BRAC-Minder
The
Right Hemisphere Dominancy
Correlations between REM and PWS stages
For more information e-mail: jverboon@uottawa.ca
For several decades now scientists have found regular Physiological rhythms in the human body, which recur throughout the 24-hour day.
It seems logical since all of us eat, drink, eliminate and sleep at regular intervals during those 24 hours.
There are gastric contractions, respiratory and heart-rate cycles that change almost every 90 to 110 minutes.
But more importantly scientists discovered a cycling in the dominancy of the Left and Right Hemispheres of the human brain.
It is called the Basic Rest Activity Cycle (BRAC) and it too cycles throughout the 24-hour day with a regularity of between 90 and 110 minutes depending on the person followed with a 20 minutes rest period each cycle.
We often ignore these cycles and pay no attention to its regularity due to our busy daily life.
It so happens that occasionally we all stop sometimes what we are doing in our work and either stare out of a window for no reason whatsoever, or take a drink or go to the toilet.
The regular coffee break at work in the morning and afternoon all indicate that we need this 20 minute break for some reason too.
Lectures and seminars also last for something like an hour, for our attention span also wavers after that time.
These are all indications of an underlying rhythm of the brain, and intuitively we seem to adhere, however, most of the time we ignore these rhythms to our peril.
This 20 minute-90/110 minute-20 minute cycling is autonomous but can be overridden by for example our busy daily schedule or by forcing our respiration through our nostrils.
By observing which nostril is open or blocked we can establish which of the brain hemisphere is dominant. Or if both nostrils are equally open we observe the 20-minute Rest cycle of the brain.
When one of the Hemispheres is dominant it does not mean that the other is not functioning.
Throughout the scientific literature it has been established what the attributes are of each hemisphere.
Sometimes we notice that when writing a letter we seem to have a ‘block’ or that calculations do not come easily. This can be a sign that the Right hemisphere is dominant at that time (Left nostril open).
Or at other times we seem to have no ‘creativity’ at all, a possible sign that the Left Hemisphere is dominant (Right nostril open).
When both nostrils are equally open and thus the brain is in its rest-mode,
the 20 Minute Break, then this is also the time, for example to do meditation, take some drink or fully relax.
When our Left-Hemisphere is dominant as indicated, we do best when there are things to manage or do things like word-processing.
This is also the time to do calculations or reactive or critical thinking.
Strangely enough it is also the site for the language of our mother tongue as compared to the right-hemisphere dominancy, which might be used for other languages we learn.
Note that ‘dominancy’ does not mean that the other hemisphere is not working.
Both are always active and we all are born with the ability to experience the entire range of the hemispheres, but no one uses the entire brain at once.
The wonder is that the human brain can work on so many different planes.
One other aspect of the Left Hemisphere dominancy is that this is the site for our Positive Emotions, like laughter, yet it seems also to be the site for our egoism and individuality.
Doing sequential things and jobs that require timing or precision are also best done during the Left-Hemisphere Dominancy cycle.
The Right-Hemisphere
Dominancy
When it is found that the Right-Hemisphere is dominant then this is the time to be creative, in particular with doing visual art or things that require us to find relationships between things.
It is also the time to bring things together like synthesizing our problems or doing more than one thing at a time since this hemisphere pays more attention to associative things.
Since most judging is done with the Left Hemisphere, this Right site is ideal for teaching and leading as well as mediating, due to its spontaneity while doing social activities.
Although Intuition and Pro-active thinking are the predominant attributes of this Right Hemisphere Dominancy, it is not as precise as the Left Hemisphere.
The Right side prefers values to competition and sharing over individualism so this is the time to do constructive_ and creative thinking.
But when we feel sad or angry, the Right Hemisphere is also at our disposal since it is also the site of our Negative Emotions.
The Right Hemisphere Dominancy does not mean the Left side is now not functioning, to the contrary, we always use both halves of our brain at all times.
The indicators for the Dominance’s are there just to help us to be more efficient in the tasks at hand.
