How to Induce Gamma Waves to Be in Gratitude

Contributed by Beth Rush

It’s easy to feel grateful when everything goes right. Remaining in that frame of mind every day is more challenging. Achieve the positive perspective you want by trying new mindfulness techniques, like inducing gamma waves. Using them to your advantage may help you stay more grateful throughout your daily life.

What Are Gamma Waves?

Gamma waves, also known as brain waves or neural oscillations, are the rhythmic spikes in brain activity when recurring inter-neural interactions happen. Imagine wearing electrodes connecting you to an electrocardiogram or heart monitor. You’d see the rise and fall of your heartbeat on a screen. Gamma waves appear similarly when a machine measures the brain’s neurological activity, except they rise and fall as your psyche activates neural pathways repeatedly.

How Do Gamma Waves Work?

Brain waves help your mind communicate with different parts of itself and the body. When inter-neural interactions occur without delays, you can easily recall memories, use your primary senses, process emotions and sleep better. Wave interruptions make daily functioning more difficult. If you’re struggling to maintain a positive outlook like gratitude, improving your emotional processing could be possible through gamma wave work.

How to Increase Gamma Waves in the Brain

Anyone interested in improving their brain waves can increase their frequency by trying new strategies. Simple changes can make a significant difference if you maintain them over time.

1. Purposefully Practice Gratitude

When you’re not particularly thankful for anything, you might assume you’ll automatically feel grateful whenever something remarkable happens again. The waiting period may stretch longer than you’d like. Instead of hoping for the stars to align in your favor, talk yourself through something you’re grateful for right now. It could be the ability to get clean, filtered water from your fridge or feel deep love for your friends and family.

Dr. Joe Dispenza, Ph.D., is one of the researchers using gamma waves to create positive change. He encourages people to practice elevated emotions like gratitude instead of waiting to feel them. Intentionally rerouting your thoughts activates that specific inter-neural interaction, creating a new recurring brain wave. The emotion may become more effortlessly noticeable with time and practice.

2. Keep a Positivity Inventory

If you have a rough day and someone asks you what you love about your life, you might struggle to think of anything. Negative feelings can cloud everything you’re thankful for. An inventory can help in those moments.

Use a journal or a note on your phone to record every success, big or small. Write about any recent event that makes you happy. If you read through it and remember your part in those things, you’ll train your mind to feel positive because you’re choosing to record the positivity in your life. It’s another way to increase gamma waves in the brain so you feel more daily gratitude.

3. Reject Negative Self-Beliefs

Catching self-judgment as it happens is tricky. It may take time to improve your ability, but it’s worth the effort. Negative thoughts about yourself could keep you from the positive outlook — and gamma wave activity — you want.

Picture yourself struggling to find the perfect present for someone. If that’s been a challenge for as long as you can remember, you might think something like, “I’ll never be good at this.” Don’t let that harsh inner critic prevent you from growing. You could slow your breathing to reduce your anxiety and view the current situation without judgment. Instead, think about how thankful you are to have that person in your life or enough money to buy them a gift. As you repeat the positive mindset, you’ll develop the brain wave patterns to reinforce it without consciously catching and releasing self-judgment.

Other Potential Benefits of Gamma Brain Waves

It may feel strange to think of your psyche following a wave pattern, but research into the power of neural oscillations is ongoing. Stimulating the cerebrum with 40 hertz sensory input may protect against neuron loss that results in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. When the same stimulation happens between 30 HZ and 90 HZ, it may also reduce the likelihood of Parkinson’s and schizophrenia.

Honing your gamma waves is only one way they can benefit your quality of life. They might also become a vital way to prevent chronic neural conditions if the evolving research continues showing promise. Understanding the importance of brain waves within the scientific community could encourage you to engage your neural oscillations more purposefully in your daily life.

Center Your Wellness Journey With a Gratitude Practice

Once you understand how gamma waves work, you may increase them in your psyche with daily gratitude habits. Purposefully redirecting your thoughts, logging successes and recognizing instinctive self-judgment are a few ways to start reframing your perspective. Gratitude will happen more naturally when your mind becomes used to thinking that way, which can come from your gamma wave work.

by Beth Rush • Managing Editor at Body+Mind

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