In the 1990s, Tom Budzynski studied effects of aging on the brain. He showed that one of the clearest brain findings related to cognitive issues was slowing of the peak alpha frequency in the rear of the head. He also demonstrated that training to increase the peak–what he called brain-brightening–had positive effects on semantic memory–the ability to recall that word you want, which is one of the most common complaints in older adults.

Another pattern that has been shown is that the areas related to working memory–nearly always in younger people related to left frontal and right parietal areas–moves away from those sites (especially the left front) as many of us age. Since working memory is a key factor in intelligence scores and cognitive function, moving that function out of the areas that seem most effective is clearly a problem. Acetylcholine and glutamine–the so-called memory chemicals–are most often released by circuits that resonate to faster beta frequencies.

I’ve crossed over into my 70s, and I do 2 types of training in bursts 2-3 times a year: Alpha peak frequency training and nIR HEG. It’s not exactly a scientific article, but I do know two things from my own experience: 1. those trainings, within a couple weeks, make a difference in my cognitive function; and 2. whereas training cognitive issues in younger clients tends to have a lasting and growing effect, once your brain is over the divide between younger and older, the wagon is rolling downhill. Changes can be produced, but they last (for me) about six months, and then I benefit from training again.

Another thing that can happen as people age and begin to develop age-related cognitive decline related to slowing of alpha is problems with sleep.

If a person is going to sleep okay and sleeping through the night but just not rested, that would usually suggest that he is not able to get into REM sleep and stay there, which usually relates to an inability to sustain beta. For this, train to reduce 2-9 and reward 9-13 with eyes closed or 13-21 with eyes open on the midline and left.