Have you ever tried any natural remedies for insomnia? Most of them work surprisingly well, and many are actually free. That’s right, you don’t even need to go to the store to buy a supplement to help you sleep better. However, you will need to take the time to do some work on yourself by changing some old habits and integrating newer, healthier habits. So what are some healthy habits that you should try to integrate if you want to overcome your insomnia condition?

Natural Remedies for insomnia to try out

1. Brainwave entrainment – With technology these days, you can actually change your brainwave patterns from high-beta (e.g. quicker brainwaves that cause you to feel stress and excitement) to slower, alpha brainwaves (e.g. those that are released when you relax). Most of these products work amazingly well, but there are some minor risks if you are susceptible to seizures and/or pregnant.

2. Visualization – Simply closing your eyes for at least 20 minutes and imagining yourself relaxing will help you physically relax. It may help you to play some relaxing, ambient music, nature sounds, or white noise during this process, but those details are up to you. I visualize daily and I always feel relaxed afterwards. It definitely will help you fall asleep quicker if you have insomnia.

3. Mindfulness meditation – People that practice this technique have reported deep feelings of relaxation following (as well as during) their meditation. It involves focusing on the present moment, and is somewhat tough to learn, but once you have it mastered, it will have been well worth it. Want an awesome natural remedy for insomnia? Try mindfulness meditation.

4. Cardio exercises – If you do a hard cardiovascular workout for at least 1 hour daily, you are going to burn off the energy that would normally be bottled up inside of you when you go to bed. Cardio exercise is among the elite natural remedies for insomnia in children as well as adults. Nearly everyone can do some form of cardio – whether it’s playing soccer, running, rollerblading, or doing a tough beach body workout. If you burn calories and tire yourself out, you will be too tired to stay awake.

5. Eliminating things from your diet – Many natural remedies for insomnia in adults and children can be gotten right from a healthy diet. If you are eating healthy foods, they will provide your brain with vital nutrients and give it what is needed to help you fall asleep at night. If you are loading up on caffeine and drinking alcohol (see: alcohol insomnia) consistently, you are likely going to struggle with insomnia. Cut out the unhealthy foods, drinks, and drugs, and you will improve – but the improvement is not going to be overnight; it may take a few months, but it will be well worth it.

More Natural Remedies for Insomnia:

• Chronic Insomnia Side Effects
• Reasons for Insomnia
• Terminal Insomnia
• Ways to Cure Insomnia
• Anxiety Insomnia

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There is a clear connection between alcohol and insomnia in certain individuals. Although when most people drink alcohol in moderation, it relaxes them and makes it easy to fall asleep, some people are affected differently. The emergence of a common condition called “alcohol insomnia” has become very popular and is usually found in people that drink beyond moderation over an extended period of time (e.g. alcoholics). The reason that alcohol is linked to insomnia is due to a number of different things including: the atmosphere in which you drink, the time of day/night you drink, and how much alcohol you have.

Does alcohol cause insomnia?

Although alcohol itself does not usually cause insomnia, it can lead to insomnia symptoms over the long term if abused. Most people stay up late drinking with friends, and they condition their bodies to being up (even though their biological clock is telling them that they should have been asleep hours ago). Pushing though feelings of tiredness (when you know that you should go to bed) is not healthy for your sleep cycle and can cause insomnia.

Since alcohol depletes your brain of serotonin over time, and blocks alpha brain waves (e.g. you cannot relax), it will be tough to fall asleep. This is because your brain becomes conditioned to the relaxation that you get from alcohol and it is unable to relax naturally after being chemically influenced for a period of time. So can alcohol cause insomnia? Absolutely, especially if you drink on a regular basis.

Additionally, as you build up a tolerance to alcohol, it produces a ton of biological changes within your body that push you to stay awake until you have your alcohol “fix.” Usually, this “fix” becomes a larger amount each time and it will be very tough to actually fall asleep if you don’t get enough to drink. Plus, when you finally do fall asleep (more like “pass out”) your quality of sleep will be significantly reduced.

Alcohol withdrawal insomnia

Alcohol insomnia can also be caused by withdrawals. If you are going to withdraw from this substance after drinking for awhile, it is best not to do it “cold turkey.” The side-effects of withdrawal can be very difficult to deal with if you do not have the help of a professional. People have reported hallucinations, black outs, memory problems, depression, and anxiety. Although alcohol is socially accepted, it is a poison – even when used in moderation, it is going to have a terrible impact on the quality of your life; especially your sleep.

Related Insomnia Posts:

• Acupuncture for Insomnia
• Menopause Insomnia
• Home Remedies for Insomnia
• Side Effects of Insomnia
• Anxiety Insomnia

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A condition that is very common in people with anxiety disorder is “anxiety insomnia.” This is basically insomnia that is induced by anxiety disorders, nervousness, or related tension. The reason that your anxiety keeps you awake is because your brainwave pattern is unable to slow down to the alpha brainwave range from the beta brainwave range. Beta brainwaves are normal to have during the day, but at night, when it is time to go to bed, most people (without anxiety) are able to shift into the alpha range without even trying. People with anxiety stay awake over thinking things and worrying about events that happened during the day.

Anxiety and insomnia: The relationship

Even if you have insomnia without anxiety disorder, your brainwave pattern is very similar to someone who experiences anxiety. You are over-stimulated and are unable to calm yourself down and get some sleep. People with things like stress anxiety insomnia really need to minimize stimulation before bedtime. In other words, you shouldn’t be drinking alcohol, caffeine, or surfing the web if you hope to fall asleep; all of these things change your state of mind and make it much tougher to fall asleep. Alcohol can actually help some people fall asleep quicker, but it also keeps others awake and is not a healthy substance to use to fall asleep (it is a toxin).

Anxiety insomnia treatment

If you need help with treating depression anxiety insomnia (or anything that is keeping you up at night), there are some fundamental steps that you should be taking. The very first thing that you should do is develop a relaxation routine that you practice for at least 30 minutes each day before you go to bed. Examples of things that you could do in order to relax include: meditation, deep breathing, visualization, and yoga. Anxiety and insomnia treatment go hand in hand, when you reduce one, the other will likely subside with it. So if you can keep your anxiety low, your insomnia will likely plummet; if you can reduce your insomnia, your anxiety will probably improve.

Other things that you can do to improve your condition

There are some other steps that you can take in order to reduce your general anxiety disorder insomnia. If you have had problems with anxiety for awhile now, it would be smart to consult some professional help from a licensed therapist. However, if you start doing some things like: eating the healthiest possible diet, exercising every day for at least 1 hour, and staying busy throughout the day, you should tire yourself out too much to be kept awake by your anxiety. Hopefully some of these strategies work for you if you were struggling with severe insomnia and/or anxiety. If not, you can always check out some of the related articles below for additional tips.

