title: Pulsed high-frequency electromagnetic field affects human sleep and sleep electroencephalogram.
abstract: To investigate whether the electromagnetic field (EMF) emitted by digital radiotelephone handsets affects the brain, healthy, young subjects were exposed during an entire night-time sleep episode to an intermittent radiation schedule (900 MHz; maximum specific absorption rate 1 W/kg) consisting of alternating 15-min on-15-min off intervals. Compared with a control night with sham exposure, the amount of waking after sleep onset was reduced from 18 to 12 min. Spectral power of the electroencephalogram in non-rapid eye movement sleep was increased. The maximum rise occurred in the 10-11 Hz and 13.5-14 Hz bands during the initial part of sleep and then subsided. The results demonstrate that pulsed high-frequency EMF in the range of radiotelephones may promote sleep and modify the sleep EEG.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zürich, Switzerland. borbely@pharma.unizh.ch
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Borbély
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Huber
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Graf
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gallmann
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Achermann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000528:radiation effects*; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects