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Delta Waves: 10 Things You Should Know

Delta brain waves are slow brain waves that run between 1 and 4 Hertz (Hz).

They are probably the most mysterious and least understood of all of the brain wave states, which makes them even more intriguing.

What we do know is that delta brain waves occur during the deep stages (3 & 4) of sleep. This is the restorative stage of sleep where the body repairs itself and energy is restored (1).

If you've ever woken up feeling very unrested yet were sure you were asleep for 7-8 hours, then you probably didn't spend enough time in the delta stages of sleep.

And if you've ever been woken up mid deep sleep, you know how groggy that can make you feel.

There is no (or very little) recall from test subjects about what being in the delta state feels like – because it is like being in another world.

But we do know a fair bit from scientific studies and monitoring of people's brainwave patterns.

In this post, I'll reveal some of the amazing facts about delta waves. And tell you how to increase your production, and how to enter the delta state while you're awake!

delta-waves-brain

Delta Brain Waves: 10 Facts You Didn't Know

1. Delta Helps Us Access the Subconscious Mind

When Delta waves increase our awareness of the physical world decreases. This enables us to access information in our unconscious mind.

The unconscious mind is made up of the processes in the mind that occur automatically and are not available to introspection. This includes things like thought processes, memory, and motivation.

This is why when we're caught in that half-sleep mode we have those trippy dreams where we maintain awareness but are seemingly living in another world.

This is why delta waves can assist astral projection and lucid dreaming. We are able to decrease our attachment to the physical world.

2. Babies Spend the Most Time In Delta

Delta is the dominant brainwave rhythm in infants up to one year of age. Those lucky babies! It makes sense, though, because babies spend so much time asleep – but actually they experience high volume delta when awake!

I bet they have some trippy experiences!

3. ADD Sufferers Produce More Delta Waves

Those who operate at high performance are able to decrease Delta waves when high focus is required.

Conversely, most individuals diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder are not able to do this. That's why they may feel distracted, tired, dazed, etc. (2).

4. Delta is the Lowest Level of Brain Wave Activity

Delta waves are slow waves at high amplitude. Any slower and we might not be alive. That's why you may wake up sometimes and be like “I wasn't aware I was asleep” (3).

5. Delta is Considered a Gateway to Spirituality

We spend close to a third of our lifetime asleep, yet we don't know much about it, particularly the delta state. Science believes that thought processes disappear in this state and conscious awareness is lost.

For this reason it is believed that within this realm is the gateway to God, to Infinite Intelligence or the Collective Unconscious” mind.

6. Delta Waves – Dominant Before Death

This ties nicely, or not, in with number 5. Delta waves will be the last type of brainwaves we produce before we die. It makes sense: the brain slows down and fizzles out. We're all just vibrations, man.

7. Drugs & Alcohol Mess With Delta Waves

Some drugs and alcohol have been shown to mess with the brain's delta wave production. It's no wonder that you get such a bad sleep when you get drunk – the brain doesn't get the restful deep sleep it needs. (4).

8. Women Produce More Delta Waves Than Men

Scientific research has shown that women have more delta wave activity than men. Interestingly, females among most other species of mammal display a similar tendency. We don't yet know why! (5)

9. Ketogenic Diets Cause Delta Wave Increase

This is one of many reasons you start feeling lethargic when you deprive your body of carbohydrates. Increased delta activity during the day will cause ADD like symptoms.

Interestingly, this diet was originally designed for refractory epilepsy in children and is considered high dangerous by the medical field – yet it is sold as a diet trend. Worrying.

10. Delta Waves Linked to DHEA Production

Let's end on a positive one.

When we are in the delta state we release anti-aging hormones, including melatonin and DHEA.

DHEA is a hormone that slows the aging process, possibly improving well-being and cognitive function. Some people take supplements for this, but science hasn't show a benefit. Instead, sleep is the best way to promote DHEA production.

Additionally, levels of the hormone cortisol dip during the deep sleep stage and increase over the night to promote alertness in morning.

This is discussed further in this binaural beats research.

Can You Enter Enter Delta When Awake?

