From physics and neural oscillations to neuroplasticity and the nervous system, science is revealing something fascinating: our inner world is not separate from our biology. What we repeatedly think, feel and experience can influence patterns in the brain and body.
The idea that our emotions carry different frequencies has become increasingly popular in conversations around health and wellbeing.
You may have seen the emotional frequency chart:
Shame: 20 Hz
Fear: 100 Hz
Courage: 200 Hz
Love: 500 Hz
Joy: 540 Hz
The concept resonates because different emotions can feel profoundly different in the body.
Fear can make the heart race. Anxiety can change our breathing. Stress can create physical tension. Joy can feel expansive. Feeling safe with someone can seemingly change our entire physical state.
So what happens when we explore the idea of emotional frequency through the lens of physics, neuroscience and the nervous system?
The science takes us into a fascinating relationship between electrical activity, neural oscillations, emotional states and the brain's ability to change.
We are rhythmic biological systems
In physics, frequency describes how often a repeating event occurs within a given period of time. Hertz, or Hz, represents cycles per second.
And rhythm is everywhere in human physiology.
The heart beats.
We breathe rhythmically.
Neurons communicate through electrical and chemical signals.
Groups of neurons can synchronise their activity into measurable oscillations.
Scientists can observe these patterns of electrical brain activity across different frequency bands using technologies such as EEG and MEG. Neural oscillations are involved in coordinating activity across the brain and have been linked to functions including attention, perception, memory and cognition.
So frequency isn't an entirely foreign concept when we talk about the human body.
Our biology is dynamic, electrical and constantly changing in response to both our internal and external environments.
And that gives us an interesting scientific lens through which to explore what we often describe more intuitively as our energy, state or frequency.
An emotion is not only something you think
We tend to talk about emotions as though they exist exclusively in the mind.
But emotions are embodied experiences.
Think about the last time you felt genuinely nervous.
Your heart may have accelerated.
Your breathing may have become shallower.
Your stomach may have tightened.
Your palms may have become sweaty.
Your attention may have narrowed.
Now think about sitting somewhere you feel completely safe.
Your shoulders might drop.
Your breathing may slow.
Your muscles may soften.
The external environment may not even have changed dramatically, yet the internal experience can be completely different.
Emotional states involve interactions between the brain, autonomic nervous system, hormones, bodily sensations, memory, perception and our interpretation of what is happening around us.
In other words, what we feel has a physiological expression.
Your brain is constantly interpreting the world
One of the most fascinating things about the human brain is that it does not simply record reality like a camera.
It interprets it.
Two people can experience the same event and have completely different emotional responses.
Even the same person can experience an identical situation differently depending on their previous experiences, expectations, stress levels or current emotional state.
This matters because the meaning we assign to an experience can influence our emotional response to it.
One of the clearest examples comes from research into cognitive reappraisal.
Cognitive reappraisal involves changing how we interpret a situation in order to alter its emotional impact.
Neuroimaging research has found that reappraisal recruits brain regions involved in cognitive control and can modulate activity in regions involved in emotional responding, including the amygdala.
Imagine two people about to give an important presentation.
One thinks:
“Everyone is going to judge me. I'm going to embarrass myself.”
The other notices the same racing heart and thinks:
“My body is preparing me. I care about this, and I'm ready.”
The physical sensation may initially be similar.
But the story attached to it is different.
And that interpretation can influence the emotional experience that follows.
This is where the “power of the mind” becomes interesting
The phrase power of the mind can sound abstract.
Neuroscience gives us a more concrete way of thinking about it.
Our thoughts do not exist independently of the brain. Thinking, remembering, imagining and interpreting involve biological activity.
And the brain itself is capable of changing.
This ability is known broadly as neuroplasticity.
Neuroplasticity describes the nervous system's capacity to adapt its activity and organisation in response to experience, learning and other influences.
That means our brain is not simply a fixed structure that determines how we will think and respond forever.