Left
Brain-Hemisphere Dominancy Attributes
Words
Parts
Specifics
Analysis (breaking apart)
Managing (doing things right)
Time bound (serialism)
Rule bound
Attention to Divisive things
Introverted
Active
Emotion Positive
Judgmental
Individualism (coercion)
Egoism (imposition)
Language (Mother tongue)
Friction (creating resistance)
Inequality
Order (precision)
Success
Competition
Sequential thinking
Reactive thinking
Critical & Convergent thinking
Literacy & Numeracy
Right Brain
Hemisphere Dominancy Attributes
Pictures
Wholes
Relationships
Synthesis (putting together)
Leading (doing the right things)
Time free (parallelism)
Intuitive
Attention to Associative things
Extroverted
Mediative
Emotion Negative
Non-Judgmental
Social (non-coercion, spontaneity
Sharing (non imposition)
Language (foreign)
Harmony (least resistance)
Equality
Chaos (imprecision)
Value
Teaching
Simultaneous & Holistic thinking
Proactive & Divergent thinking
Constructive thinking, Generative and
Creative thinking
During each segment of the 20 Minute Break all through the day you will notice the need to relax or have some food and/or drink intake and you may have to relieve yourself. Also when you start yawning or looking out of a window for no apparent reason, or stop doing your work all of a sudden, all these things are indicating the start of this 20 Minute Break.
What is noticeable also is that both nostrils are unblocked as compared to the blocking of left or right nostrils when the right or left hemispheres are respectively dominant for ± 100 minutes each, at other times.
Please note that the accuracy for each segment (of each hemisphere dominancy or the 20 Minute Break) is about Plus or Minus 10 minutes.
If a person is completely relaxed during the 20 Minute Break period, it is also noticeable that new ideas might come to mind or an ‘aha’ experience shows itself out of the blue.
Also the 20 Minute Break is excellent for Meditation purposes, whereas the 100 minute hemisphere dominance’s are not so.
Disregarding the 20 Minute Breaks may lead to stress and/or anxiety and may force the natural rhythms of the hemispheres to cycle at different times too.
Since these rhythms are a normal physiological phenomena, like for example the gastric contractions also every ± 90 minutes throughout the day, and our three times a day of food-intake, they should be treated with the same respect.
It is of course possible to force the nostrils to be both open for a period of time or either the Left or Right Nostril to be open at will.
But this type of action defeats the very natural switching of the Hemispheres.
To extend the 20 Minute Break period at will by force or to induce it at other times, one could use the right hand method. This consists of simply using ones right hand thumb pressing the Right nostril and slowly inhaling through the Left nostril, followed by slowly exhaling through the Left nostril. Next pressing with the third finger the Left nostril while slowly inhaling through the right nasal passage, followed by slowly exhaling through the right nostril while keeping pressing the Left nostril.
Repeat this action for about 5-10 minutes. You will find that this method induces a relaxation state too. This practice could be done throughout the day, but interferes with the natural BRAC cycles your brain has throughout the whole day.
It seems that the 20 minute Breaks
or Paradoxical Waking Stages (PWS) are an extension from the Paradoxical Sleep
Stages(REM) during the waking hours of the day as outlined by the graph above.
The start of the BRAC happens right after the waking up from the last heavy REM
sleep in the morning when dreaming is most pronounced.
Depending on which side of the person’s body had been lying on when waking up
the BRAC starts from that particular hemisphere dominance.
The indication above is taken from a waking-up start with the right Hemisphere
(RH) but could just as easily been starting with the Left Hemisphere (LH),
depending on the person.
The cycling of the 90 -110min.to 20 min. and back to 90 -110 min followed by an
other 20 min. PWS etc, has an accuracy of plus or minus10min. per each segment
of the RH, LH and PWS.
The 90-110 minute cycle depends on the person but in my pocket version I have
taken the mean of 100 minutes with the same plus or minus 10 minutes accuracy
per segment.
Stress
management
Finding proper relaxation times
Finding Meditation times
Finding ‘Creativity ‘ & ‘Writing’
blocks
Finding Learning disability causes
Increasing efficiency
Finding when to Manage & when to
Teach
Optimizing ‘Intuition’
Enhancing ‘self-reflection’
Maximizing performance
1) Research is still going on with the BRAC and I am planning an electronic device that will indicate the BRAC during the day.
Please let me know if there is interest in such a device.
2) A controlstrip version for the Macintosh computer is available (OS-9.x)
An OS-X dock version is in the making for the Macintosh.
For the PC is a Java script version available.
Q.
What happens when there are Jetlag or daylight-saving time changes?
A. It takes about three weeks for the natural ultradian rhythms to come back to normal.
Q.