It is possible. After all, you did it in the womb and as a baby in your first year of life.

The thing is, delta is the dominant brainwave in deep sleep, not during waking hours.

But with brainwave entrainment, it is possible to stimulate delta production.

For example, delta frequency binaural beats have become a popular sleep aid. Listening before bed helps encourage the production of delta waves.

This happens because of the frequency following response created by binaural beats. The brain follows along at the frequency it is played and begins producing brainwaves at that frequency.

It's a tad more complex than that. More on that in my how binaural beats work post.

So, you could technically listening to delta brainwave entrainment recordings in the day to access delta.

You have to remember though that your brain will also be producing a spectrum of alpha and beta and gamma waves, because it is the day time. So it may take a while to achieve.

People often use delta binaural beats music to enter a state of lucid dreaming.

However, this is best attempted just after you have woken up from a night's sleep, or during an afternoon slump whereby you can slip into that cat-nap state that hovers between being sleep and wakefulness.

Where Can You Buy Delta Waves Music?

If you want to increase delta wave production you can try brainwave entrainment. This involves listening to music that contains delta wave frequencies.

For the record, I mostly use delta tracks before bed to promote better sleep. I used to do lucid dreaming, but since I'm no longer a student with time on my hands I haven't tried it.

I don't really want to feel lazy during the day, so I don't use delta unless it is in the evening.

Additionally, I mainly use theta music for meditation, relaxation, and relieving symptoms of anxiety, and alpha frequency music for focus and productivity.

I recommend the following three stores to get your delta frequency music:

  1. Binauralbeatsmeditation (most popular. See Deep Sleep & Muscle Relaxation)
  2. Ennora (reliable, been around a while. See Perfect Sleep)
  3. iAwake (has some pretty trippy stuff going on. See their Deep Delta track)

All you have to do is sit back and relax, put on your headphones and listen.

I Have High Delta Waves When I'm Awake. What Now?

I've received a fair few emails with this question over the years, so it isn't uncommon. This diagnosis is given via electroencephalography, which is an electrophysiological monitoring method to record electrical activity of the brain (6).

You most likely suffer from poor focus and attention, perhaps lack of productivity, or just feeling twitchy and anxious. Perhaps you have also been diagnosed with ADD.

In this case I'd recommend experimenting with using high alpha and beta wave frequencies, even low gamma, around 40 Hz.

You want to encourage the production of higher activity brainwaves and create a broader spectrum of the aforementioned frequencies to balance out the over production of delta waves.

You may have been referred for neurofeedback therapy, which may help. The problem is it can be expensive and may not be covered by your insurance provider.

A cheaper option may be to experiment with brainwave entrainment first. Or do a bit of both.

Delta, In Summary

  1. We produce the most delta waves when we are in stages 3 and 4 of sleep (now combined and usually referred to as just ‘stage 3).
  2. Delta waves are the slowest brainwaves, with the highest amplitude (this means the maximum extent of a vibration or oscillation).
  3. We need delta sleep to help us produce good hormones.
  4. Babies spend the most time in the delta state. Then we lose the ability to stay conscious and in delta as we grow.
  5. A problematic high level of delta waves are found in those with ADD.
  6. Alcohol and drugs negatively affect delta wave production.
  7. Insomniacs probably aren't producing enough delta waves.
  8. Women have higher delta activity than men.
  9. Entering the delta state and maintaining awareness may enable you to access the unconscious mind and higher spiritual consciousness. Delta will help you access lucid dreaming.
  10. Binaural beats can promote delta wave production. Use delta tracks before bed for a better sleep.

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Comments

  1. eric fisher says

    Hi, this is a useful informative post. I was researching what it feels like to experience Delta Waves and got some pointers. My thinking is that if I already know what it feels like I don’t need a machine really to get there so I am self sufficient.

    Reply

  2. Siri Hilmen says

    Hi! Hoping to get some feedback on this. I’ve had EEG readings over a couple of years and they consistently show dominant Delta brainwave. I don’t have problems focusing – I’m a professional musician. However, I have meditated for 20 years, and other people in my meditation community report similar readings. You mention Delta as a gateway to God, which naturally has me incredibly intrigued! Could you say more about that?