More Anxiety Articles to Check Out:

• Natural Cures for Anxiety Disorder
• Anxiety Natural Remedies
• Natural Anxiety Relief
• Herbs for Anxiety
• Anxiety Relief

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Are you having trouble getting a good night’s sleep? If so, it would be a great idea to consider trying out some homeopathic sleep aids so that you sleep better. There are many homeopathic remedies that you can put to the test, so if you find out that one in particular doesn’t work, you can try another. Insomnia is a really troubling condition (e.g. effects of insomnia) and if you don’t ever try using some sort of therapy, your health is going to likely suffer due to lack of quality sleep. If some of the homeopathic sleep aid recommendations here do not help you out at all, it would be a great idea to see a medical professional (specifically a sleep specialist if at all possible).

Best Homeopathic Sleep Aids

Acupuncture Therapy – As I have mentioned in plenty of other articles, acupuncture works extremely well for some people. It is a popular, traditional Chinese homeopathic remedy for many things, including lack of sleep. For other people with sleep problems, it may not do much of anything. If you try this type of therapy with an open mind, you may find out that it works extremely well for minimizing stress.

Deep Breathing Techniques – Although you may not think that something as simple as “deep breathing” could help you fall asleep, you’d be really surprised. It is very relaxing to focus on your breathing and take deep breaths in and out. It is recommended to breathe in through your nose, and exhale through your mouth. Try to extend the breaths as long as possible and you will start to feel much more relaxed than you were before; it helps to close your eyes during this exercise as well.

Daytime Mediation – If you relax during the day, it will eliminate a lot of the stress that you experience at night that’s keeping you awake. Additionally, it will shift your brainwaves pattern to an alpha state (which is much more relaxing than rapid beta waves). Try meditating by focusing on breathing in and out with your eyes closed. Don’t take deep breaths, just focus on your breathing for 20 minutes and focus on it. If a thought comes into your mind, just dismiss it and focus back on your breathing. This exercise is very relaxing.

Early Morning Exercise – This will tire you out for the night and you won’t have as much energy to keep yourself awake past a reasonable hour. Exercise is a very easy homeopathic sleeping aid to use and is very effective. If you exercise hard, you are going to feel so tired by the time you go to bed that you’ll easily be able to fall asleep.

Herbal homeopathic sleeping aids – Most people take things like melatonin supplements, valerian root, and drink various types of tea to help them get better sleep. Most of these work very well and do a great job calming down the nervous system. If you are taking a natural sleep supplement, you will want to make sure that you are taking the right dosage so that you do not take too much of it.

Hopefully something in this article is able to provide you with some relief from your sleeping problem.  Otherwise you can check out these other sleep-related articles:

• Insomnia Relief
• How to Cure Insomnia
• Home Remedies for Insomnia
• Sleep Apnea Solutions
• Free Dream Interpretation

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If you have anxiety disorder, then you are probably sick and tired of feeling anxious in certain situations. Learning how to treat anxiety properly is key if you hope to overcome this mental phenomenon. Some people have generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) which makes them more susceptible to feeling stressed and anxious in normal situations. If you have had to deal with anxiety, then chances are that it has been tough for you to come to terms with how it should be treated. Probably the hardest thing to do if you have anxiety is to learn the truth about it’s treatment.

How To Treat Anxiety Disorders

Therapy – A helpful therapist could be one of the best ways for you to learn techniques to overcome your anxiety. If you find a good therapist, it can make all the difference in the world. I personally had a lot of anxiety in social situations in the past, but was able to overcome a lot of it due to some very helpful advice given by my therapist.

Educate yourself – Reading books like “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyways” by Susan Jeffers is one of my personal favorites for fear and anxiety disorders. I would rather have knowledge and learn how to use it to overcome my problems as opposed to taking a pill. Based on personal experience, most medications lead to an array of other problems; if you can confront your disorder, it may be painful, but facing your fears is always better than avoiding them.

Psychological support – Psychologists can provide great advice and help you learn how to treat anxiety disorder problems that you are dealing with. Finding a good therapist or counselor can be just as effective as a psychologist though. Read reviews to find out which psychologists, therapists, and counselors have gotten good feedback from their clients; this will help you make a good decision.

Biofeedback – This is a newer treatment option, but is effective in some people at helping them relax and learning to take conscious control of their own body. I have done biofeedback before and walked out of my session feeling like I just took a nap. It may not work for everyone, but it’s worth giving a shot.

Relaxation Techniques – Meditation, guided hypnosis, visualization all help you decrease your beta brain waves (which cause anxiety) and move your brainwave state down to the alpha brain waves range (which is calming). Learning how to properly relax through various techniques like yoga and deep breathing can be extremely beneficial. They help with a lot of the physical symptoms (such as lowering adrenaline levels and cortisol (a stress hormone)).

Overcoming Anxiety, Fear, Stress, etc.

Learning how to treat severe anxiety can be difficult for most people, but it is certainly possible. Always talk to a professional if you want to figure out how to treat anxiety attacks and get your life back to normal. It may be one heck of a journey and personal growth experience as you learn to overcome your fears, but ultimately, it will be worth it to build up your skills and learn to surpass the problems that hold you down. Whether your problem is biological, environmental, or a combination of both, if you work hard to overcome your problem and put forth the right effort, you can certainly treat your anxiety.

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As the number of people playing video games rises, the impact of video games on the human brain becomes a more intriguing research area. Video games are gaining popularity with both children and adults. There is concern among the public that the brutality portrayed on television as well as within video games encourages aggressive behavior within its spectators. Critics of this theory remind us that we lack adequate evidence to support this assertion. However, there are some studies demonstrating a connection between video games and a hostile demeanor as well as disturbed eruptions.

New Brain Studies on Effects of Video Games on Children

Additionally, they have been shown to lower internal restraint. Perusal of these studies and my own experiences with children while they play video games has led me to believe that video games do in fact influence the actions and thoughts of the person playing them. So far it’s proven difficult to discern whether or not the player is impacted after the game has been shut off, or what the magnitude will be or how long that change might endure. Based on the thousands of studies and news pieces on the impact of the violent nature of some television shows, we can assume that violent scenes in video games also aggravate violent behavior.

There is a source who calls the research preliminary, but one has only to look at the results of completed research to see that habitual players of brutal games become desensitized to violence. An increase in aggressive behavior was reported in players while playing a very violent game as well as in those players who were exposed to only a mildly violent game. Playing the game with high levels of violence raised anxiety levels within players much more than within subjects who played less aggressive games.

How Video Games Affect Brain Function

It’s widely known that for some people video games incite at least temporary mental imbalance. Look around at devoted players who even play video games on their mobile phones while babbling to themselves excitedly as though they are alone. Visit an arcade and observe irritated players, who have no concern with public opinion as they hit or knock machines in their anger. Video games seem to engulf players, who sit heedless to their environment. Habitual players are also less inclined to share their feelings. When a player is absorbed by their video game playing, are there changes in the brain? Are these changes initiated by some altered brain state?

One researcher distributed his three hundred participants into three separate groups: people who seldom play; players logging just a few hours each week and heavy gamers, who played several hours a day. Alpha waves appear when the brain is in repose. Beta brain waves, on the other hand, signal animation and stress in the prefrontal region of the brain. The study exposed a larger reduction in beta waves correlated with more time spent playing video games. The players in the heavy gamer group showed a near constant absence of beta brainwave activity.