Is there a health risk if I do not adhere to these BRAC cycles?
A. When there is non-adherence to the 20 minutes Break cycles we cause ourselves stress. This is known to be the leading cause of stress in our stressful society.
Q.
I am Hypoglycemic and need frequently to take some food in during the
day. Does this cause my BRAC cycle to change?
A. During the natural 20-minute breaks we usually take in some food or drink or relieve ourselves. These are the ideal times for these food intakes for medical purposes.
Q.
How can I make use of BRAC information in my daily life?
A. Each Brain Hemisphere has its special attributes for our different daily tasks. One can make use of these attributes when the hemispheres are dominant and conducive to our tasks at hand.
Q.
What benefit can I expect to get from following the BRAC cycle?
A. More efficiency in your tasks at hand when these tasks conform to the correct dominant Hemisphere and a reduction in stress throughout the day.
Q.
What if I can't take a break during the 20-minute cycle due to work
schedule?
A. Non-adherence to the 20-minute rest cycle is a leading cause of stress in our society.
Q.
What benefit will I get if I take the 20-minute break according to the
BRAC cycle?
A. First and foremost less stress. Both brain hemispheres are then in the rest mode readying themselves for the next 100 minute of daily tasks. This is also a very good opportunity for meditation and relaxation. Often this can also be the time that our 'aha'-experiences come up.
Q.
Is everyone's cycle exactly 120 minutes?
A. The hemispheres switch in each person from 90 -110 minutes depending on the person, followed by a 20 minutes rest period. The dial is made accurate to plus or minus10 minutes for each segment, and I took the average of 100 minutes for each hemisphere cycling. This made it possible to be used by all persons.
Q.
Why aren’t doctors aware of the BRAC cycles?
A. The Medical curriculum in Medical schools does not spend time on Chronobiology.
Q.
Is this the same as Biorhythms?
A. The BRAC’s are Natural occurring Ultradian Rhythms of 24 hours only thus shorter than Biorhythms which last from 23 days to 33 days.
Q.
Can I force a change over to my non-active Hemisphere? Is there any
danger to this?
A. Yes one can force a change by blocking the other nostril and force the blocked nostril to open by forceful breathing through it. There seems to be no danger to it, although natural cycling is thus upset.
Q.
Is one hemisphere better than the other?
A. According to the literature available each hemisphere has its own attributes for specific tasks.
Q.
My life schedule is too hectic
to follow this, what should I do?
A. Try at least to become aware of your own natural rhythms by observing them daily.
Q.
Is this pseudo science or based on real research?
A. Research on the BRAC’s started since 1969 and is still ongoing to this date.
Q.
Are the switchings of the brains related to left-brained vs.
right-brained people?
A. These people do have the switchings too, but their ‘dominances’ of their particular hemispheres seem to be stronger.
Q.
Do I note the time of waking up but am still in bed or the time when I
physically get up?
A. I have taken the time of waking up right after the last REM or heavy dream cycle as starting the time of the BRAC cycles.
Bibliography &
further reading
The 20 minute break.
Ernest Lawrence Rossi.
Publ. Tarcher Books (1991)
ISBN# 0-9651985-1-0
Left Brain , Right Brain
Sally P.Springer & Georg Deutsch
Publ. W.H.Freeman & Co (1993)
ISBN# 0-7167-2373-5 (pbk)
The Right Mind.
Robert Ornstein.
Publ. Harcourt-Brace & Co (1997)
ISBN# 0-15-1100324-6
Use Both sides of your brain.
Tony Buzan.
Publ. Penguin Books Ltd (1991)
ISBN# 0-452-26603-3
Whole Brain Thinking.
J.Wonder & P.Donoval
Publ.William Morrow &Co (1984)
ISBN# 0-688-02665-6
Principle-centered Leadership
Stephen R. Covey (p247-249)
Publ.Summit Books (1991)
ISBN# 0-671-74910-2
Is the Left Brain always Right
Clare Cherry, Douglas Godwin, Jessy Staples
Fearon Teacher Aids (FE-3911) (1989)
ISBN# 0-8224-3911-5
The Right Brain
Thomas R. Blakeslee
Publ. PBJ Books Inc. (1983)
ISBN# o-867-21233-0
Dreamers, Discoverers & Dynamos
Lucy Jo Palladino
Publ. Ballantine books (1999)
ISBN# 0-345-40573-0
