Each night as you sleep, you body undergoes a complex process of rejuvenation. There are three distinct levels of sleep. These levels can be identified by the frequency of brain wave activity. The graph below helps illustrate these levels. (graph to be added soon)
BETA
between 14 and 32 brain wave cycles per second- our minds are consciously aware and wee are active. We think, we communicate, we solve problems, pay bills, and in general deal with our conscious reality. As we do this, we use energy and tire ourselves both mentally and physically. At the same time, we file away in our subconscious minds the unpleasant and negative things that we are not able to rid ourselves of during the day.
ALPHA
From 7 to 14 cycles per second, R.E.M. or rapid eye movement sleep occurs. Most dreams take place at this level and this is probably the most important sleep in terms of mental health since dreams allow us to unload the frustrations, defeats and all the negative things that we pick up during the day. We literally “take out our mental garbage.”
THETA
4-7 cycles per second. Not much is know about Theta sleep. It accounts for only a small percentage of our night’s sleep. During sleep, we slide through Theta on our way to and from Alpha and Delta. Perhaps it allows us to dredge from our subconscious those disturbances which we examine symbolically in Alpha dreams.
DELTA
When our Brains activity drop below 4 cycles per second we are in our deepest level of sleep. Here our bodies are completely relaxed, heart rate and respiration slows, blood pressure and temperature fall and physical rejuvenation occurs. A growth hormone is released during Delta sleep which stimulates growth and cellular development.
(Article incomplete – To be updated)