Sleep EEG alterations: effects of different pulse-modulated radio frequency electromagnetic fields.
Schmid MR, Loughran SP, Regel SJ, Murbach M, Bratic Grunauer A, Rusterholz T, Bersagliere A, Kuster N, Achermann P · 2012
View Original AbstractCell phone radiation at current safety limits can alter deep sleep brain patterns hours after exposure, especially at frequencies matching natural brain rhythms.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed 30 men to cell phone radiation before sleep and monitored their brain waves overnight. The radiation increased brain activity during deep sleep, particularly when pulsed at frequencies matching natural brain rhythms, showing cell phones can alter sleep patterns hours after use.
Why This Matters
This study adds important evidence to our understanding of how cell phone radiation affects sleep physiology. The 2 W/kg exposure level used here is at the current SAR safety limit for cell phones, meaning these effects occur at radiation levels considered 'safe' by regulators. What makes this research particularly significant is that it demonstrates how pulse-modulation frequencies can interact with natural brain rhythms during sleep. The fact that 14 Hz modulation (closer to natural sleep spindle frequencies) produced stronger effects than 217 Hz suggests our brains may be especially vulnerable to certain RF frequencies that match biological rhythms. The considerable individual variability the researchers noted also helps explain why some people report sleep disturbances from wireless devices while others don't notice effects.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 2 W/kg
- Source/Device
- 900 MHz
- Exposure Duration
- 30 min
Exposure Context
This study used 2 W/kg for SAR (device absorption):
- 5x above the Building Biology guideline of 0.4 W/kg
Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
We investigated whether pulse‐modulation frequency components in the range of sleep spindles may be involved in mediating these effects.
Thirty young healthy men were exposed, at weekly intervals, to three different conditions for 30 min...
Electroencephalographic power in the spindle frequency range was increased during non‐rapid eye move...
Show BibTeX
@article{mr_2012_sleep_eeg_alterations_effects_178,
author = {Schmid MR and Loughran SP and Regel SJ and Murbach M and Bratic Grunauer A and Rusterholz T and Bersagliere A and Kuster N and Achermann P},
title = {Sleep EEG alterations: effects of different pulse-modulated radio frequency electromagnetic fields.},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1111/j.1365-2869.2011.00918.x},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-2869.2011.00918.x},
}