    Reply

  3. Lisa says

    My partner became interested in meditation a few years ago and bought an EEG recorder for biofeedback. He was surprised to find that he has a delta dominant pattern when he is at rest but fully awake and has been seeking the meaning of this finding.

    Today, he finally convinced the rest of our family to let him record our EEG patterns and our two teenaged offspring and I also have delta dominant patterns. The only one who flipped in & out of a delta dominant pattern was our eldest, who is a final year med student facing her final exams in a couple of weeks and therefore has been studying hard and under unavoidable stress (though I would say she is quite well prepared). The rest of us are feeling perfectly fine and certainly don’t lack focus or attention. We all have measured IQ scores in the EG/PG range. Most of the literature suggest that delta waves are pathological or undesirable, but it is interesting to find several comments in this thread from individuals who, like us, have delta dominant patterns without any evidence that there is anything untoward wrt cognitive or emotional function.

    Reply

    • Chris says

      Hi! It’s highly possible you (and those at home using EEG recorders) are getting false readings. Sadly this is pretty common. Sometimes you get the readings showing spikes in, say, gamma rhythms despite showing no benefits or signs of it being your dominant brainwave state. That isn’t to say you and the other commenter(s) here don’t have delta as your dominant brainwave! But if you don’t lack focus or anything like that – it’s likely a false reading and your dominant brainwave pattern is low – mid beta.

      Reply

      • Lisa says

        He used the same EEG recorder on many other individuals amongst our extended family, his colleagues and friends and came back to check on our patterns. Delta dominant patterns were only observed in members of our immediate family.

        My husband owns and operates the recorder and he is the one with the keen interest in this field so I don’t claim to be an authority but our patterns are qualitatively very different from everyone else’s and very much look like delta waves. Mine were, in fact, exclusively delta. That said, these readings were only taken in the relaxed setting of our home. I have occasionally been under enormous pressure at work and wonder what my patterns would have been like in those situations.

        Reply

  4. John Alcantar says

    I found your site very informative. I wanted to see what you would recommend for someone like me. I was diagnosed with a mild for of adult ADHD. I’ve always ran on high energy and required very little sleep etc. So I’ve been using binural beats to get better sleep.

    As for studying, even with my adhd medication, I found myself focused but still not fully there when reading text books etc. I’m focused but not engaged mentally? My online classes are killing me. Which binural beats would you say help with studying and which website?

    Reply

  5. Vanessa says

    Hi, bbfreak! Thank you so much for your site! I have narcolepsy and insomnia. Sleep studies show I don’t enter stage 3 & 4 sleep, but oscillate between awake, REM, stage 1, with many awakenings per hour. I’m also exhausted during the day with “sleep attacks” (intense urge to fall asleep), which I can push through. With this combo of insomnia, little/no delta waves during night sleep, fragmented sleep, and exhaustion during the day, do you have a recommendation of where to start/which track(s) to try? Many thanks!

    Reply

  6. tonya says

    I have a sleep disorder and have hand many EEG’s. They have recorded me in an awake delta state. It’s very restorative/ meditative feeling. I’d rather do a 10 min delta awake nap than have an hour typical nap.

    Reply

  7. John Lima says

    Love you content here. I tried binaural some years ago but at this time the information was pretty “shady”. Coming back now to this world. Im trying to setup a training plan for the next 3 months. What’s your recomendation to a good delta material to meditate? I listened some from the BBM but they seems to focus on the deep sleep state, therefore they are mixed with a more relaxating background. I belive that would be better to find something with another tipe of background i guess…

    Reply

  8. Debra says

    Hey, BBFreak, I checked out your 3 recommendations. Unexplainable Store don’t answer their emails. I subscribed yesterday and waited for the confirmation email, which I never got. So, I subscribed again today and they still haven’t sent me a confirmation email. And YES, I checked my spam folder and NO it isn’t in there. So, I scratched them off my list. I am very familiar with Holosync and they are way too expensive. They also seem to think that more is best but who has time to listen to all those cd’s? Not me. So, the only one I can say is just like you said, “reasonably priced.” Binauralbeatsmeditation .com IS reasonably priced. And I got a confirmation email within 10 minutes. YAY! As for trustworthy, I’m a new subscriber so I will have to take your word for it for now. But thanks for doing the research. You saved me a lot of time and effort. Keep up the good work. ~Deb

    Reply

    • bbfreak says

      Thanks Debra. As I always say, Unexplainable Store can be hit and miss at times. I had an email issue with them a while back where I kept getting repeat emails from there. It took a while to get a reply and it kept happening. All the best.

