6,486 Studies Reviewed. 85.2% of Original Studies Found Biological Effects. The Evidence is Clear.
Shield Your Body

Note: This study found no significant biological effects under its experimental conditions. We include all studies for scientific completeness.

Sleep & Circadian Rhythm

Human sleep EEG under the influence of pulsed radio frequency electromagnetic fields. results from polysomnographies using submaximal high power flux densities.

No Effects Found

Wagner P, Roschke J, Mann K, Fell J, Hiller W, Frank C, Grozinger M · 2000

View Original Abstract
Share:

High-intensity cell phone radiation showed no sleep effects, contradicting studies at lower exposure levels typical of actual phone use.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

German researchers exposed 20 healthy men to extremely high levels of cell phone radiation (100 times stronger than typical phone use) during sleep to see if it affected their brain waves and sleep patterns. Despite using this intense exposure level, they found no measurable changes to sleep quality or brain activity during sleep. This contradicts earlier studies that found sleep disruption at much lower radiation levels.

Why This Matters

This study presents a puzzling contradiction in sleep research that highlights the complexity of EMF effects on human biology. The researchers used 50 W/m² exposure levels, which is roughly 100 times higher than what you'd experience during a typical phone call, yet found no sleep disruption. This directly contradicts their own earlier work showing sleep effects at much lower levels (0.2-0.5 W/m²). The science demonstrates that EMF effects don't always follow a simple dose-response relationship where more exposure equals stronger effects. What this means for you is that the relationship between EMF exposure and sleep disruption may depend on specific frequencies, modulation patterns, or individual sensitivity factors that we don't fully understand yet. The reality is that this single negative study doesn't negate the broader body of research showing EMF effects on sleep at real-world exposure levels.

Exposure Details

Power Density
5 mW/cm²
Source/Device
900 MHz, pulsed with a frequency of 217 Hz

Exposure Context

This study used 5 mW/cm² for radio frequency:

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 Exposure Level in ContextStudy Exposure Level in ContextThis study: 5 mW/cm²Extreme Concern - 1,000 µW/m²FCC Limit - 10M µW/m²Effects observed in the Extreme Concern range (Building Biology)This level is 5 times the FCC limit
A logarithmic frequency spectrum from 10 Hz to 100 GHz showing where this study's 217 Hz - 900 MHz exposure sits relative to common EMF sources.Where This Frequency Sits on the EMF SpectrumELFVLFLF / MFHF / VHFUHFSHFmm10 Hz100 GHzThis study: 217 Hz - 900 MHzPower lines50/60 HzCell phones~1 GHzWiFi2.4 GHz5G mm28 GHzLogarithmic scale

Study Details

The aim of this study is to investigate Human sleep EEG under the influence of pulsed radio frequency electromagnetic fields. results from polysomnographies using submaximal high power flux densities.

For the present study, we applied a submaximal power flux density of 50 W/m(2). To investigate putat...

The results showed no significant effect of the field application either on conventional sleep param...

Cite This Study
Wagner P, Roschke J, Mann K, Fell J, Hiller W, Frank C, Grozinger M (2000). Human sleep EEG under the influence of pulsed radio frequency electromagnetic fields. results from polysomnographies using submaximal high power flux densities. Neuropsychobiology 42(4):207-212, 2000.
Show BibTeX
@article{p_2000_human_sleep_eeg_under_3480,
  author = {Wagner P and Roschke J and Mann K and Fell J and Hiller W and Frank C and Grozinger M},
  title = {Human sleep EEG under the influence of pulsed radio frequency electromagnetic fields. results from polysomnographies using submaximal high power flux densities.},
  year = {2000},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11096337/},
}
PubMed: 11096337

Cited By (89 papers)

View all 89 citing papers on Semantic Scholar

Quick Questions About This Study

No, German researchers found no changes to sleep brain waves even when exposing 20 healthy men to 900 MHz radiation 100 times stronger than typical cell phone use. This contradicts earlier studies that found sleep disruption at much lower radiation levels.
No, a 2000 study found that 217 Hz pulsed radiofrequency radiation at extremely high intensities did not disrupt sleep patterns or conventional sleep parameters in healthy men during overnight polysomnography testing.
German researchers exposed men to cell phone radiation 100 times stronger than normal use and found no measurable changes to sleep quality or brain activity. This suggests sleep may be more resilient to radiation than previously thought.
This polysomnography study found no significant effects on sleep EEG power spectra from high-intensity 900 MHz pulsed radiation exposure, despite using radiation levels far exceeding normal cell phone use in 20 healthy participants.
Despite using submaximal high power flux densities of 900 MHz radiation, researchers found no sleep effects, possibly because sleep mechanisms are more robust than expected or because exposure methodology differed from studies showing effects.