Relationship Between Video Games and Mental Health

This persisted despite turning the game off. This demonstrates a habitual restraint of prefrontal regions of their brains. These people barely ever used this region. These players reported being easily brought to anger, experiencing difficulty concentrating, as well as having to strain to mix with friends. A hostile demeanor is thought to be associated with curtailed use of the prefrontal region of the brain as well as diminished beta wave activity. Another researcher’s results caused him to arrive at the conclusion that game devotees can experience chronic underuse of key portions of the frontal brain region. This leads to an altered emotional state. This research documented that video games cause a lack of frontal brain use, which alters your mood. This would certainly explain hostile behavior.

Understanding how the autonomic nervous system is impacted by video games gives us a clearer picture. Agitation and alarm are incited by the play of many video games. Many people are worried that this could impact the autonomic nerves over the long-term. Breathing and heart rate are internal involuntary organ processes linked to the autonomic nerves. Emotional centers in your brain emit electrical signals that can elevate or lower heart rate. Epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) and norepinephrine (also known as noradrenaline) are stress hormones in the body that act as message carriers within in the body.

Brain Activity During Video Games

These chemical gofers can also increase heart rate. Adrenal glands secrete these hormones in reaction to peril. There is ample research showing elevated blood pressure and heart rate as well as depletion of oxygen occurs while playing video games. This would indicate that the human brain believes the body is in actual jeopardy and is responding accordingly. Hence, the elevated heart rate. There are many reports of players disregarding their environment and instead viewing the game as the genuine experience.

This would signify that the players are impacted by the video games. Research has proven that an increase in heart rate and blood pressure occur while a person plays video games. Additionally, prefrontal lobe activity is lowered during game play. These increases could well be the cause for the shifts in attitude. The cause for the hostile behavior and emotionality can easily be explained by these physical changes. The research on the degree of the impact on the player after they stop playing is still in its infancy. Further analysis is still needed. There are a lot of new brain studies being conducted in this niche of psychology.  If you are interested more, consider reading the article that discusses the effects of video games on the brain – and how men are more likely to get addicted to playing than women.

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Hello everyone, I had this post ready and timestamped to be posted, but it never got up… So here goes Day #7 from my 10 Hz Alpha brain waves experiment for you to read about.  And since I’m on the topic, I’m going to completely shy away from brain waves entrainment for at least a week – before I start up with a new experiment.  Why?  Because I don’t want the entrained Alpha 10 Hz to affect my latest experiment.  Anyways, have a happy New Year and feel free to read up on the “late post” below!

What I experienced today (Day #7)?

1.) Continued Physical Relaxation

Today, I am not more physically relaxed than yesterday, but the relaxation has stabilized.  I feel very good and relaxed to the point where I can still function and maintain a good level of relaxation.  My arms, legs, and the rest of my body continues to experience a pleasant state of relaxation.  Definitely a good way to end the final day of the experiment.

2.) Continued Slower Mental Processing

It is Day #7 (the final day of this experiment) and I continued to note a slower overall mental processing speed.  It is clear to me that the slower mental processing from the continued entrainment at 10Hz.  Though it is more difficult for me to think “quickly” – I am still not bothered by my slower thinking.  I can hold my ground in conversation and feel pretty satisfied with my state of awareness.

3.) Stable Energy In Stomach / Body

The energy in my stomach and the rest of my body feels relatively stable just like yesterday.  It isn’t bothersome and definitely isn’t distracting like it was early on in the experiment. There’s not much to note here other than the energy is still in my CORE stomach area, but it doesn’t feel like it wants to escape from my body.  It’s interesting because before this experiment started I wasn’t even aware of this energy… Or maybe it was a side-effect from Alpha brain waves?

4.)  Continued “Weird Dreams” / And Quality Sleep

I continued the final Day #7 of this experiment with more “weird dreams.”  I had gone to see a movie earlier in the day and one of the characters was in my dream.  Unlike in the movie – where he was a ruthless, mean killer – in my dream he was extremely nice to me and everyone else.  I didn’t fully wake up in the middle of the night, but this morning I remembered several weird different dreams that I had.  Right now though, I cannot seem to recall them.  The quality of my sleep continues to be extremely high – which is definitely a side-effect that I enjoy.

5.) Slow Thinking / Brain Idling

Today I have continued “slow thinking,” but like yesterday it doesn’t bother me and I am aware of it.  I have had some quality conversations and feel that I am in a “content” state of awareness.  Though it feels like my brain is “blank” during conversations – I always seem to find something good to say.  I do not feel that 10Hz entrainment makes for an optimal state for conversation – I don’t think that it hurts in any way.

6.) Negative Mood

Unfortunately, I am still experiencing a slightly more negative mood.  And though I have maintained “awareness” of this negativity – it seems as though the negativity has resulted from slower thinking.  I still found myself impulsively resorting to “curse words” over quality vocabulary.   The “little things” / little nuisances didn’t seem to bother me as much as yesterday.  However, being in a more negative mood than when I started this experiment shows me that the 10Hz entrainment is definitely having an effect.  I can definitely cope with it though.

I hope everyone enjoyed the experiment and had Happy Holidays.  Have a great New Year (2009) to all of my readers out there.  I am planning on doing another experiment in a couple of weeks!  I’ll let you all know when that goes down.  Hopefully I’ll update the blog sometime and either write an article in reflection of this experiment AND / OR give you the new experiment plans.

PREVIOUSLY: Day #6: 10Hz Alpha Brain Waves Entrainment Experiment

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Today I definitely noticed some changes that continued from Day #5 and other new side-effects that you can read about below. Due to not having as much time to type this blog entry, my descriptions will be shorter and filled with less detail. I also wanted to be “clear” and “to-the-point” so that you all could understand what I experienced and whether I thought it was a significant side-effect.  I hope everyone had a great Christmas yesterday and is looking forward to a great 2009!

What I experienced today (Day #6)?

1.) Noticeably More Physical Relaxation

Today, I am definitely more physically relaxed than yesterday – and completely aware of it. From the moment that I woke up until now, I definitely feel that my body is more relaxed.  My arms and legs are just as loose / limp as they were yesterday and everything feels good.  I have a continued feeling of “looseness” that I have enjoyed throughout the day.  There aren’t a lot of specifics to describe – other than the fact that my body feels more relaxed than yesterday.

2.) Continued Slower Processing Speed / No “Deep” Thinking

It is Day #6 – and I continued to observe that my mental processing speed is slower than yesterday.  I think it’s due to a continued entrainment at 10Hz – which causes the majority of other waves to entrain at the 10 Hz level after my session.  I have maintained a good focus and am not distracted or unable to think clearly.  I definitely am not having any deep thoughts about life, the past, or the future – as I would if I were in the beta-range.  My thought speed has continued to slow – and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it continued to slow tomorrow – but we’ll see.

