Alpha brain waves for goal setting, fighting stress and depression
And why people become super creative in this state
Whenever I wanted to design a poster or work on a new idea, I would visit Polar Bear and have a Death by Chocolate. It made me more creative. Next day I would wake up by 4 AM and finish the work in 4 hours, which I would otherwise take days to complete. The chocolate syrup laced ice cream was my go-to resource if I needed to crush through a challenging task. But I never understood how this whole ritual worked. I spent months trying to figure out and finally understood the magic. The taste of the chocolate syrup reminded me of a chocolate cake I used to have, when I was 6, 7 years old. The taste took me back in time when I had no stress, just a free mind. So in the present time, this freedom helped me enter the “Flow State” and think beyond the edges of the map. My mind was free to operate like a child’s and ideas flew in without constraints.
Man has been on a quest to use neuroscience to become more productive, efficient and cutting edge. Many people believe that an insight into the brain can improve their willpower, self control and a whole lot of attributes. Research about brain waves started with Hans Berger and his findings were so baffling, it remained controversial for decades. Today brain wave studies enable top notch CEOs of the world to bring their A-game to the colosseum. Let us find out how the alpha brain waves can be used to improve the day.
What are brain waves?
Brain waves are created by the synchronous electrical impulses from neurons during their functioning. This electrical activity is behind all the thoughts, emotions and feelings we have. There are five types of brain waves and they change during the course of day depending on our thoughts, emotions or state of sleep. Alpha waves (8 to 12 Hz) are associated with relaxation and increasing the time spent in this state works as a bio-hack in many respects.
Why do neuroscientists give Alpha waves a legendary status
Alpha is the resting state of the awake mind and it holds the power of being in the present moment or “state of now”. Scientists and mystics stress the importance of being in the “present moment” as a means to reduce stress and enhance longevity. Alpha brain waves occur twice a day, during wake up and just before falling asleep. This provides us with two windows of opportunity for relaxation and creativity (1)
The alpha world is the state where new ideas are born, stories are written and paintings drawn. Being the optimal state to program your mind for future goals, alpha has been given significant importance by change makers throughout the world. This state is revered by CEOs and artists alike as the phase is less critical and more acceptive of new ideas. It is the gateway to accessing higher levels of consciousness which are instrumental in achieving life goals, building habits and having a happier life.
Why is the first hour of your day so important?
The first hour decides how the day pans out. Experts agree you can choose the way you want your day to be. The time period between 3 AM to 6 AM is called Brahma muhurtham in Indian culture. This is known to be a time of peace and serenity. Ayurveda maintains that Brahma muhurta is instrumental in maintaining Svasthya or state of well being. During this time the air is rich in oxygen, your body feels light and you are in a great state to learn new things, prevent diseases and have a higher quality of life.
The pre-dawn period enables us to get into a unique state of mind called the Congruence — when Mind and Body fall into an alignment with each other. You will be able to achieve a goal only when your mind is able to believe that you can achieve it. Congruence brings that certainty, enabling you to achieve your tasks come hell or high water. Visualization is the best practice you can do in the alpha state as you can train your mind to imagine your heart’s desires. Alpha is a muscle, the more you exercise, the stronger it will shape a new reality for you.
How to do goal setting right !
Most people make the mistake of setting their career, financial or even their life goals in the awake state. Goal setting works best when you are high on alpha waves and not in the awake, beta state. That is the period to execute the tasks for realizing the future goal. Before we set our minds to achieve anything, it is important to align the mind and body towards the goal. If Congruence is not achieved, you may end up with unachieved goals.
Let’s do goal setting right:
- As you wake up, sit down in a calm and quiet place and close your eyes.
- Imagine your life goal and paint a vivid, clear picture of it.
- Use your sensory perception and imagine how your goal feels like.
- How does it look, smell and feel? Try to remember images associated with this goal.
- Tell yourself that you are going to achieve this goal, in present continuous tense. Keep repeating.
- Use emotion to add energy and zeal.
- Open your eyes and rise up.
Visualize your desired outcome and witness the changes happening in your life.
How does Alpha help in fighting stress and anxiety?
To fight stress and anxiety, it is important to be aware of your thoughts. Scientists have found that we have an average of 46 thoughts per minute when we are awake. The brain goes into a frenzy when the mind is stressed and it registers a higher number of thoughts and emotions. This number decreases as we go up the levels of consciousness. As we move up from beta to delta, we cross the alpha level and start to feel relaxed. This is the reason the alpha state is known as the gateway to higher levels of consciousness.
Stress and anxiety create numerous mental health problems ranging from depression to personality disorders. People with anxiety and depression are found to have low levels of alpha wave activity. Experts believe that inducing alpha waves are a great way to fight stress as science has proved that these waves are associated with healing and recovery processes. Accessing this brain state at will, can improve your stress response and enable you to stay calm.
To understand the world around us, the brain relies on the information sent by the sense organs. Eighty percent of the data is relayed by the eyes. Thus the difficulty in relaxing the mind when the eyes are open. Alpha waves are strongest when eyes are closed. Due to lack of visual inputs the brain disconnects from the outer world and directs attention inwards, into the body. The mind is now prepared to shift into a relaxed state. Once your mind has settled, try exploring Sankalpa, visualization or any practice you wish. We recommend relaxation practices based on Pranayama and Tantra shastra. Long and deep breaths are the easiest and most effective technique to calm the mind down and send it into a meditative theta wave state.
Things which improve your Alpha
When we are under the influence of stress, we exhibit incoherent behavioural patterns. Many layers of consciousness are unavailable to us at that point. To calm down or improve creativity you can access the alpha’s free willed consciousness by:
- Meditation
- Closing your eyes and sitting calm
- Perform a Pranayama practice
- Having a relaxing warm shower
- Taking a Yoga class
Studies have found that during a meditation or visualization, internally directed attention or awareness created stronger alpha waves. It has been reported that alpha desynchronises when thoughts occur. Brain moves into the beta state when thoughts take center stage.
Research has shown that Ayurvedic treatments like Shiro abhyanga (head massage), Shirodhara (pouring medicated oils over the head), Abhyanga (whole body massage), successfully put the brain in the alpha state enabling a condition of peace and relaxation (3). The treatments also rejuvenate the central nervous system, relieve aches, pains and enhance the quality of sleep.
Students, artists, doctors, engineers, you need to access your alpha as this puts you in pole position to influence the vector of your careers. Once you pass through the doorway between the conscious and subconscious minds, several regions of the brain which were previously divided, start to work coherently for a common goal. When that happens you can access limitless potential and exist as a whole in this Universe.
The next time you want to set a goal or beat stress, remember to go alpha.
Your mind is your greatest resource !
References:
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4020761/
