Here we reveal some of the amazing research into brainwaves, chemical hormones and how music helps create the brainwaves we need for a calm mind and a happier, healthier more productive life.

Dr Hans Berger

In 1924 Dr Hans Berger used an early EEG (electroencephalograph) to monitor electrical activity in the brain. As often happens in scientific research he was looking for something else entirely when the evidence for brain waves emerged.

Dr Berger’s data revealed that our brain responds to stimuli by emitting electronic impulses in waves of varying intensity. Like any electrical emission, the intensity of brain waves is measured in hertz. The stimuli can come from any area of our lives, emotional, physical and environmental. At that time, Berger was able to detect only two levels of wave activity, which he called alpha and beta.

Under calm conditions, when we are relaxed, the brain produces alpha waves (8 – 12 Hz). We produce beta waves (12 – 25 Hz) when in a state of heightened watchfulness and reactivity. Berger also noted that aggressive behaviour may erupt when we are in beta.

Why you might think beta is best … although alpha is better

Because beta sharpens our responses and keeps us alert, we may think beta is the most vital state in our survival toolkit. Beta-driven responses are immediate to what we (usually wrongly) interpret as life and death situations. Decisions made in beta can be reactive and defensive, rather than collaborative and constructive.

Of course beta is important, but it also keeps us edgy and stressed out! Without realising it, we can easily spend most of our time in beta and suffer many negative psychological and physical side effects as a result. So the long-term effects of operating in beta can be destructive.

In alpha we feel calmer.

In alpha we naturally have a better command of life, our health, our moods. We are able to think more clearly, consider responses and perhaps make more creative decisions, with better long-term results.

delta and theta waves – further research

Two English scientists, Adrian Matthews and W. Grey Walter, extended Berger’s work. Their research proved the existence of brain activity even slower than alpha: delta waves (0.5 – 4 Hz) and theta waves (4 – 8 Hz).

In theta we are still conscious, yet in the deepest state of relaxation. We’re in theta as we fall asleep and ideally, as we gradually awaken.

We are in delta when we are fast asleep and waves are produced at their lowest frequency.

While much about brain functionality is still mysterious, since those early findings scientists have nevertheless made some exciting discoveries.

They have found that when we’re in the different states, alpha through theta, the brain also produces a number of chemical hormones. These chemicals have pronounced effects on mood, productivity and general health.

If we care for our health and longevity, we need to find ways to enhance the production of the beneficial chemicals and take steps to limit the effects of the negative ones.

John Levine’s Alphamusic helps us enhance the production of alpha brain waves and the associated chemicals.

Systems in distress

Throughout the day we shift between different levels of brain wave activity. Obviously, if the shifts are smooth, life feels less stressful and our health and overall productivity improve. Unfortunately, this is often not our experience.

Imagine this …
You are asleep. Deep in delta, body and mind recuperate from the day. Relaxed and unguarded, your unconscious lets you dream, play with ideas, assimilate information and explore options freely and creatively.

Suddenly, the alarm clock rings. Your heart rate lurches upwards, together with a spike in adrenalin and blood pressure. In seconds you’re awake and hurtling into the day – instantly in beta state.

In an effort to adjust, you gulp down a cup of coffee and perhaps something sugary to eat, adding “sugar hit” to “caffeine hit”. Now you are pumped up. Your entire system is stressed, indeed distressed. You are in beta.

In this state you confront the high-voltage impact of urban daily life. Then, as many as 18 hours later, you collapse back into bed and you haven’t had a moments real rest.

Over time, this “shocking” transition from deeply relaxed delta to instant beta undermines our health.

• Our sleep becomes less restorative.
• We succumb more easily to autoimmune deficits, such as allergies and repeated viral attacks. Blood pressure problems may evolve from living in a persistent beta state.
• Our mind never really rests, so we are always tired, always worn down and less likely to make the most constructive decisions about our lives.

alpha state – our peaceful haven at any time

Alpha is our peaceful haven. It is a state we can visit while fully conscious that will always give us relief from stress.

In alpha we are at our most productive because we are fully awake, yet completely relaxed.

We need alpha when we seek our creative spirit, emotional flexibility and our capacity to remain calm and open in the face of tough decisions?

Furthermore, we cannot hope to enter theta, where we are most mentally free and creative, if we haven’t first passed through alpha. So why can’t we access alpha all the time? Where does alpha go when we are angry and over-reactive?

Finding alpha, finding “flow”

Since Dr Berger, there has been much research to find and “harness” alpha state. Some people appear to be born with a gift for increased alpha wave production – they do it more often and more easily. But most of us are not.

Scientists have established that creative people operate in alpha and theta states far more frequently than ordinary folk.

When they are at their most creative, academics, scientists and artists have identified their mental state as being in “flow”1. They describe how time seems to stand still, yet ideas flow easily and constructively. This is undoubtedly alpha state.