Experience matters.
Learning matters.
Repetition matters.
Attention matters.
What we practise matters.
It doesn't mean that one positive thought instantly rewires the brain.
But it does mean that repeated experiences and learned responses can influence neural function over time.
What state are you repeatedly practising?
This may be one of the most useful questions to emerge from the conversation around emotional frequency.
Because our brains learn through repetition.
If we repeatedly experience certain situations as threatening, the brain can become very efficient at recognising and responding to those patterns.
Likewise, through learning and practice, we can develop different ways of responding.
We can become more aware of automatic thoughts.
We can question an interpretation.
We can practise emotional regulation.
We can learn to tolerate discomfort.
We can create environments that feel safer.
We can change habits.
We can strengthen supportive relationships.
We can develop new associations.
Studies of cognitive reappraisal show that deliberately changing how we interpret emotional information involves identifiable brain networks rather than being merely an abstract exercise in “positive thinking.”
The mind and brain are not separate systems.
What we repeatedly practise psychologically becomes part of our lived biological experience.
The nervous system connects the emotional and physical worlds
The autonomic nervous system provides another way of understanding why emotions can feel so physical.
It helps regulate processes we don't consciously have to control, including heart rate, blood pressure and digestion.
When the brain perceives a challenge, the body can mobilise resources.
Heart rate may increase.
Attention may sharpen.
Energy becomes available.
Stress hormones may rise.
This response is not inherently negative.
It is an extraordinary survival system.
The question is what happens when the body is repeatedly asked to mobilise without enough opportunity to recover.
Researchers use the concept of allostasis to describe the body's ability to maintain stability through physiological change. When adaptive stress systems are activated repeatedly or inefficiently regulated over time, the cumulative burden is often described as allostatic load.
This gives us another way to think about our emotional state.
It isn't only about how we feel in one moment.
It is also about whether our system has the opportunity to move between activation and recovery.
Emotional health isn't about being positive all the time
This is an important distinction.
Fear has a purpose.
Anger has a purpose.
Sadness has a purpose.
Grief has a purpose.
Trying to eliminate every uncomfortable emotion isn't emotional wellbeing.
And feeling a difficult emotion does not mean you have somehow failed to maintain the “right” internal state.
A resilient nervous system isn't one that never becomes activated.
It is one that can respond, adapt and recover.
Rather than asking ourselves to remain permanently calm or positive, it may be more useful to develop greater flexibility in how we respond to our experiences.
Can we intentionally change our internal state?
To some extent, yes.
Not necessarily instantaneously, and not through thought alone.
But there are many pathways through which we can influence our state.
How we breathe.
How we move.
How we sleep.
What we repeatedly focus our attention on.
How we interpret situations.
Who we spend time with.
Whether we feel socially connected.
How much opportunity we create for recovery.
And how we respond to our own thoughts.
The body can also influence the mind.
A poor night's sleep can change how emotionally reactive we feel the following day. Chronic sleep deprivation can affect stress physiology, autonomic balance and brain function.
Likewise, the mind can influence how we experience what happens in the body.
The relationship moves in both directions.
Perhaps “raising your frequency” is also about changing your state
The language of frequency can offer an interesting metaphor for something neuroscience is beginning to describe with increasing sophistication.
Our internal state is not fixed.
We can influence it.
We can regulate our breathing.
Move our bodies.
Protect our sleep.
Spend time with people who make us feel safe and connected.
Become aware of habitual thought patterns.
Practise cognitive reappraisal.
Create periods of genuine recovery.
These practices don't simply switch one emotion off and another on.
But they can influence the neural and physiological systems involved in how we experience and respond to the world.
Perhaps, then, “raising your frequency” can be understood more broadly as cultivating states that support greater regulation, connection, perspective and resilience.
The brain can learn new patterns
This may be the most hopeful part of the conversation.
We are shaped by our experiences, but we are not necessarily trapped by every pattern we have learned.
