High Beta Down

What are High Beta Waves?

Your brain runs on electricity. This electricity naturally occurs at different frequencies in your brain. Technically speaking, high beta waves are the electrical frequencies in your brain that are greater than 20 Hz. This means that these brainwaves cycle more than 20 times in one second.

High beta brainwaves are the number one contributor to brain dysregulation and subsequent physiological, emotional and behavioral disorders. These waves are produced when the brain over processes environmental stimuli to the point that a sympathetic (crisis) response occurs within the brain and body. While we need high beta in our brain to assist us when a real crisis occurs, many individuals develop habitual over production of high beta. Research has consistently shown that it is not the actual stress that destroys the brain and the body, but the consistent anticipation or worrying about stress that is destructive. This overabundance of high beta in the brain results in overstressed cardiovascular, adrenal and nervous systems. One of the easiest ways to understand high beta is to imagine it as the accelerator in a car. We need an accelerator to drive the correct speed, but it can become very destructive to the engine and fuel efficiency if we overuse the accelerator. When we overuse high beta it becomes destructive to our body’s “engine”.

High Beta Down Practices

In-Home Cohesion

Appropriate oxygen intake is vital to the overall regulation of high beta. This regulation needs to focus on the three principles of amplitude, rate, and symmetry. Amplitude is the depth of each breath. The average person unfortunately only takes in 30% of their needed amplitude of oxygen per breath. Your amplitude is increased by breathing more from your stomach rather than your chest. Rate is the amount of breaths per minute. The average person seen for a neurodiagnostic evaluation has a breathing rate of 15 breaths per minute. The ideal rate of deep diaphragmatic breathing should be 6-8 breaths per minute. The last principle of breathing is symmetry. Unfortunately, most individuals have statistically significant variation in their breathing patterns. The goal in healthy breathing is symmetry of each breath with the previous breath. It is this symmetry that creates a predictable oxygen supply for the heart and subsequently decreases the heart’s anticipatory stress.

Specific exercises for improving the areas of amplitude, rate, and symmetry can be found at: http://www.theneurocore.com/cohesionup.

Circadian Rhythm Enhancement

Circadian rhythm is more commonly referred to as your sleep/wake cycle. The three primary principles to follow for improving your circadian rhythm are consistency, appropriate night time stress management, and a healthy eating pattern.Your body and brain are continually seeking to develop a consistent rhythm of sleep. It is very important to respect this desire for consistency by initiating a consistent routine for sleep. If possible, avoid engaging in stressful cognitive or physiological activities after 8:00 p.m. With respect to eating patterns, eating earlier in the evening and avoiding food and beverages high in refined sugars and stimulants after 7:00 p.m. are strongly recommended. Also, avoid alcohol and foods high in fat. If late night hunger occurs, a small snack of slow burning carbohydrates with a lean protein is recommended. Apart from these common sense principles for sleep, Neurocore has also developed a circadian rhythm program that can be found at http://www.theneurocore.com/thetabalance.

Diet and Nutritional Supplementation

The primary focus of this intervention is to appropriately manage the regulation of cortisol (adrenaline) throughout the day. Many times subtle change in diet can have a dramatic impact on cortisol levels. Neurocore has found the dietary and supplementation program recommended in the book, “The Cortisol Connection Diet,” to be very effective. We have copies of this diet and supplement program available for purchase in our offices. Please ask your technician or one of the office staff if you are interested in this resource. Basic consideration for your diet should include slow burning carbohydrates, lean proteins, a low amount of stimulant beverages, foods with caffeine and high fructose content, and appropriate volumes of fruits and vegetables. Supplementation of your diet with a multivitamin, B-complex, theanine, vitamin C and nighttime melatonin may also be helpful.

Exercise

Exercise is an extremely important factor in our physiological health and it is also a major contributor to high beta reduction. The most important consideration with exercise is balance. Many individuals over commit to exercise programs that are unrealistic to maintain and may actually cause unhealthy overproduction of adrenaline. In most cases, a simple 20 minute brisk walk on a daily basis will have a noted impact on high beta regulation within 6-8 weeks. Regardless of the exercise program you choose, remember that the key for high beta reduction is consistency rather than intensity.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

It is recommended that you implement the following 10 minute exercise at least 2 times per day.

Sit in a comfortable chair with good back support and place your feet flat on the floor. Slowly work through the following muscle groups with a 5 second tightening of the muscles and a 10 second relaxing of the muscles. Be aware of the pressure as you tighten, versus the calming sense as you relax.

• Close eyes tight for 5 seconds, then relax them for 10 seconds.
• Clench jaw (not so tight that teeth hurt) for 5 seconds, then relax jaw for 10 seconds.
• Slowly rotate head in a circle to the left for 3 rotations, then to the right for 3 rotations.
• Pull shoulders up towards ears and hold for 5 seconds, then relax them for 10 seconds.
• Pull chin to chest for 5 seconds, then relax for 10 seconds.
• Hold arms out like you are pushing against a wall for 5 seconds, then drop them for 10 seconds.
• Tighten fists for 5 seconds, then relax them for 10 seconds.
• Tighten stomach muscles for 5 seconds, then relax them for 10 seconcds.
• Tighten thighs for 5 seconds, then relax them for 10 seconds.
• Tighten calves for 5 seconds, then relax them for 10 seconds.
• Curl toes to tighten for 5 seconds, then relax them for 10 seconds.
• Finish your muscle relaxation exercise with 60 seconds of focusing on all muscle groups and being aware of a calm, relaxed feeling within them.

Need More Help?

It is recommended that these secondary interventions are combined with the primary interventions of Neurocore’s Neurofitness program. If you have additional questions or need further assistance, feel free to contact our clinical nurse, Amy Royer at amy.royer@theneurocore.com.