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Do mobile phone base stations affect sleep of residents? Results from an experimental double-blind sham-controlled field study.

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Danker-Hopfe H, Dorn H, Bornkessel C, Sauter C. · 2010

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The study found no significant differences in sleep quality between real and sham base station exposure, but participants with health concerns had worse sleep during sham nights.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers conducted a double-blind, sham-controlled, randomized cross-over study with 397 residents exposed to GSM base station signals and sham exposure at home for 12 nights. No significant differences in objective or subjective sleep measures were found between real and sham exposure conditions. During sham exposure nights, participants with concerns about health risks from base stations had significantly worse sleep efficiency, wake after sleep onset, and subjective sleep latency than those without concerns. The authors concluded that EMF from base stations did not affect sleep quality, but the presence of base stations themselves may negatively impact sleep.

Why This Matters

Researchers collected individual EMF exposure measurements and administered questionnaires on sleep disorders, overall sleep quality, attitudes toward mobile communication, and subjective sleep quality via morning and evening protocols. Objective sleep data were recorded using frontal EEG and EOG.

Exposure Information

A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 900 MHz - 1.80 GHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 900 MHz - 1.80 GHzPower lines50/60 Hz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. The study examined exposure from: 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz

Study Details

The aim of the present double-blind, sham-controlled, balanced randomized cross-over study was to disentangle effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) and non-EMF effects of mobile phone base stations on objective and subjective sleep quality.

In total 397 residents aged 18-81 years (50.9% female) from 10 German sites, where no mobile phone s...

Analysis of the subjective and objective sleep data did not reveal any significant differences betwe...

The study did not provide any evidence for short-term physiological effects of EMF emitted by mobile phone base stations on objective and subjective sleep quality. However, the results indicate that mobile phone base stations as such (not the electromagnetic fields) may have a significant negative impact on sleep quality.

Cite This Study
Danker-Hopfe H, Dorn H, Bornkessel C, Sauter C. (2010). Do mobile phone base stations affect sleep of residents? Results from an experimental double-blind sham-controlled field study. Am J Hum Biol. 22(5):613-618, 2010.
Show BibTeX
@article{h_2010_do_mobile_phone_base_2012,
  author = {Danker-Hopfe H and Dorn H and Bornkessel C and Sauter C.},
  title = {Do mobile phone base stations affect sleep of residents? Results from an experimental double-blind sham-controlled field study.},
  year = {2010},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20737608/},
}
PubMed: 20737608

Cited By (59 papers)

View all 59 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

The study used a double-blind, sham-controlled, randomized cross-over design with 397 residents exposed to GSM base station signals and sham at home for 12 nights.
No significant differences in objective or subjective sleep measures were found between real and sham exposure conditions.
During sham nights, participants with health concerns had significantly worse sleep efficiency, wake after sleep onset, and subjective sleep latency than those without concerns.
The study found no evidence for short-term physiological effects of EMF from base stations on sleep quality, but base stations themselves may have a negative impact on sleep.
Individual EMF exposure, questionnaires on sleep disorders, overall sleep quality, attitudes toward mobile communication, subjective sleep quality via morning and evening protocols, and objective sleep data from frontal EEG and EOG were gathered.