrontal cortex, lifts executive function

### Novel Stimulation Burst
**Duration**: 2–3 minutes
**Trigger**: Low APF (< 9 Hz), dementia_index > 30
**Instructions**:
1. Pick up an unusual object nearby and describe it in detail
2. Name 5 things you can see, 4 you can touch, 3 you can hear
3. Try a quick riddle or lateral thinking puzzle
**Effect**: Counters cortical slowing, raises alpha peak frequency

---

## Autonomic & Stress Regulation Protocols

### Box Breathing (4-4-4-4)
**Duration**: 2–4 minutes
**Trigger**: High BAR, high anxiety_index, acute stress
**Instructions**:
1. Inhale for 4 counts
2. Hold for 4 counts
3. Exhale for 4 counts
4. Hold for 4 counts
5. Repeat 4–8 cycles
**Effect**: Engages parasympathetic nervous system, reduces beta activity

### Extended Exhale (4-7-8)
**Duration**: 3–5 minutes
**Trigger**: Acute stress spikes, racing thoughts, high sympathetic activation
**Instructions**:
1. Exhale completely through mouth
2. Inhale through nose for 4 counts
3. Hold for 7 counts
4. Exhale through mouth for 8 counts
5. Repeat 4 cycles
**Effect**: Fastest parasympathetic trigger for acute stress

### Cardiac Coherence
**Duration**: 5 minutes
**Trigger**: Low RMSSD (< 30 ms), high stress_index
**Instructions**:
1. Breathe evenly: 5-second inhale, 5-second exhale
2. Focus on the area around your heart
3. Recall a positive memory or feeling of appreciation
4. Maintain for 5 minutes
**Effect**: Maximizes HRV, creates coherent heart rhythm pattern

### Physiological Sigh
**Duration**: 30 seconds (1–3 cycles)
**Trigger**: Rapid overwhelm, acute panic
**Instructions**:
1. Take a quick double inhale through the nose (sniff-sniff)
2. Follow with a long, slow exhale through the mouth
3. Repeat 1–3 times
**Effect**: Rapid parasympathetic activation, immediate calming

### Alpha Induction (Open Focus)
**Duration**: 5 minutes
**Trigger**: High beta, low relaxation — cannot relax
**Instructions**:
1. Soften your gaze — don't focus on any single object
2. Notice the space between and around objects
3. Expand your awareness to peripheral vision
4. Maintain this "open focus" for 5 minutes
**Effect**: Promotes alpha wave production, reduces beta dominance

### Open Monitoring
**Duration**: 5–10 minutes
**Trigger**: Low LZC (< 40 on 0-100 scale) — neural complexity too low
**Instructions**:
1. Sit comfortably with eyes closed or softly focused
2. Don't direct attention to anything specific
3. Simply notice whatever arises — thoughts, sounds, sensations
4. Let each observation pass without engagement
**Effect**: Raises neural complexity and consciousness metrics

### Vagal Toning
**Duration**: 3 minutes
**Trigger**: Low RMSSD (< 25 ms) — weak vagal tone
**Instructions**:
1. Hum a long, steady note on each exhale for 30 seconds
2. Alternatively: gargle cold water for 30 seconds
3. Repeat 3–5 times
**Effect**: Directly stimulates the vagus nerve, increases parasympathetic tone

---

## Emotional Regulation Protocols

### FAA Rebalancing
**Duration**: 5 minutes
**Trigger**: Negative FAA (right-hemisphere dominant), high depression_index
**Instructions**:
1. Think of something you're genuinely looking forward to (approach motivation)
2. Visualize yourself successfully completing a meaningful goal
3. Squeeze your left hand into a fist for 10 seconds, release
4. Repeat the visualization + left-hand squeeze 3–4 times
**Effect**: Activates left prefrontal cortex, shifts FAA positive

### Loving-Kindness (Metta)
**Duration**: 5–10 minutes
**Trigger**: Loneliness signals, shame, low mood
**Instructions**:
1. Close your eyes and think of someone you care about
2. Silently repeat: "May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be safe."
3. Extend the same wishes to yourself
4. Extend to a neutral person, then gradually to someone difficult
**Effect**: Reduces withdrawal motivation, increases positive affect

### Emotional Discharge
**Duration**: 2 minutes
**Trigger**: High bipolar_index or extreme FAA swings
**Instructions**:
1. Take 30 seconds of vigorous, fast breathing (safely)
2. Stop and take 3 slow, deep breaths
3. Do a 60-second body scan — notice where tension is held
4. Shake out your hands and arms for 15 seconds
**Effect**: Releases trapped sympathetic energy, recalibrates

