Benefits Of Alpha Brain Waves and Theta Brain Waves
Posted by Drew | : Alpha Brainwaves, Boost Brain Power, Brainwaves, Theta Brainwaves
After spending time reading about brain waves, you probably have gotten the impression that slowing down your brain waves from a high-beta state - or even from a normal beta state - down to an alpha or theta brainwave state can be very beneficial. There are tons of great side-effects that can occur from being able to shift your brainwaves to a slower, synchronized rhythm in the alpha or theta wave ranges. In this article, I hoped to cover some of the healthy effects that have long been associated with slowing your brain waves to a slower alpha or theta state of consciousness.
Slower brainwaves improve your memory
Do you often have trouble remembering where you set your car keys? How about your sunglasses? After meeting someone new, are you able to remember their name? Or are you the type of person who remembers the face, but can never remember the name? Maybe you forgot where you placed your i-Pod… You are desperately trying to think of where you put it, but no matter how much thinking you do, you just drive yourself crazy! Then, out of nowhere, a few days later, the exact location of your i-Pod magically pops into your head.
Each time you have the ability to recall a person’s facial features, past events, name (or nickname), or recall any other past information, the rhythms of your brain waves usually change temporarily from a state of beta to one of alpha. If you have ever been stressed for a long period of time, you get what’s called “alpha block.” Alpha block is a reduced ability to generate alpha brainwaves due to the high production rate of high-beta frequencies. When you aren’t able to generate a healthy amount of alpha, you’ll likely have reduced ability to remember things.
Understand that alpha brain waves are like a “go-between” that connect the conscious brain with the subconscious. This is why when you attempt to remember a past event, the brain quickly shifts into an alpha brainwave state - which allows you to dig up a memory from the subconscious and transfer it to your conscious mind. Once it is in the conscious [beta brainwave] mind, you are able to talk about the experience, write about it, and think about it.
Are you able to easily relax?
When you are able to easily relax after a stressful or highly-stimulating event, you’re brain waves are likely very flexible. You are likely easily able to shift to the slower, higher amplitude brainwaves of alpha and theta. In the alpha and theta states, you feel very peaceful, content, and relaxed - no matter what’s going on around you.
What many people may not realize is that it is impossible to access a state of alpha brain waves when you are not relaxed both mentally and physically! I think we all know that being able to remain calm and cool even when others are nervous or scared can definitely help you remain collected and allow you to make wise decisions - even when others are in states of panic. For this reason, slower brainwaves can help you make smart business decisions, peacefully mediate arguments, and even help others remain calm when they are in those high-beta brainwave, panicky states.
Look into the eyes of others
Have you ever looked directly at the eyes of another person when they attempt to remember something or dig up a past memory? It is common, in most people, to look directly up when trying to remember a past event. This is for a good explanation for the “looking up” though: researchers have discovered that each time that your eyes look 30 degrees upwards, the brain produces a short, quick burst of alpha brain waves.
The simple act of “closing your eyes” has been linked to an increased production of alpha brainwaves. Each time that you close your eyelids and look up [with your eyes still closed], the production of alpha brain waves becomes even more powerful. Most researchers on the topic aren’t fully knowledgeable as to why this happens. With that said, many spiritual teachers have come to believe that the increase in alpha is due to accessing your subconscious mind via an energy center on your forehead called the “brow” [or “third-eye”] chakra.
Note: If you’d like to further improve your memory, I highly recommend checking out my article: “Tips To Improve Your Memory.”
Peak performance and improved concentration
States of “peak performance”
Do you ever get the feeling that your life is going perfect? Or have you ever experienced a period of time in your life where you would describe things as “the best?” Maybe you got a hole in one golfing for the first time and improved your score for about a month straight. We all have had times in our lives when everything felt damn near perfect. This state of mind is referred to as “peak performance” or “in the zone.” Everything seems to “flow” perfectly and you feel as if nothing will go wrong. Time goes by incredibly quickly, and before you know it, you’ve already accomplished a huge task - that felt easy.
Though, not all of our days here go as smoothly as when we are in a state of “peak performance” or “optimal functioning.” The phenomenal news is that you can actually train your brain to shift into that “peak performance” or “in the zone” state of consciousness. Often times people aren’t aware that they can consciously replicate this state. Great ways to replicate this state of mind and take control of your reality are as follows:
- brainwave entrainment - you can flex your brain waves to this state temporarily
- meditation - you can take conscious control over your mental state
- neurofeedback - you can train your brain to produce this state
- self-hypnosis - you can train yourself to access a “zone type state.”
Alpha brainwaves improve our ability to concentrate
Alpha brain waves are able to significantly improve our ability to focus and concentrate. Why? Because alpha brain waves make you use both hemispheres of your brain in the process - instead of relying on your dominant side for concentration. Usually, individuals have a hemispheric dominance in their brains: either right or left. The majority of people have a dominant left-hemisphere. When you are able to access the alpha brainwave state, both hemispheres of your brain are able to share the dominance - they work together.