Even gifted sports people seem able to enter and operate from alpha state with greater ease and play a better game as a result.

How John Levine’s Alphamusic brings alpha into your life

Dr John Levine

John Levine has been creating original music and playing piano since he was six. He graduated as a composer from Sydney University, Australia and spent several successful years in commercial music, working with bands like INXS and Midnight Oil and writing jingles for Saatchi and Saatchi and the Coca-Cola Company…

No other composer has set out with the same intent that drives John Levine. Trained originally as an electronic engineer and then as a classical composer, John has also studied psychology and the physiology of hearing. He read about the discovery by Dr Hans Berger, of how the brain emits electrical waves, which rise and fall in intensity depending on our mood. These waves, whether in the brain or being emitted into the air, are measured in Megahertz (MHz) and scientists. After considerable experimentation, John established the pattern of sound that predictably invites the brain to settle into alpha state. This is a calmer state than the excitable peaks and troughs, known as beta, which contribute to feelings of anxiety.
While beta has its purpose, it also interferes with our ability to stop, take stock and work out a better long-term solution to a stressful situation.
At university Levine became deeply interested in meditation. He studied at the Sydney Transcendental Meditation Center and then pursued a wider, more varied understanding of meditational practices. Alpha Relaxation with Jacob Bloom, Systematic Desensitization Relaxation Techniques at the University of NSW, Mind Language with Robert Murphy.
The more he learned, the more certain Levine became that he could write music deliberately aimed at stimulating the brain to produce the waves we need to function at different levels. For instance, when we want to intensify concentration, retain information and study more productively, we could listen to music that “makes” the brain operate at low alpha-high theta level, optimum for the job.

Based on this, and incorporating his musical knowledge and creativity, John developed Alphamusic as an effective tool anyone can use to cope with stress and anxiety. Encouraged by his discoveries and egged on by friends, Levine wrote, played and recorded a 60-minute composition he called “Silence of Peace”. It’s a strange title until you consider the amount and volume of “chatter” that crowds our brains every waking moment and how we might feel if there was less inner clamour.
Levine suggests that four minutes into listening to “Silence of Peace”, our brain waves may “notch down” to alpha state. This is the same mental calm and freedom we enjoy when we first wake from relaxed sleep. Quite a claim. But tantalising for anyone who battles to balance the sensory and emotional overload of our urban lives!
Levine named the rebirth of his musical career Alphamusic, to signify the importance he places on alpha waves. The brain produces alpha waves when our mind is completely relaxed, for instance, as we awaken from deep sleep, or when we meditate. In this state we are most likely to have our most creative insights and experiences.

In the course of 2004, he collaborated with Australian psychologist and journalist, Dr Amanda Gordon, to create a series of five, guided relaxation CDs called “The Armchair Psychologist Series”. It is hoped this work will help to lower stress in both parents and adolescents.

With great joy, Levine now fosters his passion for working with people. In specialised workshops, he draws together meditation and music to assist teachers and students at all levels, from kindergarten to university. His delivery is tender, candid and highly personal, with content tailored to meet the needs of the group he is leading.

He shows nursery school teachers how to use Alphamusic to calm their kids. With glee, he tells of a phone-call where a teacher reports that one of her 3 year-olds independently chose a John Levine CD and placed it in the player because, said the little one, the class needed to “calm down”!

At St Matthews’ Primary School in Cambridge, his music is played during all Math’s classes, as well as during exams. According to their headmaster, the school plans to adopt this as a general practice.

John B Levine says “My wish is to help the greatest number of people through the healing powers of music.”

Research into the impact of sound on brain activity has yielded a mountain of evidence about the effects of music on mood and behaviour. These findings do not surprise composers and musicians: the calming and self-healing effects of music are known to every culture on earth.

Music offers the simplest path to alpha state, without demanding that you sleep – or even leave your desk! From Gregorian Chant to timeless lullabies, the effect is the same: as we listen, we feel better, more relaxed.

John Levine has composed this music along “planes” of sound, often exploring and re-exploring the same key. The music forms a smooth backdrop of sound that engages you, yet only enough to “block” the impact of “auditory toxins” and just enough to keep your thoughts moving ahead gently and progressively.

Blocking out interference can help us find a clear space in which to rest, think or play. This is John Levine’s Alphamusic.

A backdrop of Alphamusic calms your over-busy mind while you’re occupied with other tasks, when you study, work, play, eat and of course, sleep.

John B Levine has spent his working life studying the combined effects of music and meditation. He uses this knowledge to compose Alphamusic.

The beauty of John Levine’s Alphamusic lies in its accessibility, effectiveness and purity. Listen to our free music samples now and invite the alpha state into your life.

More details can be found at:www.mervynfoster.com