“These ultradian rhythms help to account for the ebb and flow of our energy throughout the day. Physiological measures such as heart rate, hormonal levels, muscle tension and brain-wave activity all increase during the first part of the cycle—and so does alertness. After an hour or so, these measures start to decline. Somewhere between 90 and 120 minutes, the body begins to crave a period of rest and recovery.
We are capable of overriding these natural cycles, but only by summoning the fight-or-flight response and flooding our bodies with stress hormones that are designed to help us handle emergencies. The long-term cost is that toxins build up inside us. We can only push so hard for so long without breaking down and burning out.”
Ultradian Rhythms
When Milton Erickson conducted therapy, the sessions would regularly go beyond the standard hour. When asked why he did this, he replied it just seemed to take that long to get something done. Because Erickson’s focus was on the client, he would continue until the client gave some implicitly motivated indication they had done enough for that session. This shift would most regularly occur at around 90-120 minutes.
A sleep researcher named Nathaniel Kleirman found that there was a discernible cycle of behavioral and cognitive activity throughout the night. He described it as a 90-120 minute cycle which he called the basic-rest-activity cycle. Further research showed that this rhythm existed throughout the day as well. This flow of cycles throughout a 24-hour period is known as the ultradian rhythm.
At the end of each 2-hour cycle is what has become to be known as the Ultradian Healing Response, a 20-minute rest phase that is often the best time to experience a nap or practice naturalistic forms of meditation, prayer, deep self - reflection, and holistic healing. A human being is naturally organized to take something of a pause or shift of activity every couple of hours in order to maximize our learning, engage in reflection, and open our psycho-neuro-biology to integrate the benefits of recent experiences.In modern society, people are encouraged to push through these periods of natural pauses with the detrimental effects of an interference with the processes of brain plasticity which enable learning and memory as well as adaption.
All Code Zero sessions operate to the scientific principles of the Ultradian Healing Cycle.