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At your peak performances your mind is energized by the
highest brain waves – called beta waves. Start to
daydream during a lecture, or boring committee meeting, and your brain waves shift down a
gear to alpha brain waves.
You’re still awake but your waves would register lower
on an EEG which is a reading that measures brain waves by
hooking electrodes to several points on your head.
 Move down one further level – to
theta waves and your body relaxes, heart rate and
respiration lower slightly, and your mind tends to move
back and forth between creative energy and deep
relaxation. Eventually, the lowest brain waves, called
delta, kick in, and for awhile the brain moves back
and forth between delta and theta movement.
In the first stage of sleep, EEGs show the brain waves slowing down progressively
through a thirty minute period. Your brain at that point shifts
into REM or rapid eye movement sleep.
Nathaniel Kleitman, discovered in the 1950s, that in
REM sleep a person’s eyes flutter rapidly in all
directions. In REM stages of sleep people dream, and when woken
in that stage you may feel like a Mack truck hit you –
but you will likely remember your dreams. Interestingly, brain
waves at the deepest sleep speed up again – even though the brain
remains dormant to conscious thought.
The key is to sustain brain waves suitable for the moment,
based on what you hope to accomplish. Easier said than done for
a person prone to stress. For example, alpha waves are
generated by the relaxed brain, so that you have vivid
memories, aha moments, and you feel at peace with the
world.
Serotonin chemicals are released which is characterized by
high performance and researchers tell us that when some people
begin to move from alpha waves into theta movement, sleep soon
follows. People who practice meditation can train their minds
to enter meditative states, much as those practiced by monks or
devout Zen followers.
In contrast, the stress hormone cortisol is released in dangerous doses in people who
sustain stress in the lives. This can be caused by poor diet,
lack of priorities, too little sleep, habits such as
meta messages which generate poor relationships, and lack
of reflection that helps you grow and progress in daily
doses.
Music or whistlin' while you work is one of the best touted ways to
move your brain waves from one state to another, and as I
described in by 2005 book, MI Strategies in the Classroom and Beyond. When you
think about it, our brainwaves are rather impressive.
First, Beta Brainwaves, kick in when we think
logically, solve problems, and confront external stimuli. Beta
often races and brings panic at times. Used too often, you run
the risk of thinking deeply about little, and tiring yourself
out about much. Imagine this wave as more high
energy activity within your mind. Beta has its
place but must be helped to slow down at times and reflect.
Second, Alpha Brainwaves, add images and visuals, you
could view as escape from reality. Too much alpha activity
leads to excessive escapes and too many daydreams. Too little
makes human machines in motion, without dreams that direct.
“Just right,” adds perfect porridge bowls balanced
for healthier lives.
Third, Theta Brainwaves, engage inner and intuitive
subconscious. You’ll find theta in places where you hold
memories, sensations and emotions. Sometimes, we also store
secrets there, which we block out in times of pain, to survive
what we feel unprepared to fix.
Fourth, Delta Brainwaves, provide personal radar and
feelings at unconscious levels. In healthy doses, these signals
cause empathy while too much delta activity can pack on
another’s baggage. If you read other people’s
minds, you probably have more delta activity than most. If you
find yourself in trouble for stepping on another’s toes
during typical days, you may engage less.
Fascinating pictures of your brain’s activity can add
tools to help you move from one wave kind to another. For
example, wide-eyed with beta movement at midnight, you can
actually coax your brain into quiet delta thought and parallel
places of sleep. Wonderful new studies show what we now know
and indicate how we can alter activity to speed up thought or
slow it down and plunge into deeper insights to solve complex problems. Einstein used
brainwaves to invent and pound new paths off old walkways, and
so can we. Whether you feel rushed and stressed or
quiet and relaxed much of the time, I’d
like to suggest three terrific books for those interested in changing
brainwaves for higher performance and brain based business results.
Check out Dr. Daniel Amen’s book, CHANGE YOUR BRAIN CHANGE YOUR LIFE, which
suggests wonderful ways to tackle anxiety, diminish anger and
break obsessions. Then read Dr. Anna Wise in
THE HIGH PERFORMANCE MIND, to find practical helps
for improved creativity, spirituality, and relationships. The
third book I recommend, A SYMPHONY IN THE BRAIN, is written by a
journalist, Jim Robbins, to explain the science behind
treatments which train readers to activate brain frequencies
they don’t normally use.
Can you see why successful people tend to flee from
stressful workplaces and why relaxed people come up with more innovative solutions? What do you
think?
This article is licensed under a Creative
Commons License.
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