### Havening Touch
**Duration**: 3–5 minutes
**Trigger**: Acute distress, trauma activation, overwhelming anxiety
**Instructions**:
1. Gently stroke your arms from shoulder to elbow, palms down
2. Rub your palms together slowly
3. Gently touch your forehead, temples
4. Continue for 3–5 minutes while breathing slowly
**Effect**: Disrupts amygdala-cortex encoding loop, reduces distress

### Anxiety Surfing
**Duration**: ~8 minutes
**Trigger**: Rising anxiety without clear cause
**Instructions**:
1. Notice where anxiety lives in your body — chest? stomach? throat?
2. Describe the sensation without judging it (tight? hot? buzzing?)
3. Breathe into that area for 3 breaths
4. Notice: is it getting bigger, smaller, or changing shape?
5. Continue observing for 5–8 minutes — anxiety typically peaks then subsides

### Anger: Palm-Press Discharge
**Duration**: 2 minutes
**Trigger**: Anger signals, high BAR + elevated HR
**Instructions**:
1. Press your palms together firmly for 10 seconds
2. Release and take 3 extended exhales (4s in, 8s out)
3. Repeat 3–4 times

### Envy & Comparison Alchemy
**Duration**: 3 minutes
**Trigger**: Post-social-media, envy signals
**Instructions**:
1. Name the envy: "I feel envious of ___"
2. Ask: "What does this envy tell me I actually want?"
3. Convert: "My next step toward that is ___"
**Effect**: Converts envy into a desire-signal that identifies personal values

### Awe Induction
**Duration**: 3–5 minutes
**Trigger**: Existential flatness, low engagement, loss of meaning
**Instructions**:
1. Imagine standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon, or beneath a starry sky
2. Let yourself feel the scale — you are small, and that's beautiful
3. Recall a moment of genuine wonder from your past
4. Notice what changes in your body
**Effect**: Counters hedonic adaptation, restores sense of meaning

---

## Sleep & Recovery Protocols

### Ultradian Reset
**Duration**: 20 minutes
**Trigger**: End of a 90-minute focus block, drowsiness rising
**Instructions**:
1. Set a timer for 20 minutes
2. No agenda — just rest (don't force sleep)
3. Dim lights if possible, close eyes
4. Let mind wander without structure
**Effect**: Aligns with 90-minute ultradian rhythm, restores cognitive resources

### Wake Reset
**Duration**: 5 minutes
**Trigger**: narcolepsy_index > 40, severe drowsiness
**Instructions**:
1. Splash cold water on your face and wrists
2. Do 20 seconds of Kapalabhati breath (sharp nasal exhales)
3. Expose yourself to bright light for 2–3 minutes
**Effect**: Acute arousal response, suppresses drowsiness

### NSDR (Non-Sleep Deep Rest / Yoga Nidra)
**Duration**: 20–30 minutes
**Trigger**: Accumulated fatigue, need deep recovery without sleeping
**Instructions**:
1. Lie on your back, palms up
2. Close your eyes and do a slow body scan from toes to crown
3. At each body part, notice sensation without changing anything
4. If you fall asleep, that's fine — set an alarm
**Effect**: Restores dopamine and cognitive resources without sleep inertia

### Power Nap
**Duration**: 10–20 minutes (set alarm!)
**Trigger**: Drowsiness > 0.70, post-lunch slump, Theta dominant
**Instructions**:
1. Set alarm for 20 minutes maximum (avoids N3 sleep inertia)
2. Lie down or recline
3. Even if you don't fully sleep, rest with eyes closed
4. On waking: 30 seconds of stretching before resuming work
**Effect**: Restores focus and alertness for 2–3 hours

### Sleep Wind-Down
**Duration**: 60 minutes before bed
**Trigger**: Evening session, rising drowsiness, pre-sleep
**Instructions**:
1. Dim all screens to night mode
2. Stop new learning or complex tasks
3. Do a mind dump of tomorrow's tasks
4. 10 minutes of progressive relaxation or 4-7-8 breathing
5. Keep room cool (65–68°F / 18–20°C)

---

## Somatic & Physical Protocols

### Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)
**Duration**: 10 minutes
**Trigger**: Relaxation < 0.25, HRV declining over session
**Instructions**:
1. Start with feet — tense for 5 seconds, release for 8–10 seconds
2. Move upward: calves → thighs → abdomen → hands → arms → shoulders → face
3. Hold each tension 5 seconds, release 8–10 seconds
4. End with 3 deep breaths

### Grounding (5-4-3-2-1)
**Duration**: 3 minutes
**Trigger**: Panic, dissociation, acute anxiety spike
**Instructions**:
1. Name 5 things you can see
2. Name 4 things you can touch
3. Name 3 things you can hear
4. Name 2 things you can smell
5. Name 1 thing you can taste

