Mastering Your Brainwaves
At your very hands, you have access to the most advanced piece of neural evolution - The human brain.
This book will give you insight into how your brain works & the different modes to help you master your brainwaves for your benefit ultimately.
What Are Brainwaves?
Your behavior, emotions, and thoughts are all communication between neurons in the brain.
These neurons create electrical impulses to communicate with one another - Each impulse we refer to as a "brainwave."
The brainwaves of the human brain are typically measured in hertz [Hz], which shows the cycles per second.
Now, one must know that the type of brainwave activity generally depends on the stimulus perceived by your senses.
There are four main types of brainwaves:
Beta
Alpha
Theta
Delta
Let's have a look at each one individually.
Beta Brainwaves
This first type of brainwave is of the fastest frequency, at about 13-38 Hz, depending on the stimulation.
There are generally three sub-types of beta brainwaves - Low Frequency, Medium Frequency & High-Frequency.
Think of low beta as your normal awake, alert state, where you are quiet, alone, and focused on a task at hand.
This state is relatively neutral, and there isn't much stress associated with it, but rather, pure consciousness, focused on the external world.
On the other hand, medium beta frequencies are a slightly more aroused state, where energy and anxiety may increase.
Think of medium beta as the state you're in shortly before you're introduced to a new group of people (i.e., you aren't stressed out or paranoid, but slightly anxious and more hyperactive).
Finally, we have High-Frequency beta brainwaves, which are associated with high levels of anxiety, energy, and stress.
In essence, this third sub-type is your fight or flight response, and you can think of it as your brain's survival mode.
Think of it as the state you jump into when an angry dog starts running towards you on the street - Your eyes open up, your heart rate jumps, blood & contraction signals start pumping to your extremities so that you can run from the danger.
Alpha Brainwaves
After beta, we have alpha brainwave frequencies, which are slower, measuring at about 9-14 Hz.
Have you ever had the situation where you were walking down the street with your headphones on, listening to your favorite music, and suddenly, you realize you've been walking on autopilot for the past 20 minutes?
Well, yes - This daydreaming state is one of the main characteristics of alpha brainwaves.
Think of alpha brainwaves as the state where you are not 100% focused on the external environment but instead on the inner state of play.
This is the state where your creativity has a full playground!
Theta Brainwaves
We have theta brainwave frequencies, which are even slower, at 4-8 Hz, past the alpha brainwaves.
If you've ever been in a deep state of meditation, where you seemed to have forgotten about the external environment, well, you've experienced theta!
Commonly, theta brainwaves only occur at night when we transition from a wakeful state to a state of sleep.
And though theta is a sleep transitional brainwave frequency, it can be tapped into during your wake life via mindful practices like meditation, as we already mentioned.
Delta Brainwaves
Last but not least, at the end of the chain, we have delta brainwave frequencies, which are the slowest ones at 1-4 Hz.
These are the brainwaves your brain taps into when you are not conscious but rather deep sleep.
You can think of Delta brainwaves as your brain's mode of most profound bodily recovery and rest.
Then It Loops
Your body is synchronized with the Earth's day-night cycle, so the brainwave cycle is also tuned to that!
As sun hits your eyes in the morning, this signals the brain that it is time to wake up.
Then, a flurry of substances is secreted and engaged in making you feel more alert and awake (these are called daytime neurotransmitters).
These neurotransmitters kick the brain into different modes, going down the ladder from Delta to theta, alpha, and finally, beta, which is your normal, awake, and alert state of mind.
Heart-Brain Coherence
For the longest time, we've been led to believe that the brain is simply the control center of the body, and everything below it responds to orders sent, including the heart!
And though that is a common belief, recent discoveries of The Heart Math Institute show that the heart sends more signals to the brain than the brain to the heart.
Even more importantly, these heart signals have a significant impact on how your brain functions.