      Reply

  9. Isaiah says

    Will this have any affect on the body such as not able to wake up from an alarm or may hurt the body if you have ( disease Of some sort or any medical treatment). Just trying to see if it’s safe enough, also what about young’s what are the effect as an adult. 🙂

    Reply

  10. Lee Carolyn says

    I have been getting neurofeedback for a few months. Every time I go, it’s the same. My dominant waves in my frontal lobes are always Delta. while awake. sitting in a chair.

    He was trying to stimulate the Delta waves but they didn’t budge. He didn’t have any answers. Does anyone on this site have any ideas? I’m not very zen so I don’t think it can be that!

    Reply

    • bbfreak says

      Hi Lee, interesting. Can you tell me how this is affecting you, as in why did you go for neurofeedback in the first place? Did you feel tired a lot, unable to focus? Did you have any symptoms?

      Reply

      • Anne says

        I am also doing neurofeedback and have been told the same regarding my dominant waves in my frontal lobes being Delta. I am hoping neurofeedback will help with management of stress, anxiety and depression as well as ADD and insomnia. I am tired of being in the medication loop I was pushed into by my Dr., created by big Pharma (antidepressants at night and stimulants during the day). Fingers crossed neurofeedback will provide the relief I’m looking for.

        Reply

        • bbfreak says

          Hi Anne,

          Thank you for sharing your story. It’s interesting that I’ve heard from a few people in a similar situation. It makes sense that if your dominant waves are Delta that you are suffering from a number of health issues. With a continual abundance of delta waves can imagine that you feel perhaps lethargic and perhaps subdued, which I assume would make you feel depressed. I hope the neurofeedback works for you and that you can get off the medication.

          Reply

    • Melissa says

      Yes I’m. Interested in your symptoms. I’m going to do neuro feedback because my delta waves are extremely high when just sitting in a chair wide awake. Over The always been high strung but was prescribed benzos for years. My memory got horrible so I got off them which in itself was pure hell. Now since the my brain took a crap on me. I’m so fatigued, have zero strength, no motivation, can’t focus, get anything done, concentrate, multi task or handle the tiniest bit of stress.

      Reply

    • bbfreak says

      In my experience it is best to purchase downloads from a reputable provider. There are a number of issues with YouTube videos in this area, most importantly a lack of transparency on how the music was created and what frequencies are used and why. Not to mention musical dissonance, which can render the music in effective and often unpleasant to listen to. There’s also the issue of compression through playback and streaming. I have some recommendations here: https://www.binauralbeatsfreak.com/best-binaural-beats

      Reply

  12. Phil Welham says

    I have a floatation centre and regularly sleep in an isolation pod without dreaming. Many other Floatees report the same experience. You wake up feeling TOTALLY relaxed and, after 20 -30 minutes recovery, you feel energised, calm, clear thinking and, that night, you have the best sleep you can remember. I originally thought that I just couldn’t remember my dreams while floating but I recently realised I didn’t actually have them. It happened every time, now and it is very hard to describe the blissful, tranquil state in which I wake up. Try it!

    Reply

  15. D Lawrence says

    Have you heard about Havening/ Delta wave therapy.
    Basically psychosensory touch is used to promote delta waves ( whilst client is awake).

    Reply

  16. Dusica says

    I suffer from sleeping problems due to the psychiatric treatment medications I am taking. I can not sleep longer than 1 hour with dreams, never entering phase of deep sleep without dreams when delta waves are emitted. Mostly I am completely awaken since midnight each
    night. I follow your site for few years and now when my sleeping problem is so big and no biochemistry can help it, I decided to try your way again. Please advice which track among Top 5 you recommended to take for the beginning and further on to improve my brain delta wave emitting.

