Brain waves are electrical activity produced by the brain. When a group of neurons sends a burst of electrical pulses to another group of neurons, it creates a wave-like pattern. Depending on how awake and alert you are, the waves might be very fast, or they might be very slow. They can and do change, based on what you’re doing and how you’re feeling. In this post, I will describe the brain waves and their relation to hypnotherapy.
There are 5 brain wave frequencies (Gamma, Beta, Alpha, Theta, and Delta). The frequency of each wave is measured in cycles per second (Hz), and each waves has its own set of characteristics representing a specific level of brain activity and a unique state of consciousness. Each type of brainwave controls a variety of states of consciousness ranging from sleep to active thinking. While all brain waves work simultaneously, one brainwave can be more predominant and active than the others. The dominant brainwave will determine your current state of mind. So if you are awake and relaxed you would be considered to be in an “alpha state of mind” because your Alpha brain waves would be the strongest with the highest amplitude.
Your brain cycles through all five of the different types of brain waves at various times. Imagine yourself flipping through a radio dial, stopping for a little while to catch a tune on each station before moving on to the next. This is similar to how your brain cycles through brain waves. However, there are factors that can disrupt this healthy balance: stress, lack of sleep, certain medications, poor food choices, brain injury, and other factors. This will affect the waves the brain produces, causing, for example, poorer cognitive function (associated with an abnormal level of gamma waves).
5 Types of Brain Waves
Gamma (above 40Hz)
It’s the most recently discovered, and also the fastest frequency at above 40 Hz. Little is known yet about this state of mind, however, initial research shows Gamma brain waves are associated with bursts of insight and high–level information processing.
Beta (14-40Hz)
Beta waves dominate our normal waking state of consciousness when attention is directed towards cognitive tasks and the outside world. At this level, the mind focuses on physical senses ( Seeing, Hearing, Touching, Smelling, Tasting).
Beta is a “fast” activity, present when we:
- Are alert
- Anxious
- Engaged in problem solvng
- Utilize judgement
- Make decisions
- Are mentally active
- Focused
Beta help you prepare to:
- Take an exam
- Play sports
- Give a presentation
- Analyze and organize information
- Do activites with mental altertness and high level of concentrations
It is important to mention that too much Beta can cause significant problems for the individual by increasing muscle tension, raising blood pressure, and creating a state of anxiety, anger, and aggression for the individual
Alpha (7.5-14 Hz)
Alpha waves are present in deep physical and mental relaxation, and usually when the eyes are closed, during a daydream, or in light meditation. It is the optimal time to program the mind for success and it also heightens your imagination, visualization memory, learning, and concentration. It’s the gateway to your subconscious mind, and the voice of your intuition, which becomes clearer and more profound the closer you get to 7.5Hz.
Alpha is a place of:
- Passivity
- Relaxation
- No worries, fears or frustartions
- Intuition
- Inspiration
- Creativity
- Inner consciousness
- Limitless time and space
- Expanded awareness
- Learning
Alpha training is most commonly recommended for the treatment of stress. This is a place of deep relaxation, but not quite meditation where we begin to access the wealth of creativity that lies just below our conscious awareness.
Theta (4-7.5Hz)
In Theta, we are in a waking dream (daydreaming), vivid imagery flashes before the mind’s eye and we are receptive to information beyond our normal conscious awareness. It can bring you into deep states of meditation, a sensation of “floating” and because it is an expansive state, you may feel your mind expand beyond the boundaries of your body. Theta waves are present during hypnosis, deep meditation, and light sleep, including the all-important REM dream state. It is the realm of your subconsciousness.
This is where most people fall asleep, control their heartbeat, bleeding, and digestion, conduct deep meditation and brain activity slows almost to the point of sleep.
Theta is an ideal state for:
- Super-learning
- Re-programming your mind
- Dream recall
- Self-hypnosis
- Incresing creativity
- Enhancing learning
- Reducing stress
- Recovering lost memories
- Awaken intuition
Delta (0.5-4Hz)
This is the deep sleep wave. It is the slowest of the frequencies and is experienced in deep, dreamless sleep and in very deep transcendental meditation and hypnosis states, where awareness is fully detached. It is the realm of your unconscious mind, and the gateway to the universal mind and collective unconscious, where information is otherwise unavailable at the conscious level. This level (Delta) of deep sleep is important for the healing process as it is linked with deep healing and regeneration.
Studies suggest that people using these slower rhythms of the brain increase their ability to:
- Heal several times faster than the normal rate
- Better controlled blood pressure, muscle tensions and digestion
- Increase their productivity
- Gain greater peace of mind
- Learn and recall better
- Maximine their intuition
Delta acts as a form of radar – seeking out information – reaching out to understand on the deepest unconscious level things that we can’t understand the thought process. Delta provides intuition, empathetic attunement, and instinctual insight.
Brain waves and Hypnotherapy
It is the alpha-theta border, from 7Hz to 8 Hz, which is the optimal range for visualization, mind programming, and using the creative power of your mind begins. This is the mental state in which you consciously create your reality. You are conscious of your surroundings however, your body is in deep relaxation. This level is the one most commonly found in a hypnotized subject.
While even a light trance (Alpha brain waves) is effective, most hypnotherapists would wish to work with clients experiencing a medium-level trance (Theta brain waves). Here the client will be aware of, but not distracted by outside noises. They will be more deeply relaxed and more suggestible than if in a light trance. About 80% of the population can be induced into this medium level of hypnotic trance.
It can also be said that any level of trance – even a light trance – can be effective as long as it allows the client’s thought processes to be addressed without the constant critical thinking of the conscious mind. Mostly, clients in a light to medium trance remember what is said during the hypnotic state. In a very deep trance, the subconscious mind hears and can make changes, but the conscious mind may not remember what was said. It is the unconscious mind, however, that listens and remembers in any level of trance and is making the changes, so it is not necessary for the client to consciously remember what was said.
Once the client has reached the hypnotic state where she or he is in a state of focused attention, deep relaxation, and a curiously detached parallel awareness, the hypnotherapist is ready to deliver the therapy by accessing the subject’s subconscious brain and thus their learned behavior pattern-making system, setting aside the conscious brain. In this state, the client is most suggestible to desired changes. What is important is the transformation of the suggestion into action and it happens at the subconscious level of the mind.
If you are struggling to keep out negative thoughts, anxieties, and issues of any kind relating to a previous time in your life, try the power of hypnotherapy or HypnoRelaxation. It can help free you of unwanted thoughts and behavior and release you to really enjoy your life. Book a Call Here.