3.) Stable Energy In Stomach / Body

I still feel energy coming from the CORE of my stomach – but it feels as though I have adapted to it being there.  It is no longer bothersome or surging like it was a couple days back.  The flow of energy through my central stomach area has stabilized and my stomach feels nice and relaxed. I have been able to stay mentally clear and focused – and the typing of this entry seems very easy.  I am now wondering to myself whether or not it is the alpha entrainment that is causing me to be “less aware” of the effects than I would if I were in beta OR if it’s the adaptation to the alpha entrainment that’s causing reduced side-effects.

4.)  Continued “Weird Dreams” / Continued Deep Sleep

Last night I slept very deep, but had continued weird dreams.   In comparison to yesterday – the sleep quality did not change much.  I still felt very good when waking up this morning.  Last night was accompanied by weird dreams, but I don’t remember the details like I did the night before.  How do I know that I had weird dreams?  Because I woke up during the middle of the night due to dreams.  Definitely a continuation from Day #5 – things remained about the same (as far as sleep side effects).

5.) More Relaxation / Less Energy

Like yesterday, I woke up feeling extremely relaxed – my body felt very good.  There wasn’t an extreme change in my level of physical relaxation in comparison to yesterday – but it was noticeable.   Like yesterday, I also am experiencing less energy than yesterday.  I definitely wouldn’t describe myself as “lacking energy” like I did on Day #5, but I definitely am not as motivated to do certain things.

6.) More “Slow Thinking” / Better Conversation

I am more aware that my thinking has slowed down.  I am not thinking with nearly the mental speed that I normally do.  However – unlike yesterday, I have had some great conversations today.  I noticed that I was more spontaneous than I have been the entire week.  Though I have had my mind go nearly blank “mid-conversation” like yesterday – it was easy to deal with.  Though I feel like I converse at an optimal level in the beta-state, I feel like I can handle myself well in alpha.

7.) Negative Mood / Feeling “Crabby”

A continued effect from yesterday from what I described as a “slightly more negative mood” – has continued today.  Only unlike yesterday, I would say that my mood is in fact “slightly negative.”  I have found myself feeling irritated with things that normally don’t upset me.  I believe that it’s due to less overall “thinking,” but I am not sure.  I found myself dropping “swear words” – in sentences that didn’t even need them.  I felt a need to express more anger and upsetting emotion.  Little things got on my nerves today – and I am hoping that it doesn’t continue tomorrow.  I am trying to stay aware of what I say and my actions – but some sentences that I said today were purely from impulse.  I wasn’t thinking about what I was saying while I said it OR before I said it.  I feel what I would describe as “crabby” – a feeling that I do not often experience, so it’s definitely something major to take note of.

PREVIOUSLY: Day #5: 10Hz Alpha Brain Waves Entrainment Experiment

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First of all, I didn’t skip out on entrainment today.  I followed up with a 20 minute session last night [on Christmas Eve] and my 20 minute session this morning as I have been.  Since it’s Christmas, I was too busy during the morning to write my entry, but I’m on it now that the hype has died down.  I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season like I am.  Entrainment went very well both last night and today.  Read below for the full specifics regarding my experience.

What I experienced today (Day #5)?

1.) Slightly More Physical Relaxation

Today I feel super relaxed – my body is completely loose and my arms are limp.  I am definitely more relaxed physically than I was yesterday.  Though I thought that my level of physical relaxation had reached its peak yesterday, I was definitely wrong.  Today I am super loose – it feels like I am walking around after just getting a full-body massage.  I am not keyed up at all like yesterday – and I feel very good.  I’m definitely not going to complain about physical relaxation – even though it is making me want to “chill” and stay relaxed / lazy instead of working out.

2.) Slower Mental Processing Speed

It is Day #5 – and I definitely noticed a change in my mental processing speed between today and yesterday.  Today my brain feels like it is operating at a much slower speed than it was yesterday.  I am thinking slower, but am definitely more calm and focused than yesterday.  Looking back at my comments about my brain “grasping the 10hz frequency,” I know that it definitely hadn’t.  Main thing to remember: my brain (and thought-rate / speed) is definitely slower than yesterday.

3.) Excess Energy in Stomach Has Stabilized / Under Control

Unlike yesterday when I felt a huge surge of energy coming from my central stomach area, today I feel the energy there, but it is not causing any distraction or me to act antsy.  The energy feels like it belongs in my stomach and is not at all bothersome.  Yesterday, the energy felt like it was trying to break free and escape from my body.  Today, the energy in my CORE (midsection) feels like it belongs and is under control.  It is easy for me to focus, stay mentally clear, and type this article.

4.) “Weird dreams” / Continued Deep Sleep

Throughout the past few nights, I noted major improvements in quality of sleep.  Last night was definitely quality sleep, but it was accompanied by extremely weird dreams that I didn’t remember.  I woke up today feeling incredibly groggy – like I was deprived of sleep – even though I got plenty of sleep.

However, I do remember having one super weird dream (most dreams are weird…) in some foreign territory that included me walking and searching for my dorm.  No matter which route I took, I could never seem to get there. The environment was fairly (what I would describe as) shady, but the people in the dream were all fairly friendly and I knew pretty much everyone in it.  It definitely looked completely different from anything that I had seen in the “real world.”

Though that was just one “weird dream” I remembered having, I am positive that I had more – because I do remember that a couple caused me to wake up at different times throughout the night.  I haven’t been woken up by a dream in the middle of the night in a very long time.  In fact, I am rarely aware that I even have dreams.  Last night was a completely different story.

5.) More Relaxed / More Unenenergized

Though I did wake up feeling highly relaxed, the overall revitalizing energy that was present yesterday was just not around today.  With that said, I did feel more relaxed and loose today than yesterday – but I also (unfortunately) felt highly unenergized.  The lack of energy that has accompanied me today has forced me to operate at a much slower pace than I normally would.

6.) Slower Thinking During Conversations

Similarly to yesterday, I took note that my brain thinks slower during conversations.  I literally found my brain go completely “blank” mid conversation with someone.  It didn’t really bother me, but I did notice that I didn’t have as much to contribute to the conversation – due to my brain operating at a slower rate.  Normally, my brain flows with things to talk about – today, when I was on the phone with a friend – I did talk about plenty, it just didn’t feel (to me) like I had as much to say as is normal.

Due to a slower speed of mental processing (as noted in #2), it is also more difficult for me to think of “words” that I was going to use during conversation.  I was talking earlier to my family and all of a sudden (mid-sentence) I completely forgot what I was going to say.  Sure, we’ve all had this happen at various points in our lives, but it is definitely a rarity for me – an effect that definitely noted.

7.) More Negative Mood

Today I am experiencing a slightly negative mood, from what I attribute to slower thinking.  I am nowhere near as “witty” or have the “comebacks” / “fast-paced” thought that accompanied me a couple weeks ago.  This is not a bad thing, per se, as I was fine last night.  However, today it makes it more challenging to talk with quickness and get my point across with ease.  This is making me slightly frustrated.  My mood is not what I would describe as “negative,” but it is definitely “more negative” than yesterday.  This isn’t a big deal – but I am going to take note of it because it’s definitely noticeable.