    Reply

  17. Presley says

    Thank you for the info. I must add that the Yoga Nidra state is the state in which a person can be in Delta but fully conscious. I did experience this state accidentally 3x in 2yrs after discovering Swami Rama’s teachings about the state&1 of the techniques for it(only 4 seems to exist & are practiced in monasteries at the time,according to him. He was the yogi who 1st demonstrated the 4 states,fully aware of himself & his surroundings, under lab conditions).

    Reply

  18. Sean Bullock says

    I’ve listened to delta waves while painting.
    I frequently experienced a feeling of something like a ‘runner’s high’, I guess.
    Highly focused, in-tune, a sense of…knowing exactly what I was painting. It was already there before I painted it.

    Reply

  19. Debbie Arnold says

    Hi,
    my daughter had an EEG and the neurologist said the brain wave activity in the back of her brain was very slow. I want to find out what causes this. She had a brain injury (3 skull fractures that were in the right side of her head and across the front right side. The fractures were closed wound. She had a small amount of swelling which diminished on it’s own. The neurologist asked if the fractures were in the back of her head and I told her no. She had no explanation for me.

    Reply

    • bbfreak says

      Hi Debbie, I really couldn’t tell you. My area of knowledge is in sound and frequency response. If your neurologist doesn’t have an answer for you there is no way that I would know any more. I will assume such injuries take a long time to heal properly so perhaps with time this will change.

      Reply

  20. pajaro says

    In my EEG show that I have electric delta waves in my area frontal and posterior unusual for my age. Doctors don’t know very well what that mean….

    Reply

    • bbfreak says

      Hi Pajaro. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly why and they probably didn’t want to make assumptions without conclusive evidence. Do you suffer from ADD? Or do you struggle to focus?

      The reason I ask is because of this: “Peak performers’ decrease Delta waves when high focus and peak performance is required. However, most individuals diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, naturally increase rather than decrease Delta activity when trying to focus. The inappropriate Delta response often severely restricts the ability to focus and maintain attention. It is
      as if the brain is locked into a perpetual drowsy state”.

      This extract is taken from the Cheat Sheet for Neurofeedback by Steven Warner, Ph.D.

      Reply

  21. Vighnesh says

    I tried to stay awake at 0 Hz and found it very easy.Can you advise,please?I’m not sure why…..
    Maybe I’ll try 0.1.Did I do something wrong?

    Reply

    • bbfreak says

      This depends on a lot of factors: what track were you listening to? Where did you buy it/who created it? What time of day was it? Were you in a mindset conducive to sleep? How long did you listen for? How many times did you listen?

      Reply

      • Janna Lorette says

        I am interested in trying of a customized approach to the levels set for each person is of a different makeup, this is an ancient method of sound vibration, but our approach is always room to incorporate new findings per person. I could see myself refining the science for individual use. Maybe you’re just a different level…

        Reply

    • Sutanu Nandigrami says

      It must not work…. The beats work on frequency differences between two ears…. If u set the difference to zero…. Then your brain listens ordinary clip …. As it ossilates by the frequency so .5 Hz is margin for a natural brain

      Reply

  22. Farzin says

    First of all thank you for your amazing website, I have a question regarding these matters, I can make both binaural beats and isochronic tones for myself but I doubt for low frequencies states (Theta and Delta) which one is better? Because I searched a lot and saw that binaural beats are better for low frequencies and for high frequencies (Beta Gamma Lambda….) isochronic tones are more effective. Also, for Alpha states some said isochronic and other said binaural.
    At the end sorry if my English was not fluent

    Reply

    • bbfreak says

      That is a general assumption people make but there isn’t really much science to back it up. What we do know though is that isochronic tones are ineffective below 4hz, and possibly a bit higher. So for theta and delta entrainment you are best off with binaural beats. In my experience binaural beats will be very effective all the way up to around 40hz.

      Reply

    • bbfreak says

      Really? Maybe you lack production but you must be able to produce them. Try listening to delta wave binaural beats to promote production.

      Reply

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