How Brain Waves are Affected by the Ocean Waves
A long stare at the ocean, listening to its waves crashing and roaring induces a change in our brain waves’ frequency, and our minds lull lazily in a relaxation. From there, we are carried into a meditative state.
Brain Waves and Ocean Waves
by Jayita Bhattacharjee
As we listen to the sound of its waves, the parasympathetic nervous system is activated, and we unwind in tranquility. The ebbing and flowing, the coming and receding of the waves, the frothy delight topping them, stimulates the human mind’s decluttering. They teach us how to release what is stuck inside. The negative ions abound on the sandy shores, enkindle the evocation of awe and wonder.
They are the molecules floating in the atmosphere, charged with electricity. When the waves collide with themselves, they induce a positive effect, thus creating growth for us. We begin to grow out of what is gripping us, walking towards the wonders of what is lying ahead.
The negative ionization has a profound benefit on mental health. Research claims that exposure to negative ions reduces symptomatic depression among people and boosts their happiness. They have an activating influence on some parts of the body and triggers cognitive creativity. Besides, they stimulate antimicrobial activity while killing the microbes. Watching the waves and smelling the salty air exposes a person to prolonged negative ions, which destroys their depression. It lifts the load of sadness they have been carrying inside. As per the scientific research, negative ions accelerate oxygen flow to the brain, which subsequently enhances awareness and mental energy. Our mental health is ameliorated as we are raised to higher alertness—the Ocean water helps preserve substances such as melatonin, tryptamine, and serotonin.
These substances help diminish depression, inciting a feeling of well- being that induces a sound night sleep.
With the shimmering of the ocean waves and as the tides roll in and out in a rhythmical way, we become intent gazers and listeners while approaching the shorelines. The troubles of life fade away in those moments as we breathe in the salty sea air, and our eyes extend to the vastness of blue. The negatively charged ions combat the free radicals improving concentration. The sound of waves alters the brain’s wave pattern creating a relaxing mode. We feel centered and delicious freedom. Gazing at its vastness, we forget how insignificant our troubles are and how small we really are. This realization begins to clear and cleanse us. The truth hits us with a tremendous opportunity to de-stress. It enables us to secure a sense of balance, and we are recharged. The scenic seascape carries away all the peskiness and makes us surrender to the oceanic vastness.
Being by the sea brings a meditative experience to the brain. Water comes with healing and transforming the property. It stands out as crucial in balancing the body, creating physical harmony, and regaining calm and clarity. And as we keep staring at the ocean tides, the playful waves, we become compassionate and connected. It relieves ourselves so we can relive again.
Now, let us see examine what the brain waves are. They are created when neurons inside the brain begin to communicate with each other. Brain waves are synchronized electrical pulses. Thoughts, emotions, and behavior generate diverse brain waves as they differ according to the mood and activity. The slower the brain waves, the more wearied and sluggish we feel. In contrast, brain waves characterized by a higher frequency induce alertness. We become prone to an active lifestyle.
Brain waves are classified into five categories, as each represents a specific activity. They fluctuate according to our deeds and feelings. During the meditation, different areas of the brain get stimulated differently. The frontal lobe, along with the thalamus, the parietal lobe, and the reticular react with a meditative state. Their types are Alpha Waves, Beta Waves, Theta waves, Gamma waves, Delta Waves, coming to brain waves.
Alpha waves are the most typical brain waves that occur at the beginning of meditation. We move from a cluttered mind to a profound state of stillness. They are defined as electromagnetic oscillations with a frequency range spanning 8-12 Hz. The function of Alpha waves is to bring relaxation a calmness to the nervous system. The waves lower the production of stress hormones and induce loosening and lightning.
Beta Waves are characterized by a frequency range spanning 12-30 Hz. They become alert and active when the brain is centered on specific goal-oriented tasks. They create awareness and enhance concentration, which raises logical thinking and develops conversational capacities.
Theta Waves are primarily associated with the ‘third eye’ as they help us tap into our inner wisdom. Theta Waves offer positivity in the mental state and can trigger creativity.
They provide problem-solving skills and enhance memory. Our focus is targeted and improved as we stay calm and balanced.
Gamma Waves are associated with intensity in focusing. They reduce fear and anxiety and bring a positive emotive state. We see a reduction in the symptoms of depressive feelings.
Delta Waves can be defined as high amplitude brain waves, characterized by a frequency of 0-4 Hz. They are associated with the profound stages of sleep. The function of Delta waves is the production of two anti-aging hormones, DHEA and melatonin. They assist in generating compassion for others, raise social intelligence, and skip away from conflicting issues. The Delta waves facilitate the process of healing.
In the meditative stage, the Theta Waves become predominant as they are associated with relaxation compared to Alpha Waves that are primarily associated with an aroused state of mind. Coming close to the ocean, we are in awe and flow, and how does that translate into brain activity? The ocean waves become a strong mood enhancer. We are renewed with a rush of neurochemicals that induces a euphoric state. The roaring waves release the negatively charged ions that boost the release of chemicals in the body and transform the brain waves. Precisely, they can be defined as oxygen atoms with negatively charged electrons created through water molecules. Negative ions generate the activity of Alpha Brainwaves. Our thoughts are directed to the present moment as we clear the mind. And that clearing becomes spontaneous. As chemicals rush in the brain, cortisol production, the stress hormone, stops. Alpha brainwave activity dominates, which translates into relaxation and declutters the mind. The unceasing monologue in the head ceases.
Negative ions happen to be a natural anti-depressant, enhancing serotonin and endorphins’ release, the neurotransmitters that act as stress relievers.
Now coming in contact with the ocean waves induces a meditative mode that enhances happiness and health, creativity and awe, memory, and alertness as we replenish ourselves from the primal elixir of life. We resurface from the psychological trauma as the rolling in and out of the waves provides a life-altering adventure, boosting our confidence as we give ourselves to this recreational rehabilitation, bringing ourselves closer to the healing power of the ocean. In that ethos, we overcome the limitations of psychological disabilities. We are brought into a context of something bigger and broader that is far more powerful than our mere existence, and the stress dissolves, the past dissolves. All that is left is the limitless, profound soul.
The singularity of attention is improved, and it carries us away from all the trivialities of life. It brings us into what is significant and accurate. Life itself and to live intensely and passionately in the most enlivening manner possible. The ocean waves bring us into the present tense while shifting us away from the past tense. We emerge from resignation and rise to live in the most unceded manner. A novelty is recreated as we learn to awaken to this deeper calling of life. Originality is born as the old wounds are washed in the inviting tides of life.
The ocean characterized by gentility and fierceness can also reduce insomnia as we learn to lull mentally slipping into the rhythmic sound of those waves, coming and going, pushing and pulling us into the most profound phases of mind. All we feel is an incredible feeling. The calming ocean sounds create a beautiful lullaby, and we become the composers of it. We think the connection to its rhythm and sound, and this feeling is primal as before even we were born, we learned to listen to our mother’s heartbeats while in the womb. We slip into the comfort zone that gives us the balancing energy we are in dire need of. The emotional state is strengthened as we learn to tap into the ocean sounds and its powers that impact our body-mind-spirit connection.
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About the Author
Jayita Bhattacharjee was born in Calcutta, India. Later she completed her education at the University of Houston Economics. She had chosen her career as a trustee and teacher. Her Indian residence is in the vicinity of the famous Belurmath. Currently, she is settled in Tampa, Florida. Her books ” The Ecstatic Dance of Life,” ” Sacred Sanctuary,” ” Light of Consciousness,” ” Dewdrops of Compassion” ” are among the many that she has authored. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6850731.Jayita_Bhattacharjee