PREVIOUSLY: Day #4: 10Hz Alpha Brain Waves Entrainment Experiment

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It’s already Day #4 of my 10hz brain waves experiment in the alpha-range.  Things have been going relatively smooth – but today the energy that I’m experiencing is ridiculously distracting and makes it fairly difficult for me to type this entry.  Though I feel good and am not upset with this sudden increase in energy – it is fairly tough to contain and put to use.  I feel as though my mind is relaxed, but my physical body has energy to burn.  For everything that I experienced in fairly good detail, be sure to read below.  Oh, and Merry Christmas to all of my readers out there!

What I experienced today (Day #4)?

1.) Physical relaxation has peaked

It feels as though my level of physical relaxation has reached it’s peak.  In fact, today I feel no more relaxed or at ease than yesterday.  I feel relaxed, but also like I have TONS and TONS of energy throughout my stomach and the rest of my body (read below to hear about that).  If anything, I feel more keyed up than yesterday due to the energy.

2.) Mental processing speed

It is Day #4 and I have not noticed much of a change in my mental processing speed in comparison to yesterday.  Yesterday I noted that my level of mental relaxation increased.  Today, I feel as though my brain is operating at about the same speed.  It may have finally fully “grasped” the 10Hz alpha frequency through the entrainment session – which is a good thing.

3.) Strongest Surge Of Energy In Stomach / CORE

Today I have by far the biggest surge of energy coming from my central stomach area, it’s almost hard to restrain.  It feels like there’s a surge of energy in the pit of my stomach that is prying at me to get out.  It definitely feels good, but it also makes me want to jump out of this chair and do a three hour workout to try to get rid of it.

This crazy “pent-up” energy inside feels like a mix between emotion and energy.  Thinking optimistically, I’m going to try to put this energy to good use.  With that said, Day #4 (today) has been the most difficult for me to type this article.  I noticed that I am skipping around with my writing and that it feels very unorganized.

4.) More overall energy / feel distracted by it

Today, I especially noted that my body feels like it has “energy to burn.”  Not only in the CORE of my stomach – as I described above – but even in my upper body, my arms feel like they have tons of energy to burn.  It feels like I’m a little kid that finds it very difficult to sit still.

The philosopher inside makes me believe that this “energy” is due to a build-up of slow-brain wave activity.  Though I do feel mentally clear, this energy feels extremely distracting – like it could interfere with my ability to listen and overall ability to pay attention.  It’s really difficult for me to stay focused – even though I do feel mentally clear.

5.) Continued Quality Sleep

Another major improvement that I first took note of yesterday was an improved quality of sleep.  Last night, the quality of my sleep was phenomenal.  I slept amazingly throughout the night and once again woke up feeling super refreshed.  I couldn’t tell whether the sleep was better than the night before, but I do know that the past two nights have been above average – compared to normal and the previous days (#1 & #2) of the experiment.

6.) Less impulsive / more thoughtful

One final observation that I’ve made today is the fact that I am less impulsive – especially when talking to others.  I literally “think” about what I’m going to say before I’m going to say it.  This isn’t necessarily a negative effect – per se – but I’d definitely rather not have my brain “editing” what I’m going to say before I say it.

One benefit to being less impulsive is the fact that I am more thoughtful during conversation.  I have a much easier time restraining myself from making a random (potentially negative) comment.  Hopefully tomorrow will be easier for me to type this blog entry describing my effects.

PREVIOUSLY:  Day #3: 10Hz Alpha Brain Waves Entrainment Experiment

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In continuation of my 10hz alpha brainwave entrainment series, this is officially Day #3.  I’m feeling very good and though I have had a few slight side-effects that were unexpected, I have also experienced more benefits than were expected.  After finishing a 20 minute session last night of the [non-ramped] alpha entrainment and a 20 minute session this morning of the 20 minute [non-ramped] alpha entrainment, you can read about my experiences below.

What I experienced today (Day #3)?

1.) More physically relaxed than yesterday

It has definitely been easy to gauge my level of physical relaxation in comparison to previous days.  Today, I feel the most relaxed I have thus far in the series.  My entire wingspan (arms), in addition to my legs, and my stomach feel completely relaxed and calm.  My body has a feeling of “lightness” to it that I have not experienced in a long time.  I literally feel like JELLO – completely loose and limp.

2.) Mental Relaxation / Slower Processing / Slightly Lightheaded

Today I feel not only more physically at ease, but I can tell that I have become more mentally relaxed [than yesterday] as well.  I am not thinking deeply about anything and my mental processing speed has significantly slowed… (Now would not be a good time for me to do any extreme writing).  It is of much higher difficulty for me than yesterday to write this blog entry.

Throughout the experience, I began to notice that after my session last night, I experienced a feeling of being lightheaded – something I haven’t experienced much of before.  The lightheadedness is continuing throughout this morning after my session, but it isn’t extreme enough to be a distraction.  I am not sure what to think of it, but I believe that it’ll eventually fade away once I get started with some of my normal daily activities.

3.) Stronger CORE Energy From Center

It’s relatively easy to describe what I’m experiencing with this “boosted” core energy.  Basically, what I’m feeling is an increased energy from inside my stomach area – in the center, directly below my heart area.  To me it feels like emotional energy mixed with feelings of excitement.  Though it is stronger than yesterday, I have a feeling that it will be even stronger tomorrow.

4.) Contentment / Less Irritability / Desensitization

I feel as though I’m very content with how I feel right now and my life.  I am no longer having any feeling of irritability like I was on Day #1.  I feel much less concerned with things that would normally stress me out.  The best word I can use to describe my situation would be “desensitization” – which vaguely means I am not as mentally concerned / stressed-out with minor things that before may have made me stressed, or that I may have been concerned about.

One example is music volume level.  Before doing these few sessions, I was very adament about keeping my music volume at a low level – a volume that I was sure would be safe for my hearing.  After doing a few alpha sessions, I am no longer as hardcore about being a “volume Nazi.” If something’s too loud, I will turn it down, but I found myself listening to music and playing the TV at louder volumes than I normally do – likely because I am less mentally stimulated [affected] by what’s going on in my environment; much less than I would be if I were in the beta range.

5.) Laziness As A Product Of Relaxation

One thing that I had not noticed of myself was becoming more lazy as a result of relaxation.  I almost skipped my workout last night because I wanted to listen to more music and watch TV.  I felt incredibly comfortable and like I didn’t want to get my behind off the couch.  I wanted to chill out and continue enjoying what was on TV and continue to replay music on my iTunes playlist.

Luckily, I was able to overcome my mental idling and get myself moving for a workout.  Of course once I got into my workout, I felt very good and like I had plenty of energy to finish burning my 700 Calories.  With that said, after my session today, I noticed that I felt even lazier – I felt like I wanted to skip typing this blog entry, but I overcame that feeling [as is apparent by this entry].

6.) Old Memories Resurfacing / Internal Awareness

I noticed that old memories resurfaced – memories that I completely forgot existed.  One of them included a childhood experience about when I went trick-or-treating.  Another was of a day when I gave a speech at my elementary school.  Many childhood friendships and classmates were brought to my awareness.  All of the memories seemed to be completely random, but I thought they were great.

