DELTA WAVES

photo credit : Hari Bilalic

What are Delta Waves?

Deep dreamless sleep is the stage when your brain produces the most delta waves. This
is the stage where your body heals itself: emotionally, mentally and physically. Growth hormones are also released for cellular regeneration. It is very important that we get our daily dose of delta waves. Restoration and rejuvenation are the main functions of this stage
aside from the deeper communication with our superconscious, higher selves, universal mind or whatever term you call it.

Do you remember those times when you wake up feeling groggy and unrefreshed? You may have been in delta when you woke up. A loud noise, a ring from the alarm clock or an itch can wake you up disrupting the delta wave portion of your sleep. The best time to wake up is when you are in theta or in the REM (rapid eye movement) stage. I'll discuss the stages of sleep in a later post.

Deep sleep is a combination of mostly delta waves (more that 50%) and theta waves. Other brainwaves also run in the background but in smaller amplitudes or strength. This state has the lowest frequency among the brainwaves, greater than 0hz to 4hz, but higher in amplitude or strength.

Below is a reproduction of a 1 second delta brainwave taken from an EEG (electroencephalograph).

photo credit : Hgamboa

Adults generate delta waves almost only in their sleep. Infants up to 1 year old spend most of their time producing delta waves even when awake. The delta waves in their wake state gradually lessens as the theta waves comes to the limelight followed by alpha and finally to the beta state when they become adults.

You may have noticed that children less than 7 years old has little attention spans. Focus and attention are characteristics of the beta wave and since the dominant brainwaves of a child are delta and theta, it's just natural for a child to behave this way. Have patience with children!

Our conscious mind has no control or influence during the delta stage. The unconscious dominates our minds while the conscious sleeps. However Buddhist monks, Zen masters or other meditation experts are said to achieve semi consciousness while in the delta stage. Maybe that's where they experience enlightenment. Perhaps with the aid of isochronic tones, ordinary people can also achieve this state.

BRAINWAVES

Types of Brainwaves

Brainwaves are produced by our brains in whatever state of consciousness we are in: waking, sleeping, daydreaming, solving mathematical equations, dancing, singing, etc.. These brainwaves are measurable as electrical signals using a device called EEG (electroencephalogram).

There are four types of brainwaves and they differ in frequency ranges. The table below illustrates the brainwave types, the frequency range and a brief description.
 

BRAIN WAVE FREQUENCIES

TYPE	FREQUENCY	DESCRIPTION
BETA	13hz-38hz	This occurs when we are fully awake. 2-20microvolts
ALPHA	8hz-13hz	Occurs when you are relaxed and not doing any major mental work. 20-60microvolts
THETA	4hz-8hz	Light sleep 20-100microvolts
DELTA	0.5hz-4hz	Deep sleep. 20-200microvolts

The frequency range tells us how many times a brainwave pulses in 1 second expressed in hertz (hz). The fully awake state(beta) has the highest frequency range and gets slower as it goes to the sleep state (delta). As the frequency goes lower the amplitude or strength of the pulses goes higher.

The voltage levels (amplitude) are so small that they are measured in microvolts (millionths of a volt).
 

BRAIN WAVE FREQUENCY PATTERNS

TYPE	BRAINWAVE PATTERN
BETA
ALPHA
THETA
DELTA

The waveforms presented above are uniform in shape for simplicity and does not represent the actual pattern as seen from an electroencephalograph as shown below.

Dominant Brainwaves

When we are in the waking state or fully awake, we are in beta but it does not mean that there are no activities from the the other wave types. It's just the beta brainwaves are dominant and the rest have small signals or little activity. Likewise if you are in the alpha state, the dominant brainwave pattern is the alpha type while the rest are somewhat in the background but still performing the necessary functions for our body.

Isochronic Tones

Using isochronic tones, we can selectively make certain brainwaves dominant. Some frequencies enhance our focus and concentration while some silence our conscious murmurs, and bring us to a meditative state.

Only a few minutes of listening to an isochronic tone can bring us to a desired state. A meditative state can be achieved much faster, memory can be improved, sleep much better, etc.