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Sleep & Circadian Rhythm

Disturbed sleep in individuals with Idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF): Melatonin assessment as a biological marker.

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Andrianome S, Hugueville L, de Seze R, Hanot-Roy M, Blazy K, Gamez C, Selmaoui B. · 2016

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People with electromagnetic sensitivity have real sleep problems, but normal melatonin levels suggest the cause isn't disrupted hormone production.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers compared melatonin levels (a hormone that regulates sleep) between 30 people who report electromagnetic sensitivity and 25 people who don't, without exposing either group to EMF sources. While the sensitive group scored significantly worse on sleep quality questionnaires, both groups had identical melatonin levels in their saliva and urine. This suggests that whatever is causing sleep problems in electromagnetically sensitive individuals, it's not affecting their body's natural melatonin production.

Study Details

In this study, we compared levels of melatonin between a sensitive group (IEI-EMF, n = 30) and a non-sensitive control group (non IEI-EMF, n = 25) without exposure to electromagnetic sources.

Three questionnaires were used to evaluate the subjective quality and sleep quantity: the Epworth Sl...

Despite significantly different sleep scores between the two groups, with a lower score in the IEI-E...

Cite This Study
Andrianome S, Hugueville L, de Seze R, Hanot-Roy M, Blazy K, Gamez C, Selmaoui B. (2016). Disturbed sleep in individuals with Idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF): Melatonin assessment as a biological marker. Bioelectromagnetics. 2016 Mar 10. doi: 10.1002/bem.21965.
Show BibTeX
@article{s_2016_disturbed_sleep_in_individuals_2891,
  author = {Andrianome S and Hugueville L and de Seze R and Hanot-Roy M and Blazy K and Gamez C and Selmaoui B.},
  title = {Disturbed sleep in individuals with Idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields (IEI-EMF): Melatonin assessment as a biological marker.},
  year = {2016},
  
  url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26969907/},
}
PubMed: 26969907

Cited By (12 papers)

Quick Questions About This Study

A 2016 study found that people reporting electromagnetic sensitivity had significantly worse sleep quality scores than controls. However, both groups showed identical melatonin levels, suggesting EMF exposure doesn't disrupt the body's natural sleep hormone production despite reported sleep issues.
Research comparing 30 electromagnetically sensitive individuals with 25 controls found no difference in melatonin levels between groups. Despite the sensitive group reporting much worse sleep quality, their saliva and urine melatonin measurements were identical to non-sensitive people.
While people who report electromagnetic sensitivity score significantly worse on sleep questionnaires, a 2016 study found their melatonin production remains normal. This suggests sleep problems in sensitive individuals aren't caused by disrupted melatonin, the body's primary sleep hormone.
Current research shows mixed results. One study found that people reporting electromagnetic sensitivity have poor sleep quality but normal melatonin levels, indicating EMF may not directly disrupt sleep hormones even when people experience sleep problems they attribute to EMF.
A study measuring melatonin (the key circadian hormone) found no difference between electromagnetically sensitive people and controls, despite the sensitive group reporting worse sleep. This suggests EMF exposure doesn't measurably disrupt the body's natural circadian rhythm regulation through melatonin production.