As these memories kept randomly appearing, I attribute part of the recollection to be due to the fact that I am more internally aware of myself today than I was before I started the experiment.  More “introverted” than normal – is how I’d describe the feeling.  What’s interesting is the fact that most people associate feeling “introverted” as being a bad thing – but I can testify to the fact that it feels extremely pleasing.

7.) Much deeper sleep / refreshed

One thing that I did consciously notice was the fact that I experienced much deeper sleep than before.  I know that I turned off my alarm this morning and slept 2 hours past the time it was set for.  It wasn’t difficult to get out of bed when I awoke – I wasn’t feeling groggy, but I felt like I slept extremely well – in comparison to how well I normally sleep.

“Did you sleep well last night? No, I made a few mistakes” – Stephen Wright <<< In reference to Stephen Wright’s quote I feel like I was mistake-free the entire night. I also felt extremely refreshed after waking up – as well as after my entrainment session this morning.  This leads me to believe that 10hz alpha is likely a frequency that revitalizes the body and the mind.  Hopefully the experiment will continue to go well.  Continue following the blog, or subscribe for the updates.

PREVIOUSLY: Day #2: 10 Hz Alpha Brain Waves Entrainment Experiment

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Well, like I said – I was going to post each day about my experiences dealing with the 10 Hz alpha brain waves that I have been listening to: 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes at night before I go to bed.  Thus, far my results have been fairly interesting – though it is only Day #2 of the Series.  I have done a grand total of three sessions thus far – two yesterday and one this morning.  Read below and find out what I experienced in Day #2 of this experiment in comparison to Day #1 (yesterday).

What I experienced today (Day #2)?

1.) Deeper physical relaxation…Again

Though I didn’t feel as deeply relaxed as last time, I did feel more physical relaxation after session number two than the first session.  My body is “mellow” and my arms & legs feel much looser.  Though I wasn’t aware of feeling as relaxed as before, the 10 Hz session this morning definitely helped.  Last night before I went to bed, I listened to the session and had a deeper relaxation effect than I did this morning (but that could be due to the fact that I was pretty tired before taking a listen) – though I did manage to easily stay awake the entire time.

2.) Deeper mental relaxation… Different state of awareness.

Like the effects resulting from yesterday’s session, I also feel more mentally relaxed than before.  I feel slightly spaced out, but much more focused than I did on Day #1 of the experiment.  My brain has definitely slowed down some and I do notice an affect on my consciousness (state of awareness).  My thoughts are not nearly as “deep” as they were before and I feel like I am more part of this exact moment in time – as I don’t have thoughts rushing about the future or past.  I also feel extremely refreshed – just as refreshed as yesterday, which is definitely a pleasant feeling.

3.) More Internal / CORE energy

After my 20 minute alpha session today I noticed that I felt like I had more energy coming from the CORE of my stomach area.  And, unlike yesterday, I do not feel quite as “emotional.” I am not feeling “very powerful” emotions, but I can tell that my emotions are there.  I am also more aware of this “internal energy” stemming from the center of my body between my stomach area and chest.

I do not feel “negative” or “depressing” emotions like I felt yesterday… In fact I feel extremely chilled out and relaxed.  This session has slowed down my brain significantly from the high-beta brain waves range that I was in before.  It feels to me like I’m in a state of awareness that’s a safe place to be: not too much mental activity, not too powerful of emotions.  It feels good and I feel “content.”

4.) Less Irritability & More Desensitized

After the session ended yesterday, I wrote about experiencing “irritability.”  Both yesterday and today I got plenty of sleep and didn’t make any major changes in my routine throughout my day – continuing to exercise and go about other activities as I normally would. Unlike yesterday, hearing the dog bark and other noises coming from outside did not seem to phase me.  I felt pretty mellow and “desensitized” to the barking.  Nothing minor is upsetting or rev’s me up in the slightest.  This makes me think that yesterday was just some sort of weird transition that I was experiencing.

5.) Slower mental speed / processing

Though I feel that I am not as able to “think quick” during conversations or be as “witty” as I was before, it doesn’t really bother me.  I know that if I ever want to think quick on my feet and perform at my peak for conversations that I can do some beta entrainment or beta neurofeedback to help shift my awareness.  The alpha brain wave range is obviously slower than the beta-range – but not as slow as the theta range – which explains my feeling of a calm state that’s “neither dominated by thoughts or emotions.”

As quoted from yesterday, “Tasks like writing, reading, organizing thoughts, and conversation are usually easier for people already in the beta-brain wave range.” With that said, I am feeling different than yesterday, I can type fairly easily with a good level of concentration.  I haven’t had to “go back and edit” my work nearly as much as yesterday.  But, there still could be some grammatical mistakes….haha *Apologies if there are.

6.) Continued Internal Awareness…

Though I do find myself more apt to focusing on external things than yesterday, my internal awareness has increased tremendously.  I feel much more self aware.  This morning I ate a fairly late breakfast and noticed that before eating breakfast I had a strong urge to get food in my body.  My stomach was literally screaming at me to feed it.  Normally if I eat later, I am not aware of my stomach begging for food.

Here’s what I noticed yesterday about “feeling more full”:

I normally don’t think much about “being full” after eating breakfast, but I found myself aware that I felt full inside after eating and doing my first session.  I also mentioned a much more powerful ability to be aware of my emotions – which I also classify as internal awareness.

I am also more physically aware of what’s happening inside my body.  Though I feel less aware of my thoughts, I am more aware of my entire body.  I am noticing slight internal cues form my body that I normally do not pick up on.  I will continue to let everyone know how I am effected by this 10Hz alpha entrainment as I begin to experiment tonight and tomorrow morning.  Day #2′s journal is done.  Feel free to click the link below and compare my experience from Day #1.

PREVIOUSLY: Day #1: 10 Hz Alpha Brain Waves Entrainment Experiment

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I posted yesterday letting everyone know that I’ve decided to kick off a 7-Day Series of brain wave entrainment – hoping to get a new experience (in comparison to my old trial)… This series will feature me writing my experience on this blog for each of the seven days in a journal-like format…  I will be writing after my morning entrainment session for everybody to follow.  It’s been about 5 minutes since finishing my 10 Hz (customized) Alpha Brain Waves session with Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional software – so let’s hear how the session affected me on Day #1 after twenty minutes of 10 hz alpha entrainment.

What I experienced today (Day #1)?

1.) Deeper physical relaxation

The very first thing that I noticed after my first session ended was that I felt more physically relaxed than normally.  I could tell that the session had a very noticeable effect at making my entire body more mellow.  My arms feel relaxed, my legs feel relaxed – and the biggest effect that the session had on me was in the stomach area.  Right in the middle of my chest / stomach, I feel the deepest sense of relaxation that I have in a long time.

2.) Deeper mental relaxation

In addition to my physical body relaxing more, my brain felt much more relaxed as well.  I believe that slowing down the brain is a good thing in certain cases, but too much of it would severely hinder performance at doing things like complex math problems and understanding abstract concepts or theories.

