WTF Fun Fact 13375 – Alpha Brain Waves and Creativity

The relationship between alpha brain waves and creativity has long fascinated researchers and people seeking to tap into their creative potential. While findings are not yet conclusive, evidence suggests that alpha brainwaves may play a role in facilitating creative thinking and idea generation.

What’s the connection between alpha brain waves and creativity?

Brain waves are rhythmic patterns of neural activity that researchers measure with electroencephalography (EEG). Different brainwave frequencies seem to correspond to specific states of consciousness, such as alertness, relaxation, or deep sleep.

Alpha brain waves have a frequency range of 8 to 12 hertz. They are commonly observed when individuals are in a relaxed and calm, but wakeful, state. These brain waves are most prominent when the eyes are closed, during meditative states, or when relaxing. While the exact relationship between alpha brainwaves and creativity is still being explored, several studies have indicated a potential connection.

One theory suggests that alpha brain waves may facilitate creative thinking by promoting a state of relaxed attention and reducing external distractions. When individuals are in this relaxed state, they may be more open to making connections between seemingly unrelated ideas. This can foster divergent thinking—the ability to generate a wide range of novel ideas.

Creativity is complex

The exact mechanisms underlying the relationship between alpha brain waves and creativity remain unclear. So it’s important to approach these findings with caution. Creativity is a multifaceted and complex phenomenon that involves various cognitive processes, environmental factors, and individual differences.

The role of alpha brain waves, although intriguing, is just one piece of the puzzle. Moreover, it’s worth noting that creativity is not solely dependent on alpha brainwave activity. Research also suggests that theta and gamma brainwave frequencies play a role in creative thinking.

Additionally, factors such as domain expertise, knowledge, motivation, and environmental influences all contribute to the creative process. Despite the ongoing scientific exploration, some individuals have reported subjective experiences that align with the potential benefits of alpha brainwave activity on creativity.

Relaxing for creativity

Many artists, writers, and musicians claim to enter a “flow” state—an optimal state of consciousness characterized by effortless focus, heightened creativity, and a sense of being in the zone—when their minds are relaxed and receptive. While the research is still developing, there are practical strategies that individuals can explore to potentially harness the benefits of alpha brainwave activity.

Researchers associate practices such as meditation, mindfulness, and deep relaxation techniques with an increase in alpha waves and may create a conducive mental state for creative thinking. Additionally, creating an environment that minimizes distractions while promoting relaxation—such as quiet spaces, nature settings, or dedicated creative zones—may facilitate a relaxed state of mind and potentially enhance creative output.

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Source: “How brain waves enable creative thinking” — Medical News Today

WTF Fun Fact 13018 – Can Meditation Be Dangerous?

While we know various types of meditation can promote better mental and physical health, it’s easy to neglect the fact that just about anything can be dangerous if you don’t know how to do it right or aren’t prepared for it. But can meditation be dangerous?

In some cases, yes. But mostly for beginners who quit too early.

How can meditation be dangerous?

Dangerous is a loaded work, however, there are certainly some potential downsides to meditation. For those who are in a dark place or have multiple stressors that they have been repressing, harmful thoughts can sometimes arise during meditation. And if you aren’t skilled at pushing those thoughts away, it can cause you to ruminate on them even more.

According to Psychology Today (cited below), “The most profound interaction you experience in meditation is the interaction with yourself. As part of that, you would get in touch with buried and suppressed emotions. Meditation could trigger waves of anger, fear or jealousy, which had been sitting deep within you, and that would make you feel uncomfortable.”

Of course, having these emotions surface is likely good in the long term if it helps you deal with them and get past them. But if you stop meditating due to discomfort with those feelings, it can leave you worse off. (This is similar to starting and stopping therapy too soon – it can be uncomfortable at first, but that’s usually part of the process.)

The danger of being a beginner

If you’ve ever had a hard time meditating or found that you feel worse afterward, you’re not alone. But we tend to downplay the potential side effects for beginnings since there are so many potential benefits. And typically, the more you keep meditating, the better you get at it.

However, for those who have been through traumatic experiences, being left to meditate on their own with no other emotional support can be very challenging and can lead to poor mental health outcomes. You may need more than just meditation if you’re dealing with trauma.

Meditation beginners also sometimes misunderstand the idea of non-attachment and of letting their feelings go. Most techniques allow troublesome thoughts to come up and encourage you to acknowledge them and then push them away. But sometimes that can lead us to avoid truly dealing with these emotions in a way that will be productive in the long run.

While meditation seems to benefit many people, it’s not as easy as the internet makes it sound. Those dealing with trauma will probably want more personalized guidance and a support system as part of their meditation practice.  WTF fun facts

Source: “Dangers of Meditation” — Psychology Today

WTF Fun Fact 12455 – Meditation Relieves Pain

Pain is a sensitive topic (no pun intended). It’s subjective, for starters, so some people genuinely feel pain more (and pain affects them more) than others. When you’re in pain, it’s hard to conceive of something like meditation as a potential remedy. And to be fair, if you’ve never done it before, trying it for the first time minutes after you break your leg isn’t going to help.

Meditation has also become controversial since some people associate it with religion. But it doesn’t have to be Buddhist – most meditation is completely secular or customized to include elements of the practitioner’s own faith.

And here’s why it matters: we have an epidemic of painkiller use going on worldwide that has killed millions. Pharmaceutical companies are getting the blame, but that doesn’t do much good to people already experiencing addiction to opiates, for example. And recommending meditation to those people won’t replace receiving professional help at this point.

However, knowing that meditation can be a powerful tool can help set up those of us who have yet to experience serious acute or chronic pain for more success in managing it in the future. That doesn’t mean painkillers will become a thing of the past, but having a set of tools designed to draw on your own inner strength couldn’t hurt, right? (Again, no pun intended.)

So, as we pointed out in the photo, research from Wake Forest University and published in the Journal of Neuroscience found that meditation decreased the intensity of a subject’s pain by 40%. Pain also affects us in other ways that tend to make it worse by setting off a stress chain reaction in our bodies. Those overall feelings of unpleasantness were reduced by 57% in the group of meditators. Scans of their brains confirmed this, so researchers didn’t just take their word for it.

Even morphine didn’t have that kind of success in pain reduction.

But there are a few things worth keeping in mind:
– These were experienced meditators who had been trained to do it correctly (the technique used was called “focused attention”)
– While every subject experienced some pain reduction, it varied, with some only reporting an 11% reduction
– They did not later give these same people morphine; the researchers relied on known data about the pain reduction morphine provides
– While the study has been replicated, it was small, so more research needs to be done before we assume everyone can meditate their way through the pain

Despite these caveats, it’s pretty amazing to think about the power we have over our own bodies. –  WTF fun facts

Source: “Meditation instead of morphine — not so fast” — LA Times