Sports Teams: Beta brainwaves = 1/2 team vs. Alpha brainwaves = full team
Think of it like a sports team - we’ll use football as an example. When you are in a beta brain wave state, usually only your left-hemisphere is active. So to go along with our “football example” - this would be like only the defense playing well, with the team’s offense being a non-factor. This team would likely loose the game, no matter how good their defense plays - they need to score on offense.
When your brain is able to shift down to an alpha brain wave state, think of it as both the offense and defense playing great together. Both are doing a great job and the team will have absolutely zero problems with winning the game. Alpha brain waves: things go much more smoothly when the team is playing well together and every player is performing. Beta brain waves: it is much more difficult to win when only 1/2 the team “shows up to play.”
Boost your overall energy, youth, and happiness
Have you ever wondered why young children have tons of energy in comparison to adults? Usually, children have so much energy and self-esteem that many adults literally can get tired just watching them. They are like little Energizer bunnies the way they keep going and going without any expression of fatigue… Take a second to think about how energized and “pumped up” children feel about their life. Kids always have a positive, happy-go-lucky, ready-for-anything, look on their faces.
Brain waves: Children vs. Adults
Scientists have thoroughly researched the brain waves of children. They found that children spend most of their time in either the “alpha brainwave” pattern, “theta brainwave” pattern, or a heavily mixed combination of both. As children grow up and become adults, their brains begin producing increased beta brain waves.
This is definitely not a bad thing, as mentioned in the article: Beta Brain Waves: Alert, Awake, and Stressful States. Why? Because without beta brain waves, we’d have a difficult time logically communicating, writing, analyzing, thinking, and organizing. The beta brainwave state is optimal for completing tasks like these.
A key problem, though, is that the majority of the adult population fails to recognize that they spend too much time in the beta brainwave state, and don’t get enough alpha or theta waves. The lack of alpha and theta brainwave patterns can reflect the feelings that adults have. Many may feel that “something is missing” in their lives, or even have a midlife crisis and attempt to rediscover their youth.
The alpha and theta waves are what people are missing when they are talking about trying to find the same happiness and carefree attitude as they did when they were a kid. The alpha brainwave patterns can bring back some much needed energy, happiness, and self-esteem that young children generally display. What if you were even able to direct your excess energy towards completing your goals?
You’d be literally unstoppable and the time you spend “working” would seem to fly by because you’d much more zest and excitement in your life. You can only imagine how much better your life would feel if you had extra self-esteem, a larger energy supply, and felt as happy as you did when you were a kid. Likely, you’d have much less resistance when attempting to accomplish bigger goals because you’d feel so great!
A boosted brain = a boosted immune system
Scientific breakthroughs have recently found a direct relationship between the health of the brain and the health of the body. Look up “psychoneuroimmunology” sometime and you’ll read about some interesting discoveries. Psychoneuroimmunologists understand that people who are consistently stressed out, emotionally drained or depressed, or other mental health issues, have a much more difficult time fending off sickness. These individuals come down with sicknesses much more often than those who feel positive, happy, and have a healthier brain.
Other scientific research has shown a clear link between slower brain waves and a quicker “healing time” from bodily injuries such as: bruises, cuts, scratches, or other deep wounds. What’s crazy is that some scientists even believe that when a person is in a state of alpha or theta brain waves, the healing-rate becomes 10 times quicker! This is really an impressive find.
The slower, alpha and theta brain wave patterns are often very common in the brains’ of people who consistently practice meditation. For this reason, it is not at all surprising that individuals who practice meditation can reap significant health-related benefits. Accessing alpha or theta brainwaves for just 20 minutes can result in lowered stress and anger levels, lower blood pressure, headache relief, and in some cases, even a happier mood!
After reading these claims awhile ago, I remained a bit skeptical. With that said, when I finally did some experimentation in the alpha and theta brainwave ranges, I came to notice an improved immune system, I felt healthier, and had more energy than normally. I still did get sick at times, but it was less frequently and I usually recovered at a quicker rate.
Say goodbye to your insomnia
I love the way alpha and theta brainwaves can work wonders for insomniacs. I used to struggle with insomnia and sometimes my only options were to: A) pop a Xanax and fall asleep or B) Stay up until 3:00 A.M. before finally managing to fall asleep. When popping a Xanax, I didn’t like the feeling of being “drugged up,” and having to rely on a pill to fall asleep. That is purely unnatural. When I stayed up until 3:00 A.M. I felt completely burnt out and tired the next day. Both options were horrible and stress had me in what I perceived lose-lose situation.
After finally discovering brainwave entrainment, I began to experiment with various sessions. I realized that in order for us to get quality sleep, our brains need to ’shift’ from the intense, fast-paced beta brainwaves down to alpha brainwaves. Without being able to shift from beta to alpha, we shift from the stressful “high-beta” directly to “theta” or “delta” and skip alpha. Skipping alpha in order to fall asleep results in terrible quality of sleep.
What worked best for me was using various alpha brainwave entrainment sessions via Neuro-Programmer 2 Professional while laying in bed, hoping to fall asleep. It seemed that even if I wasn’t able to fall asleep, I was in fact able to calm my racing-thoughts / rapid-thinking down to a relaxed state. This allowed me to at least fall asleep in a quicker period of time. After a couple weeks of consistently listening to alpha sessions before bed, I was able to fall asleep when I wanted and very quickly.