Neuroplasticity means the nervous system retains a capacity for adaptation.
And emotional regulation itself is not one single process in the brain. Research suggests that strategies such as reappraisal and acceptance can recruit overlapping as well as distinct neural processes.
We can learn to respond differently.
We can create new associations.
We can become more conscious of the stories we repeatedly tell ourselves.
We can practise responding to familiar situations in new ways.
None of this means we can think our way out of every difficulty or control every aspect of our health.
Genetics matter.
Environment matters.
Social circumstances matter.
Disease biology matters.
Medical care matters.
But our internal world is part of the picture too.
The power of the mind isn't that thought controls everything. It is that the brain and body are continually interacting, learning and adapting.
From frequency to flexibility
Perhaps we don't need to choose between the language of energy and the language of neuroscience.
They can simply answer different questions.
Physics gives us the language of oscillation and frequency.
Neuroscience allows us to observe electrical activity and communication within the brain.
Psychology helps us understand thought, emotion and behaviour.
Physiology shows us how stress and emotional states can be expressed throughout the body.
And neuroplasticity demonstrates that experience can contribute to change within the nervous system.
Together, they point towards an idea that is both simple and profound:
Our internal state is dynamic.
So perhaps the most interesting question isn't simply:
“What frequency am I at?”
But:
“What state am I repeatedly practising?”
Am I constantly anticipating threat?
Am I giving my body opportunities to recover?
Am I reinforcing the same interpretation again and again?
Am I surrounded by relationships that create connection and safety?
Am I creating space for joy?
Am I allowing myself to experience difficult emotions without becoming defined by them?
Those questions may tell us far more about our wellbeing than any single number ever could.
The Global Glow Perspective
At Global Glow, we believe emotional wellbeing deserves a place in the wider conversation around health and longevity.
Health isn't shaped by nutrition, movement or biomarkers alone.
It is also shaped by sleep, stress, recovery, relationships, environment, behaviour and the way these systems interact.
This is why we are interested in the emerging science around the nervous system, neuroplasticity and emotional regulation.
Not because the mind can control every outcome.
And not because difficult emotions should be avoided.
But because our internal and external worlds are constantly communicating.
Supporting our health can therefore also mean learning to recognise our patterns, creating space for recovery, strengthening meaningful relationships, supporting sleep and movement, and developing greater flexibility in how we respond to stress.
The goal isn't permanent positivity.
It isn't never experiencing fear, sadness or anger.
It is developing the capacity to move through different emotional states without remaining stuck in them.
Perhaps that is another way of thinking about what it means to “raise your frequency.”
Not simply reaching a higher number.
But becoming more aware of the state you inhabit, and recognising that, through experience, practice and support, some of those patterns can change.
Educational disclaimer
This article is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical or mental health advice, diagnosis or treatment. Anyone experiencing persistent or significant physical or psychological symptoms should seek guidance from an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
Scientific References & Further Reading
This article draws on emerging research across neuroscience, emotion regulation, neuroplasticity, stress physiology and neural oscillations.
- Langer K, Wolf OT, Merz CJ, Jentsch VL. (2025). The effects of stress hormones on cognitive emotion regulation: A systematic review and integrative model. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 170, 106040.
- Morawetz C, Hemetsberger FJ, Laird AR, Kohn N. (2025). Emotion regulation: From neural circuits to a transdiagnostic perspective. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 168, 105960.
- Petro NM et al. (2025). Oscillatory brain dynamics underlying affective face processing. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 20(1).
- Cabrera Y et al. (2024). Overnight neuronal plasticity and adaptation to emotional distress. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 25, 253–271.
- Bo K et al. (2024). A systems identification approach using Bayes factors to deconstruct the brain bases of emotion regulation. Nature Neuroscience, 27, 975–987.
- Ng AE, Gruenewald T, Juster RP, Trudel-Fitzgerald C. (2024). Affect regulation and allostatic load over time. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 169, 107163.
