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Sleep & Circadian Rhythm

Inter-individual and intra-individual variation of the effects of pulsed RF EMF exposure on the human sleep EEG.

No Effects Found

Lustenberger, C., Murbach, M., Tüshaus, L., Wehrle, F., Kuster, N., Achermann, P. and Huber, R. · 2015

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Brain responses to cell phone radiation during sleep proved inconsistent even in the same person, questioning the reliability of reported EMF sleep effects.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Swiss researchers exposed 20 young men to cell phone-level radiation (900 MHz at 2 watts per kilogram) for 30 minutes before sleep on two separate nights, then monitored their brain activity throughout the night using EEG. While they found some increases in certain brain wave patterns during deep sleep, these effects were inconsistent - they didn't reliably occur in the same individuals across both exposure sessions. This suggests that if cell phone radiation affects sleep brain activity, the response varies unpredictably between people and even within the same person on different nights.

Exposure Information

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

The study examined exposure from: 900 MHz Duration: 2 weeks

Study Details

Our study aimed to investigate inter-individual variation and intra-individual stability of field effects.

To do so, we exposed 20 young male subjects twice for 30 min prior to sleep to the same amplitude mo...

The topographical analysis of EEG power during all-night non-rapid eye movement sleep revealed: (1) ...

Cite This Study
Lustenberger, C., Murbach, M., Tüshaus, L., Wehrle, F., Kuster, N., Achermann, P. and Huber, R. (2015). Inter-individual and intra-individual variation of the effects of pulsed RF EMF exposure on the human sleep EEG. Bioelectromagnetics. doi: 10.1002/bem.21893. First published online Feb 17, 2015.
Show BibTeX
@article{lustenberger_2015_interindividual_and_intraindividual_variation_3214,
  author = {Lustenberger and C. and Murbach and M. and Tüshaus and L. and Wehrle and F. and Kuster and N. and Achermann and P. and Huber and R.},
  title = {Inter-individual and intra-individual variation of the effects of pulsed RF EMF exposure on the human sleep EEG.},
  year = {2015},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25690404/},
}
PubMed: 25690404

Cited By (33 papers)

View all 33 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

Swiss researchers found that 900 MHz radiation affects people's brain activity inconsistently during sleep. The same person showed different responses on different nights, and effects varied unpredictably between individuals. This suggests biological responses to cell phone radiation are highly variable and not reliably reproducible.
A 2015 study exposed young men to 900 MHz radiation for 30 minutes before sleep and found some increases in delta-theta brain waves during deep sleep. However, these changes were inconsistent and didn't occur reliably in the same people across different nights.
Research using 2 watts per kilogram of 900 MHz radiation found some changes in brain wave patterns during non-REM sleep, particularly increased delta-theta activity in frontal brain regions. However, these effects were not reproducible within the same individuals across multiple exposures.
A controlled study of 20 young men found no differences in sleep spindle frequency patterns after 30 minutes of 900 MHz cell phone radiation exposure. Sleep spindles, important brain waves during sleep, remained unchanged despite other minor brain activity variations.
Swiss sleep researchers concluded it remains unclear whether people have consistent biological traits determining their brain's response to radiofrequency radiation. Individual responses to 900 MHz exposure varied unpredictably, even within the same person on different nights, suggesting no reliable biological marker exists.