The paradox of Theta waves

by

Kayle Sandberg-Lewis, LMT, MA, BCN-Fellow

In our last newsletter, I discussed the mixed bag of Delta waves – the slow waves required for deep sleep and healing the brain, but a contributor to brain fog when they are the dominant waves while awake.

At 4 to 7 cycles/second or Hertz (Hz), Theta waves are slightly faster than Delta waves . Also considered “slow” waves, Theta are a steppingstone to sleep and help us nail down memories, although their role in that process is still unclear.

Theta waves are good at helping us be imaginative. You may have experienced solving a problem or remembering someone’s name just as you drifted off to sleep. That phenomenon is thanks to your Theta waves. There is evidence that Theta “samples” previous experiences and patches them together, allowing us to synthesize ideas in a way that the faster brain waves can’t do on their own.

There is a visual quality to Theta waves that is different. When your fully awake brain chooses to envision a tree, for example, what your mind’s eye sees is apt to be literal and in “living color”. When Theta waves are dominant, however, a tree may be more cartoon-like or “sketchy” and morph into something completely different. Some people report they come to recognize when their Theta waves are dominant because the colors of their imagery change, perhaps even becoming simply gray tones.

So what’s wrong with Theta waves? Nothing if you are not trying to perform a task requiring an alert brain. Theta dominance when a person is awake is similar to Delta dominance – a person will be spacey and unable to carry on coherent complex conversations. Tasks will not be completed with attention to detail. People - especially children - may become hyperactive in an attempt to feel awake. As with Delta in dominance, too much Theta during the waking hours leads to poor sleep – that stuck rheostat I referred to last month.

In the 1970s, Dr. Joel Lubar was working with young boys who had been diagnosed with “hyperkinesis” – now referred to as hyperactivity. Other researchers had observed that hyperactive kids were made worse (more hyperactive) by drugs such as barbiturates, which had been prescribed with the intent of slowing the kids down. When they were given amphetamines, however, they often DID slow down. A “paradox” that led to the myth that hyperactive children were “biochemically backwards” – a physiological impossibility.

At the time, the hypothesis was that the kids’ electroencephalographs (EEGs) would show brains that were racing at the highest possible frequencies. Instead, when Lubar collected the kids’ EEGs, he saw they were all practically asleep with dominant Theta. So, the kids were NOT paradoxical responders at all – the amphetamines were helping them feel awake and grounded.

Lubar went on to successfully train the children’s brains with neurofeedback using an approach that monitored the Theta/Beta ratio, helping each kid to raise their Beta (fast) waves and lower their Theta. Lubar’s pioneering work paved the way for neurofeedback to help many people avoid medicating behavioral problems.

Kayle Sandberg-Lewis holds a M.A. in Behavioral Medicine, the study of how what we do in our daily lives affects our well-being. She has over three decades experience in stress management and is board certified in neurofeedback, which she introduced to her practice in 1996.

 Hive Mind Medicine blog posts are for educational purposes only and are not intended as medical advice. Please consult with your health care practitioner for personalized guidance.