Stop and take a second to think about this. Being in an alpha brain wave state means feeling both mentally and physically relaxed. When your brain calms down into a state of alpha, the constant chatter [rapid-thoughts] of your beta brainwaves slow down. This state of “idling” in alpha allows your brain to shift even further down into the theta brain wave frequencies. You are now able to enjoy a healthy, good night’s sleep!
It is also important that in the first stage of sleep (N1), your brain always enters alpha. This is why when you slow your brain waves to the alpha range from beta, your brain naturally believes you are ready to fall asleep… Followed by this, something amazing happens: you do! You actually fall asleep and defeat your insomnia! Say goodbye to Ambien, Lunesta, [insert sleeping pill here], Xanax, alcohol, etc. Whoop whoop!
Take a nap and wake up in alpha waves
Waking up in an alpha brainwave state
Ever wake up feeling alert, energized, refreshed, and pumped up for the day? Well, each time that a person wakes up in an alpha brain wave state, they’ll usually feel highly energetic and is literally able to “jump out of bed.” No matter if you just slept a short period of time or a full night - if you wake up in an alpha brain wave state, you’ll feel extremely refreshed. Nearly 20 minutes after falling asleep, your brain shifts down into a state of alpha. After around 20 minutes, your brain dives down into the range of theta brain waves.
Famous people who had much success with “power naps”
The whole key is to wake up in a state of alpha. If you consistently wake up while your brain is in the delta brain wave rhythm or even theta, you will feel very groggy, tired, and will feel like sleeping a lot longer. This is why research has proved that taking a short power nap can increase your overall energy levels and boost your brain power.
When you take a short nap, you are very likely to wake up in a state of alpha. Many influential leaders who enjoyed taking power naps throughout their day include: Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein, Napoleon Bonaparte, Salvador Dali, Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and Thomas Edison.
Why napping is good for your brain
A study done by researchers at Harvard University, found that individuals who took a small “power nap” at around midday, actually performed better at memory tasks and learning when compared to individuals who didn’t take a nap. Though it may seem ridiculous, many companies who have advocated napping at around lunchtime noticed significantly boosted mood and productivity amongst their workers.
The director at the Sleep Disorder Center of the University of New Mexico, named (Dr.) Amanda Beck, believes that it is best for everyone to take about a 15 minute nap at around noon. Why? Because even taking a 15 minute “power nap” can boost energy in tired workers. Dr. Beck also stated that, “In a lot of ways, taking a nap is lot better than a cup of coffee.” It definitely wouldn’t hurt to remind your boss of this interesting fact when he finds you asleep shortly after lunch break!
Boost your intuition and “gut instinct”
A cool side-effect associated with increased alpha waves- and especially increased theta brainwaves is a boosted intuition or “gut instinct.” Often times using our “gut instinct” and intuition can be of great help when making decisions. When your brain is in an alpha-theta brain wave state, you have access to the subconscious and deeper intuition. Has there ever been a time in your life when you were thinking of a person - and before you know it, you see that same person later in the day?
Some believe that it is the intuition - or even psychic ability - [provided by theta brainwaves] that allows us to be aware that we will probably see the person who pops into our head, predict that a person is going to call before they do, or even predict a song will come on the radio right before it does. This is how things work: alpha brain waves link your conscious mind with your subconscious mind.
When you are in an alpha-theta state, you are able to dig up some subconscious knowledge and intuition and transfer that information from the subconscious [theta waves], through the conscious-subconscious barrier [alpha waves], and into the conscious [beta waves]. This is why when your slower brainwaves are stronger, it is easier to dig up subconscious advice, memories, or other information.
Interesting facts about slow brain waves
Women are naturally more intuitive than men
Have you ever heard the rumor that women have strong intuitions? Well, if you have, that rumor is actually true! After analyzing the brain waves of women and men, scientists learned that most womens’ brains are naturally running at slower brain wave rhythms than the brains’ of men. On average, the brains of women were found to be operating near the alpha range during their waking hours. For this reason, women can tend to dig up a lot of subconscious dirt via their intuition and sense certain things that most men likely aren’t aware of.
Younger children are highly intuitive
Younger children are also very intuitive. Right before arguments or negative situations, most children can sense when there’s something wrong. This is because most kids have plenty of alpha and theta brain waves. Interestingly enough, the same concept applies for animals - your pets. Oddly enough, the brain waves of animals have been discovered to be primarily in the theta range of high intuition and emotion.
Your pets are extremely intuitive too
For the pet owners out there - you probably understand that your dog or cat seems to know when something is wrong or when you feel angry. Many times, animals have been reported as having E.S.P abilities: they warn their caretaker in some way before a devastating event - they usually act very funny or differently. There are also sometimes cases where dogs seem to sense their owners coming back to the house - without actually seeing them pull in to the garage. It is the intuition that is provided by theta waves that gives them some extra knowledge about their owners’ returning to the house.
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