I have currently been very intersted in Theta states of consiousness and hope to put up more info on it as I find out more about it, also because I paint drums I thought people intersted in buying my drums might also like to know about Theta Rythums and the Theta State.
Info below was obtained from the book
Earth Magic
by: Steven D. Farmer
"Several studies have demonstrated the healing effects of drumming, which include reducing stress, boostin the immune sysem, improving mood, relieving symptoms of post-traumaticstress disorder, and many othesr. For shamanic work shamans in many indigenous cultures have used drumming as one means of achieving the shamanic trance for thousands of years. Recent studies have shown that drumming has a significant effect on brain waves.
When you're alert and in your narmal waking state, the brai waves called beta rhythms occur with a frequency of 12 to 30 cycles per second. When relaxing or doing meditation, the mid slows down, and your brain waves switch to an alph rhythm, with a frequency of 8-12 cps(cycles per second). Alpha states are assoicated with a general feeling of well-being and somtimes euphoria can occur when you feel relaxed and unstressed. If you were to meditate longer than 30 minutes, you would most likely go into and even deeper state of relaxation and your brain waves would correspond with a frequency of 4-8 cps, called theta rhythms. Even slower brain waves of 1-4 cps occur in dreamless sleep, known as delta rhythm...
Theta is one of the most intriguing of these varieties of brain waves. It's also knownn as the twilight stat, experienced only briefly when we awaken from a deep sleep, coming out of delta. It also occurs when we're extremely fatigued- when we can barely keep our eyes open, and intrusive imagery and thoughts from our subconscious flow into our awareness. When theta is activated, we're much more receptive to information that is beyond our ordinary state of consciouness, yet this information may be difficult to understand when we return to alpha or beta states.
Melinda Maxfield studied the effects of rhythmic drumming on brain-wave activity...this research supports the theories that suggest that the use of the drum by indigenous cultures in ritual and ceremony has specific neurophysiological effects and the ability to elicit temporary changes in brain wave activity, and thereby facilitates imagery and bossible enetry into an altered state of consiousness...pattern of the drumbeat as it relates to beats pers second can be correlated with resulting temporary changes in brain wave frequency or cycles per second and or subjective experience provided the drumming pattern is sustained for at least 13-15 minutes Further studies have confirmed what Maxfield's research uncovered, suggesting that a drumbeat of anywhere from 4-7 beats per minute after about 12 minutes will cause brain waves to go into a theta rhythm. In indigenous cultures, its been found that shamans who use drumming as a means of triggering the shamanic trance will play the drum at about 4-7 beats per second"