Beta Brainwaves and Focused Execution
Last week, we introduced the concept of brainwave states. Here is a quick overview of the science: Neurons in our brain communicate with each other in order for us to think, create memories, learn a new skill, etc. The electricity passing between neurons creates impulses that occur at varying frequencies depending on the situation. For example, in higher frequency states (Beta and Gamma) you are more alert and energized, whereas in the lowest frequency brainwave (Delta) you are in a deep sleep.
The five human brainwave states are Beta, Alpha, Theta, Delta, and Gamma. By understanding the different properties of brainwaves and the situations in which they arise, we can learn to trigger these performance states to enter into them at the appropriate time. This week we’re going to dive into the first state: Beta brainwaves.
An overview of the different human brainwaves. Beta brainwaves occur at a frequency of 16 to 30 cycles per second (Hz).
Beta brainwaves occur at a frequency of 16 to 30 cycles per second (Hz). At one of highest frequencies, beta brainwaves occur when we’re engaged, deeply focused, and energized. By learning to enter into beta brainwaves, we can learn to stay deeply focused with sustained concentration - a rare skill in today’s world. Unlocking beta brainwaves and controlling our attention allows us to manage stress, direct our mind, and accomplish more of what is important. It helps us to think clearly at work, at home, and while pursuing our passions.
So how can you learn to enter into beta brainwaves and have unwavering focus in a world in which countless stimuli are constantly competing for your attention? Here are some techniques for unlocking radical attention and training your brain to focus:
1. Mindfulness. Mindfulness training is a powerful step on the path to increased focus. Mindfulness is an awareness of the world around you in the here and now. It’s a practice whereby any time you notice your mind wandering, you bring it back to the task at hand and the current moment in time. You are practicing living in the moment and controlling your attention. Mindfulness and meditation strengthen your ability to concentrate in the same way that bicep curls strengthen your muscles. Using mindfulness and meditation techniques help improve your brain’s ability to focus - be it at work or at home.
2. Exercise. Exercise isn’t just important for a healthy body, it also increases the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the brain, improving your mental performance. Exercise floods your brain with brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which stimulates the growth of new neurons to facilitate learning and memory. Acute exercise increases circulating levels of BDNF, which means that even a single bout of exercise can improve mental clarity! So if you have an important thinking-related task to do and need unwavering focus and concentration, go for a quick walk to boost mental focus and enter into beta brainwaves.
3. Cold exposure. Believe it or not, exposing your body to cold temperatures, particularly cold water, can actually boost your ability to focus. When we expose our body to cold water, we activate our sympathetic nervous system and increase noradrenaline, both of which makes us focused and alert. Cold water immersion can increase the amount of beta-endorphins in the blood, which produce feelings of euphoria, regulate the reward systems in the brain, and help to diminish activity in areas of the brain related to stress—the same effects you get from exercise and meditation! While taking an ice bath might not be something you want to do on a daily basis, a cold shower might be a good option. Finish your morning shower with a short blast of cold water to supercharge your morning. It can have an effect with as little as 20-30 seconds. Over time, you can build up to less time in warm water and more time in the cold shower.
4. Single tasking. Sometimes focused execution simply comes down to committing to focusing on one thing and one thing only. This means pivoting from multitasking to single tasking to enter a state of hyper-productivity. If you want to amplify your performance, identify what matters to you most and go after it with everything you have. Instead of spreading yourself thin, focus on one thing and one thing only until you get the job done.
Remember that when we are in focused execution (beta brainwave) mode, we are burning huge amounts of mental and physical energy. This means that it’s easy to get tired, run down, and sick if we don’t strategically recharge between bouts of focused execution. We need to alternate between deep focus and then allowing our bodies, minds, and emotions to recharge so we can be ready for our next focused activity. We will get into this more next week!
If you want to dive deeper into the science of brainwave states, check out my book Rest Refocus Recharge: A Guide for Optimizing your Life.
What are we finding in the research?
While mindfulness and meditation practices have been shown to decrease stress, improve focus, and boost performance, its effect on brain activity is harder to measure. In a 2018 systematic review, researchers looked at the impact of mindfulness-based interventions on brain activity in seven different brain-imaging studies. While more studies are needed, a consistent finding was that mindfulness-based training appears to increase activity in the insula, a region in the brain associated with self-awareness. This could be one explanation for why meditation improves present-moment awareness!
Read the research summary here!
Figure from Young et al. 2018. After a systematic review of 7 different mindfulness-based interventions, the most consistent finding was an increase in activity of the insula, a region of the brain associated with self-awareness. Regions of the brain associated with attentional processing were also measured but not consistently across the studies.