### 20-20-20 Vision Reset
**Duration**: 20 seconds
**Trigger**: Extended screen time, eye strain
**Instructions**:
1. Every 20 minutes of screen time
2. Look at something 20 feet away
3. For 20 seconds

### Neck Release Sequence
**Duration**: 3 minutes
**Trigger**: High stillness (> 0.85) + headache_index elevated
**Instructions**:
1. Ear-to-shoulder tilt — hold 15 seconds each side
2. Chin tucks — 10 reps (pull chin straight back)
3. Gentle neck circles — 5 each direction
4. Shoulder shrugs — 10 reps (squeeze up, release)

### Motor Cortex Activation
**Duration**: 2 minutes
**Trigger**: Very high stillness, prolonged static sitting
**Instructions**:
1. Cross-body movements: touch right hand to left knee, alternate 10 times
2. Shake out hands and feet for 15 seconds
3. Roll ankles and wrists 5 times each direction
**Effect**: Resets proprioception, activates motor cortex

### Cognitive Load Offload (Mind Dump)
**Duration**: 5 minutes
**Trigger**: Cognitive load > 0.70 sustained, racing thoughts, high beta
**Instructions**:
1. Open a blank document or grab paper
2. Write everything on your mind without filtering or organizing
3. Brain-dump worries, tasks, ideas — anything occupying working memory
4. Close the document (review later if needed)
**Effect**: Externalizing working memory can reduce cognitive load by 20–40%

---

## Digital & Lifestyle Protocols

### Craving Surf
**Duration**: 90 seconds
**Trigger**: Phone addiction signals, urge to check social media
**Instructions**:
1. Notice the urge to check your phone
2. Don't act on it — just observe for 90 seconds
3. Notice: does the urge peak and then fade?
4. Resume what you were doing
**Effect**: Breaks automatic dopamine-seeking loop

### Dopamine Palette Reset
**Duration**: Ongoing
**Trigger**: Flatness from short-form content spikes
**Instructions**:
1. Identify activities that provide sustained reward (reading, cooking, walking)
2. Replace 15 minutes of scrolling with one sustained-reward activity
3. Track mood before/after for 3 days

### Digital Sunset
**Duration**: 60–90 minutes before bed
**Trigger**: Evening, pre-sleep routine
**Instructions**:
1. Hard stop on all screens 60–90 minutes before bed
2. Switch to non-screen activities: reading, conversation, stretching
3. If screens are necessary, use night mode at minimum brightness

---

## Dietary Protocols

### Caffeine Timing
**Trigger**: Morning routine, anxiety_index
**Guidelines**:
- Consume caffeine 90–120 minutes after waking (cortisol has already peaked)
- None after 2 PM (half-life ~6 hours)
- If anxiety_index > 50, stack with L-theanine (200mg) to smooth the curve

### Post-Meal Energy Crash
**Trigger**: Post-lunch drowsiness spike
**Instructions**:
1. 5-minute brisk walk immediately after eating
2. 10 minutes of sunlight exposure
**Effect**: Counters post-prandial drowsiness

---

## Motivation & Planning Protocols

### WOOP (Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan)
**Duration**: 5 minutes
**Trigger**: Low engagement before a task
**Instructions**:
1. **Wish**: What do you want to accomplish in this session?
2. **Outcome**: What's the best possible result? Visualize it.
3. **Obstacle**: What internal obstacle might get in the way?
4. **Plan**: "If [obstacle], then I will [action]."
**Effect**: Mental contrasting improves follow-through by 2–3x

### Pre-Task Priming
**Duration**: 3 minutes
**Trigger**: Low engagement at session start, drowsiness < 0.50
**Instructions**:
1. Set a clear intention for the next work block
2. Write down the single most important task
3. Do 10 jumping jacks or 20 deep breaths
4. Start with the easiest sub-task to build momentum

---

## Protocol Execution Guidelines

When guiding the user through a protocol:
1. **Match one protocol** to the single most salient metric signal
2. **Explain the metric connection** — why this protocol for this state
3. **Ask permission** — never start without the user's consent
4. **Announce each step** clearly with timing
5. **Check in after** — run `npx neuroskill status --json` to see if metrics improved
6. **Label the moment** — `npx neuroskill label "post-protocol: [name]"` for tracking

### Timing Guidelines for Step-by-Step Guidance
- Breath inhale: 3–5 seconds
- Breath hold: 2–4 seconds
- Breath exhale: 4–8 seconds
- Muscle tense: 5 seconds
- Muscle release: 8–10 seconds
- Body-scan region: 10–15 seconds