What are Alpha Brainwaves? Alpha brain waves are one of the four basic brain waves. These four brain waves are: delta, theta, alpha and beta. These four brain waves make up the electroencephalogram (EEG). The EEG is a display of the electrical waves within the brain, but the voltage of the waves within the brain is very small, only a few millionths of a volt. The oscillations of alpha brain waves average 10 times per second. Alpha brain waves were the first to be discovered in 1908, when Dr. Hans Berg, an Austrian medical doctor, was the first to make the discovery and called them alpha waves (ALPHA), because ALPHA is the first in the order of the Greek letters, the same as the letter A in English.
Countless scientists have spent a great deal of time studying alpha brain waves over the last hundred years, resulting in a wealth of accumulated knowledge and conclusions about basic research on alpha brain waves.
Alpha brain waves appear and disappear in the brain, and they are not always present. For example, there are no alpha waves in deep sleep; there are no alpha brain waves in the brain if a person is in an agitated state, or when they are afraid or angry.