Though my brain is slowed down, it feels pleasant.  It feels like I don’t need to worry about what I’m thinking… My brain seems to think for itself and wander on its own.  I do still feel some control over what I’m thinking, but it’s not nearly as strong of conscious control as I normally do.  With that said, the deeper mental relaxation felt highly refreshing, even though I did my session in the morning (within 2 hours of waking – after eating breakfast).

3.) More emotional / emotionally aware

After just one 20 minute alpha session, I noticed that I felt more emotional, especially from the place in my body that felt the deepest sense of relaxation – the middle of my stomach.  I have not felt very powerful emotions for a long time, but I do know that strong emotions are linked to the slower brain wave states like theta and alpha.  It’s not that people in the beta range aren’t likely to experience emotions, it’s just that they will not be as powerful as they would in a primarily alpha or theta state of mind.

Another thing that’s interesting is the fact that I’m much more aware of having these strong emotions after my session.  I usually do not even “think” much about my emotions – and actually do not usually feel much of any emotion this strong at all… Though the emotions I’m experiencing seem to be what I would label as “negative” & “depressing” – it was likely due to my brain’s brain waves coming into this session.  People in a high-beta brain waves state would likely not experience what I have experienced – because I was likely in a normal (low-mid) beta state coming into this session.

4.) Slight irritability

After the session ended, I heard the snow plow plowing the road right outside and noticed myself getting upset and angry at the plow for making noise while I’m trying to type this blog entry.  Something like “noise” from a snow plow would normally not bother me.  The reason I’m putting down “slight irritability” as a side-effect of my experience is because I am not what I would call “irritable.”  I still have conscious control over the expression of my emotions, but minor things seem to piss me off…

Another experience I had was with my dog barking.  I normally do not get emotionally revved up when I hear my dog bark, but after doing Day #1 of the 10 Hz Alpha Brainwave session, I found myself getting upset at him barking because it was throwing off my ability to concentrate on writing this blog entry.

5.) Slower mental speed / processing

I definitely noticed that I am not able to think as quickly as before – which makes perfect sense… Think about it, if my brain was in the beta-range (like most normal individuals other than children), I would have quicker mental speed, and be more aware of my physical environment.  It makes perfect sense for me to be experiencing mental slowness compared to what I was experiencing before (likely in the beta-range).

Tasks like writing, reading, organizing thoughts, and conversation are usually easier for people already in the beta-brain wave range.  Right now it seems pretty difficult for me (compared to before) to type a blog entry that makes sense.  I’ve had to go back and edit my sentences much more often than I normally do.

6.) More internal awareness

Instead of focusing on external things (i.e. people, objects, activity) in my environment (like I normally do), I found myself being more aware of what’s going on inside my body.  I normally don’t think much about “being full” after eating breakfast, but I found myself aware that I felt full inside after eating and doing my first session.  I also mentioned a much more powerful ability to be aware of my emotions – which I also classify as internal awareness.

I do not know whether the brain waves changed my body and mind in a way that makes me more emotional OR whether alpha brain wave entrainment just made me more aware of my inner emotions…  OR if it was a combination of the alpha brain waves’ affecting my body and mind in addition to shifting my awareness (more internal) that made the change.  I look forward to continuing the experiment tonight / tomorrow morning.  I will hopefully be as thorough as this entry here.

PREVIOUSLY: Alpha Brain Waves “10Hz” Experiment Information

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HELLO EVERYONE! I just wanted to let ya know that I’ve decided to start back up with regular posting here at 4 Mind 4 Life…  I first wanted to start by saying that it’s been awhile since I’ve last posted and I feel somewhat out of my loop…  Anyways, I have been doing brainwave entrainment here and there, but haven’t been too religious about experimentation.  With that said, I have recently had the urge to start back up with an experiment…  This one re-visiting the 10 Hz Alpha brainwave.

I hope to make this a seven (7) day series of strictly 10 Hz Alpha Brainwave entrainment.  Each day I would like to keep everyone (all the blog followers) and random readers updated on how I’m feeling and what I’m experiencing…  I figure that I’ll start tomorrow morning with the trial

Here’s what will be happening a.k.a. the specs for the experiment:

• 10 Hz Alpha Brainwave entrainment (non-ramped)
• Utilizing the software Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional
• Synchronized / isochronic tones (without-headphones)
• 20 minutes in the morning / 20 minutes each evening
• 7 days straight (“in-a-row” / “back-2-back”)
• Sitting in front of the computer w/ NP2 Professional running

Why I chose a period of 7 Days?

I chose 7 days because I don’t know what I’ll experience and I don’t want to get too deep into experimentation before I realize that I should stop.  Brainwave entrainment is completely healthy for me to utilize (as I do not have any history of epilepsy / seizures)…  Besides, the alpha range is known by scientists as THE SAFEST brainwave range, with 10 Hz having plenty of quality research behind it.

Therefore, starting tomorrow morning, I’ll be keeping a little journal here at 4 Mind 4 Life to let everyone know my complete experience.  I may not have time to write lengthy entries, but I think you all will be satisfied in hearing what I am experiencing on a day-to-day basis.  Also, when I make a final subjective evaluation of how the Alpha 10 Hz brainwave affected me, I will be able to look back at each of my entries rather than attempt to remember how I felt each day (which would be extremely difficult).

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Note: If you enjoy this article, consider reading “Benefits of Alpha and Theta Brain Waves.”

Slower brain waves can keep us healthier: mentally and physically

Utilizing brainwave entrainment consistently can definitely yield many health-related benefits. Using alpha brain waves can result in calmness, peacefulness, and relaxation – which helps block stress from crippling our immune system. Boosting theta brain waves can improve our health by making us feel younger, giving us more energy, and improving our immune system. And finally, delta brain waves allow us to produce anti-aging hormones, they boost our immune system, and allow our body to replenish itself. Each of those “slower brain waves” sound like they can produce wonderful health benefits. It definitely sounds wonderful that these “slower brain waves” are able to do such a phenomenal job at keeping us healthy.

Powerful relaxation and better overall wellbeing

A common benefit to increasing the amount of slow brain waves [i.e. alpha, theta, delta] in your brain is feeling deeply relaxed. Scientists have found that when the brain is in slower brain wave states [like alpha and theta], it produces specific hormones and “neuropeptides.” These hormones and neuropeptides that are produced have been linked to boosted memory, creativity, and ability to learn.

Each time you lower the baseline frequency of your brain waves, the more you will feel the healthy anti-stress, anti-aging hormones and neuropeptides. These naturally boost your overall level of relaxation and wellbeing. What the slower brain waves also do is increase the amount of beneficial neurotransmitters and endorphins in the brain. For example: using alpha and theta brain waves will increase your overall level of relaxation by increasing the production of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is an extremely helpful neurotransmitter that has been linked to both mental and physical relaxation. Also, certain slower brainwave frequencies produce endorphins which make us feel good – like a “natural high.”

For these reasons, virtually any time you utilize brainwave entrainment, neurofeedback, meditation, or even yoga, you are able to feel more relaxed and peaceful. What do all of the mentioned exercises have in common? Though they may all be “different forms” of exercising your brain, in the end, they will all slow down your brain waves.

