Brainwave Powerbands

When you complete a Strength, Mind, Heart, Body, Breath session, a guided meditation, or a Sleep session, you will receive brainwave powerband data in your post-session results.

Navigating the Brainwave Powerband Graph
Understanding Brainwave Powerbands
Interpreting My Brainwave Data
Exporting Brainwave Data
Frequently Asked Questions

 

Navigating the Brainwave Powerband Graph

While viewing your session data, tap Brainwave Powerbands to open or hide your brainwave powerband graph. 

Tap the individual powerband icons at the top of the graph to see one or different combinations of powerbands. Tap All to view all the powerbands at once.

• Delta δ (0.5-4 Hz): Deeply asleep/not dreaming

• Theta θ (4-8 Hz): Sleep, deep relaxation, and visualization

• Alpha α (8-13 Hz): Relaxed and calm

• Beta β (13-32 Hz): Actively thinking or problem-solving

• Gamma γ (32-100 Hz): Hyper brain activity, great for learning
   

Key Insight: The graph x-axis represents the duration of your session and the y-axis represents the amplitude of the signal, measured in decibels (dB). Each powerband is detected at a certain frequency in hertz (Hz), but by measuring the amplitude (dB) over time, we’re able to chart your brainwaves.

Zoom in on your data for a closer look.

• Zoom in or out by spreading or pinching two fingers on the chart.

• While zoomed in, swipe left or right to scan through your graph.

You can also run a separate real-time visualization of your brainwave powerbands with our Live Brainwave Visualization program.

 

Sleep Brainwave Powerband Graph

The powerband graph is also available with your sleep session results.

Tap the Delta δ powerband to isolate it and track the rise and fall of delta waves during your sleep.

Zoom in: The brainwave powerband graph in our sleep section is not zoomable at this time but will be available in a future update!

 

Understanding Brainwave Powerbands

Brainwave powerbands are a fundamental concept in neuroscience and the study of brain activity. They refer to specific frequency ranges of electrical activity in the brain, typically measured in hertz (Hz), which correspond to different states of consciousness and mental processes.

Delta Waves: Deep sleep

Delta waves are associated with the deepest stage of sleep. Characterized by high amplitude, they are believed to play a significant role in the rejuvenation of the mind and body.

Theta Waves: Creativity, insight, dreams, reduced consciousness

Theta waves can be observed during light sleep, dreaming, and deep relaxation. Often associated with creativity and emotional processing, their presence during your session highlights their role in achieving a relaxed and focused mental state.

Alpha Waves: Physically and mentally relaxed, clarity

Alpha waves can signify a state of relaxed alertness and mental clarity and can increase during wakeful relaxation with closed eyes, such as during meditation or daydreaming. Associated with a state of calmness, relaxation, and mental alertness, alpha waves may enhance creativity, visualization, and overall mental clarity, promoting overall well-being and focus.

Beta Waves: Alertness, normal alert consciousness, active thinking

Beta waves are indicative of active cognitive processes and heightened alertness. Their presence during problem-solving tasks underscores their role in concentration and decision-making, although they may also indicate stress or excitement depending on their intensity.

Gamma Waves: Heightened perception, learning, problem-solving tasks

Gamma waves are associated with complex cognitive processes, such as perception, learning, memory recall and consciousness. Gamma waves are believed to facilitate neural synchronization and communication across brain regions, suggesting their importance for cohesive cognitive processing.

 

Interpreting My Brainwave Data

Reviewing brainwave powerband data after your session can help you gain a deeper understanding of your progress in your goals with Muse, from deepening your practice to improving your mental health or performance.

While the Muse support team is always happy to help troubleshoot technical issues with your device and app, we’re not able to interpret or analyze your brainwave data.

The key in the brainwave powerbands is in looking at their individual increase or decrease, and the possible correlation with the increase or decrease of other powerbands. Is Alpha higher in today’s session than yesterday? Is there a trend of beta decreasing while alpha increases? However, there’s little to no meaning in comparing the values of the powerbands against each other. For example, it doesn't mean anything if Alpha is higher than Theta or Beta.

It is important to note that interpretation should be done cautiously. Brainwave powerbands are also sensitive to facial and other muscle movements, which can skew relevant brain activity data. Consulting with a qualified professional can help in interpreting and utilizing this information effectively. Additionally, individuals vary greatly, and context plays a significant role in understanding brainwave patterns. This is where the journal feature plays a key role. Use the journal after your session to record your experience in a way that brings context to your personal goals for tracking your brainwaves. By using these tools together, you may find insights from your session that allow you to better cultivate your goals with Muse.

