Our brain is this amazingly complex network of billions of neurons.
These neurons communicate with each other through electrical impulses. And these impulses generate electrical activity that can be observed outside the brain in the form of “brain waves“.
These waves can be detected and measured through a technique called electroencephalography (EEG), which is just a fancy word that means ‘electric brain graph’. The procedure involves placing tiny electrodes on your scalp to measure and record the electrical activity. Physicians and scientists often use EEG to diagnose neurological disorders or study brain functions.
In this post, we’ll dive deeper into brain waves and see what practical insights we can extract from this stuff.
Our brain waves change depending on what we’re doing and feeling. And different patterns of brainwaves can be recognized by their frequencies. Based on frequencies, brain waves are broadly categorized into five bands:
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Delta Waves (0.5 – 4 Hz)
Delta waves are the slowest recorded brain waves. They are observed most often in infants and when we are in a state of deep sleep. Healing and regeneration occur when the brain is in this state.
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Theta Waves (4 – 8 Hz)
Theta waves reflect a state between wakefulness and sleep. They are observed frequently in young children. In older children and adults, theta waves are recorded in states of meditation, hypnosis, drowsiness or light sleep.
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Alpha Waves (8 – 14 Hz)
Alpha waves fall in the middle of the brain wave spectrum. They tend to appear when you’re in a state of relaxation or passive attention. They emerge with the closing of eyes and diminish with eye-opening or mental exertion.
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Beta Waves (14 – 30 Hz)
Beta Waves represent our normal state of consciousness when attention is directed towards the outside world. Low-amplitude beta waves are often associated with busy or anxious thinking and active concentration.
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Gamma Waves ( 30 – 100 Hz)
Gamma waves are associated with large scale network activity and cognitive phenomena such as working memory, attention, and perceptual grouping. They are generally observed from time to time in short bursts and last no longer than a fifth of a second.
Note that all the above-mentioned frequencies could be observed simultaneously in the brain. The science of brain waves is a bit messy. Depending on what brain regions are being observed, results can be different.
Now, onto the interesting stuff.
Gamma Synchrony
While gamma waves are observed rarely and sparsely in normal people, EEG readings of zen Buddhist monks (who have meditated rigorously for decades) show consistent high-frequency gamma waves. And the gamma wave readings are off the charts when they meditate.
Check out this 3-minute video: Superhumans: The remarkable brain waves of high-level meditators
Pretty cool, right?
These monks show an extraordinary synchronization of brain waves known as gamma synchrony. A growing body of theory hypothesizes that gamma synchrony represents the binding of the brain’s many sensory and cognitive operations into the miracle of consciousness.
A greater presence of gamma is speculated to be associated with expanded consciousness and spiritual emergence.
Theta Reverie
When you’re drowsy and about to drift off to sleep (or when you’ve just woken up), your brain shows theta frequencies. Similar to the state of hypnosis. It’s a state where you are hyper-suggestible.
Theta waves are also observed frequently in young kids. This is why they are so impressionable. They quickly absorb things into their belief systems.
So if you drift off to sleep while scrolling on your phone, or if it’s the first thing you check when you wake up… you’re giving social media algorithms control over your mind. What kind of stuff are you letting them program into your subconscious? Something to ponder about.
Some people use subliminal audio files in an attempt to “reprogram” their minds this way. But I’m not completely sold on that idea. Unearned advantages can sometimes be disadvantageous in the long run.
Neurofeedback
The most practical application of brain wave tech is Neurofeedback.
It’s a procedure where you respond in real-time to the electrical activity in your brain and try to adjust it. A rough analogy to describe the process would be showing a child how to eat with a spoon. Then handing the spoon to the child, and clapping when they mimic your behavior
Basically operant conditioning, but much more sophisticated. It’s like the brain watching itself in a mirror.
The technique can help you move away from an undesirable state of consciousness or move towards a desirable state of consciousness.
There’s evidence, albeit limited, that shows neurofeedback to be useful for treating anxiety disorders, depression, ADHD, psychological trauma, addiction, and a bunch of other mental illnesses.
The way it can help process psychological trauma is particularly interesting. Here’s a small excerpt from a research on alpha-theta neurotherapy:
[…] the natural shift in dominant brain wave frequencies during maturation could result in dysfunctional childhood learning being preserved in the unconscious as an adult. to gain access to most of these state-bound memories, one may have to return to the state in which they were created […] In utilizing the Peniston protocol of alpha-theta neurotherapy there is often a profound alteration in the state of consciousness of the patient. As subconscious (emotional) memories become more available to conscious (episodic) process in this deeply altered state, traumatic memories are often released and appear as flashbacks from the past. As these flashbacks are relived in the context of current adult resources and perceptions, the subconscious memories may become more readily available for healing and alteration.
Neurofeedback can apparently also enhance creativity, concentration, and induce flow state.
A very simple application of neurofeedback is this wearable gadget called Muse. It measures your brain waves and guides your meditation sessions through sounds of weather. When your mind is calm, you hear peaceful weather. As your focus drifts, it subtly cues you (stormy weather) to bring your attention back. Something like this flattens the meditation learning curve considerably.
Relevant Plug: Why Meditate? — How Meditation Alters the Brain
Other than neurofeedback, there’s also tech like Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) that uses mild electric currents to induce desired states of consciousness. Apparently the US army might be already using something like this to train its soldiers. It can be used to induce flow state and significantly speed up the training process.
There are claims that Binaural Beats of certain frequencies can alter your brain waves and help you focus/relax. Some people swear by it. There’s not much evidence in favour of it yet. So YMMV.
As technology gets more sophisticated and the demand for consciousness-altering products increases, we’ll get a lot of cool toys that integrate the EEG tech — allowing us to ride the “waves”.
Thank you for reading. Most of the content on this website has emerged from conversations with readers like you.
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