Why you feel “a natural high” after running

Though you may not know it or remember it, you’ve likely experienced “a natural high” – also known as, your body bein flooded with the production of endorphins. Each time that you go for a run or do any form of hard cardiovascular exercise, endorphins are released. Most people have experienced the benefits of endorphins; whether it be after a long run, basketball game, or other sporting event.

Though you will usually feel very exhausted and were very sweaty after a hard workout, you will also usually feel very good. After working out we naturally feel physically relaxed [and tired], plus – we feel mentally relaxed and calm. Though I highly recommend exercise to increase your overall level of wellbeing, it is not the only activity that will make you feel good by producing endorphins. Any time you utilize brainwave entrainment, neurofeedback, meditation, or yoga, in order to slow your brain waves, you will probably feel the same endorphins ["natural high"] that you did after a strenuous workout.

How endorphins boost our cognition [i.e. memory and learning]

Though you already know that endorphins allow our bodies to feel a natural high, you may not have known that each time we enter an alpha or theta brain wave state, specific endorphins kick-in that actually boost our overall cognition; they improve our memory and ability to learn. Scientific research has proved that in rats that were injected with endorphins had improved memories – they also were able to run through mazes more quickly. Research has also shown that the production of endorphins can actually reverse amnesia – [a condition in which memory is disrupted].

Researchers have also thought that the parts of the brain that are involved in the production of endorphins, are the exact same areas that are involved with memory and learning. One study even proposed that each time we learn – our brain releases endorphins to reward itself and to help us store our memories. This is why memorizing and ability to learn are boosted each time we have increased production of endorphins in our brains.

Increased endorphins in our brain has been linked to theta and alpha brain wave states of consciousness. Think about it: each time we are able to slow our brain waves to the alpha and / or theta range, it is naturally easier for us to drop our old beliefs and literally “learn” new beliefs. This is why you may have heard that slowing your brain waves down to theta and alpha ranges allows you to re-program your beliefs.

How alpha and theta brain waves boost our learning abilities

Catecholamines, acetylcholine, and vasopressin, are three [among many] of the beneficial hormones and other helpful neuropeptides that are produced in slower brain wave frequencies. Studies have shown that acetylcholine is vital for long term memory. They have also found that when acetylcholine production [in the brain] is high, we experience boosts in our long-term memory. More studies have found that when individuals take supplements that boost the production of acetylcholine in the brain, they are better at learning and have improved memories.

Individuals who have lower levels of acetylcholine usually struggle with tasks involving learning and memory. Individuals with the devastating Alzheimer’s disease usually have very low levels of acetylcholine. Theta brain waves have been specifically linked to the production of the neuropeptide vasopressin – a neuropeptide which improves reaction time, ability to learn, and ability to remember. Theta brain waves also have the ability to produce catecholamines which aid once again in our learning process and memory.

Boosted attention and alertness

It is not only our production of neuropeptides that allows us to learn more effectively in slower brainwave patterns. Because theta and alpha brain wave states are linked to relaxation, we experience decreased blood pressure, heart rate, and our entire body feels relaxed. This boosts the overall oxygen level in our brains and maximizes bloodflow to our cortex. This naturally boosts our attention span and level of alertness. Boosted attention and alertness makes it much easier to memorize and learn new things.

Slower brain waves and feeling young again

Are you a person that wishes you could get back some of the same energy you had when you were a kid? Though there are many products on the market to help you: look younger, feel more energetic, happier, and healthier, many do not work. Why? Because they don’t target your brain waves! Research has found that patterns of delta brain waves, theta brain waves, and alpha brain waves, positively affect the production of the hormones: melatonin, DHEA, and cortisol. These three brain wave patterns are able to slow aging, boost relaxation, and increase our overall wellbeing.

In the alpha and theta brain wave ranges, the amount of melatonin and DHEA is significantly boosted in our brains. Research has discovered that DHEA can increase over 50% in certain cases! Even more impressive were the studies on melatonin. Researchers found that slower brain waves boosted the production of melatonin by 300% in some cases! Average melatonin increases were nearly 100%… On top of all the other benefits, the production of cortisol – [a stress hormone usually produced by high-beta brain waves], declined by nearly 50%!

Increase anti-aging hormones

As mentioned earlier, the hormone “cortisol” is a powerful stress hormone that has potential to actually kill brain cells. It has been linked to sped-up aging, health problems, anxiety, and stress. Because of the problems associated with cortisol, it can have a significantly negative impact on our memory, ability to learn, and our overall wellbeing. It is definitely not favorable to have high levels of cortisol floating around in your body.

With that said, DHEA is a hormone that you want to have plenty of in your body. Like cortisol, it is produced by our adrenal glands. Usually, in your twenties, DHEA production will reach its maximum. In your thirties, DHEA production declines and as you age – it continues to decline. Individuals who are over 70 have roughly 1/5th the amount of DHEA as an individual in their twenties. When our DHEA levels drop low, we are more susceptible to developing disease, getting sick, and aging quickly. The higher we keep our levels of DHEA, the less likely we are to get sick, become stressed out, or speed up our aging process.

Lastly, we notice significant improvements with the hormone melatonin. Melatonin has been linked to better, more restful sleep. You already know that sleep is very beneficial for replenishing the brain and body with vital neurotransmitters and hormones. Each time we get a quality night’s sleep, we help ward off the aging process. When we get poor quality sleep, we speed up our aging process. Like DHEA, the amount of melatonin produced in our bodies declines as we get older. For this reason, it is important to lower our brain waves to the alpha and theta rhythms and boost our melatonin levels.

Why slower brain waves release helpful neurotransmitters

Hopefully, you now fully [or better] understand that when you increase your alpha, theta, and delta brain waves [slower brain waves] your brain naturally increases the production of beneficial hormones. This is why many people [including researchers] consider activities such as: brainwave entrainment, meditation, and yoga to be beneficial. Have you ever questioned why the brain produces these helpful hormones and neurotransmitters in the slower brainwave frequencies?

Well, according to scientific research, neurons ["brain cells"] are electrochemically triggered to produce certain neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, and certain hormones at certain brainwave frequencies. Neurons are almost “activated” to produce certain neurochemicals when they are interacting with certain brainwave frequencies. Think of brain waves as communication in the brain. The neurons and the brain communicate by sending specific brainwave frequencies.

This is why each time your brain waves are slowed to the alpha range or theta range, they produce different, more helpful neurochemicals than they would in the beta range. Slowing your brain waves with entrainment is comparable to sending a direct message to your brain cells to start creating helpful neurochemicals. The concept is easy to understand too. Each time you get a quality night’s sleep, your brain shifts to the lower theta and delta ranges.

When you wake up, you usually feel like your energy supply has been replenished… That’s because your energy supply was replenished by the delta and theta brain waves. They produced many helpful, healing hormones and neurotransmitters while you were asleep! Though slower brain waves tend to have a lot of health-related benefits, you should never rule out your beta brain waves. Each brain wave has something helpful to offer / bring to the table.

5 Main Types Of Brainwaves:

1. Beta Brainwaves
2. Alpha Brainwaves
3. Theta Brainwaves
4. Delta Brainwaves
5. Gamma Brainwaves

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