Here, you’ll find some areas where you can reflect on your personal experience during the session and begin to compare how your powerband data relates over time.
 

Levels of Relaxation

• Reflect on your level of relaxation during your session by examining the prevalence of alpha wave activity, associated with a relaxed yet alert state of mind, indicating deep relaxation and mental calmness.

• Higher theta wave activity may suggest a state of deep meditation or heightened introspection, characterized by increased awareness.

• EEG data shows increased alpha waves for deep relaxation and mental calmness, while higher theta waves suggest deep relaxation or heightened introspection.
   

Focus and Attention

• A decrease in beta wave activity may indicate a state of focused attention and reduced mental chatter, facilitating a deeper experience.

• Beta wave fluctuations indicate focus and attention levels, guiding improvements in concentration and mindfulness during meditation.

• Conversely, fluctuations in beta wave activity may reflect periods of distraction or wandering thoughts, highlighting areas for improvement in concentration and mindfulness.
   

Emotional Regulation

• Reduced beta wave activity and increased alpha or theta wave activity may indicate a state of emotional calmness and resilience, suggesting effective stress reduction and emotional regulation techniques.

• Changes in gamma wave activity may reflect shifts in emotional processing and cognitive flexibility, providing insights into your ability to navigate emotional experiences during your session.
   

Meditation Depth and Progress

• Analyzing your EEG data over multiple sessions can help you track your progress and assess the depth of your practice.

• Consistent patterns of brainwave activity, such as increased alpha or theta waves, may indicate a deepening of meditative states and enhanced mindfulness over time.

• Comparing EEG data from different sessions can reveal fluctuations in mental states and identify factors that influence the quality of your practice, such as environmental conditions, time of day, or personal factors.
  
   

Exporting Brainwave Data

At this time, you cannot export data directly from the Muse app.

For individuals and citizen scientists looking to visualize, stream, or export brainwave data from their Muse device, we recommend checking out Mind Monitor, a popular third-party app designed for this purpose.

If you're conducting academic or institutional research with Muse, please please contact researchpartners@choosemuse.com.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Can The Muse Support Team Help Interpret My Brainwaves?
Does The Muse Headband Filter or Process Brainwave Data?
What Can Affect the Brainwave Powerbands?
How Can I Conduct Academic Research With Muse?

 

Can The Muse Support Team Help Interpret My Brainwaves?

While we're always happy to help troubleshoot technical issues with your device and app, we’re not able to interpret or analyze your brainwave data. Muse is designed as a personal meditation and neurofeedback tool, and the brainwave data it collects is for your own exploration and self-reflection.

If you’re curious to dig deeper into your brainwave patterns, we have a few great starting points in our Brainwave Powerbands FAQ article.

 

Does The Muse Headband Filter or Process Brainwave Data?

No, the Muse headband itself only detects your brainwaves and bio-signals, and transmits the raw data to the Muse app.

The Muse app uses advanced algorithms to analyze this data and generate the post-session metrics and insights, such as your calm score and heart rate trends, that you see after your sessions. These are processed outputs, designed to help you understand and improve your practice over time. They reflect years of research and development by the Muse team.

However, if you're looking for unprocessed brainwave data, there are two places in the app where you can view it directly:

• Live Brainwave Visualization

• Brainwave Powerbands graph after a session
   

These features show your unfiltered EEG activity across key frequency bands (Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta, Gamma) without interpretation or filtering by Muse's algorithms.

 

What Can Affect the Brainwave Powerbands?

Since the Brainwave Powerbands graph reflects your unfiltered EEG data, it can be influenced by a range of non-brainwave factors, especially signal noise. This is normal in raw EEG recordings and doesn’t necessarily indicate an issue with your Muse device.

Some common sources of interference include:

Motion Artifacts - Movements like blinking, jaw clenching, or shifting your head will introduce signal noise that impacts the accuracy of lower frequency bands (delta and theta) most significantly. This makes it harder to distinguish genuine brainwave activity from movement-related electrical signals.

Electrode Drift & Skin Potential Fluctuations - Slow changes in the electrical signal can also result from sweating, changes in skin contact, or sensor movement.

Other Potential Factors

• Poor sensor contact (e.g., improper fit, or hair between the sensors and skin).

• Dry skin impeding signal conductivity (even if you don't feel you have dry skin, applying a small amount of water to your skin and the sensors will help).

• Muscle tension, especially in the face or neck.

• Electrical interference from nearby devices.
  
   

How Can I Conduct Academic Research With Muse?

If you would like to conduct academic or institutional research with Muse, please contact researchpartners@choosemuse.com