Mobile phone radiation wrecks your sleep

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Mobile phone radiation wrecks your sleep

By Geoffrey Lean

The Independent

20 January 2008

This is not news for people to stop using cell phones. But it is a call to use them with full knowledge of what they do. There is an old saying, "don't work hard, work smart." This could be applied to cell phone use: "don't talk long at night, talk smart." (Or only use a landline before bed.) From the article:

Radiation from mobile phones delays and reduces sleep, and causes headaches and confusion, according to a new study.

The research, sponsored by the mobile phone companies themselves, shows that using the handsets before bed causes people to take longer to reach the deeper stages of sleep and to spend less time in them, interfering with the body's ability to repair damage suffered during the day.

. . .

The study – carried out by scientists from the blue-chip Karolinska Institute and Uppsala University in Sweden and from Wayne State University in Michigan, USA – is thought to be the most comprehensive of its kind.

Published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Progress in Electromagnetics Research Symposium and funded by the Mobile Manufacturers Forum, representing the main handset companies...

. . .

The scientists studied 35 men and 36 women aged between 18 and 45. Some were exposed to radiation that exactly mimicked what is received when using mobile phones; others were placed in precisely the same conditions, but given only "sham" exposure, receiving no radiation at all.

The people who had received the radiation took longer to enter the first of the deeper stages of sleep, and spent less time in the deepest one. The scientists concluded: "The study indicates that during laboratory exposure to 884 MHz wireless signals components of sleep believed to be important for recovery from daily wear and tear are adversely affected."

Michael

[Barbara Branden]

Michael, I'm not sure of the meaning of "... others were placed in precisely the same conditions, but given only 'sham' exposure, receiving no radiation at all."

If this was not done, I'd like to see the testers give the same test to people who talk on non-cell phones before bed, or who have extended conversations, in person, with other people. The possibility that the mere fact of a conversation can delay sleep needs to be ruled out..

Barbara

[Alfonso Jones]

Michael, I'm not sure of the meaning of "... others were placed in precisely the same conditions, but given only 'sham' exposure, receiving no radiation at all."

If this was not done, I'd like to see the testers give the same test to people who talk on non-cell phones before bed, or who have extended conversations, in person, with other people. The possibility that the mere fact of a conversation can delay sleep needs to be ruled out..

Barbara

It means that the writer is not capable of clear communication.

Alfonso

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Barbara,

I might be wrong, but as I understand it, cell phones were not used at all in the experiment. There was no talking done. Just exposure to radiation that is identical to that coming from cell phones.

Also, "sham" exposure was given as a control variable, meaning that all participants thought they were receiving exposure. The following explains one of the reasons why:

About half of the people studied believed themselves to be "electrosensitive", reporting symptoms such as headaches and impaired cognitive function from mobile phone use. But they proved to be unable to tell if they had been exposed to the radiation in the test.

This strengthens the conclusion of the study, as it disposes of any suggestion that knowledge of exposure influenced sleeping patterns. Even more significantly, it throws into doubt the relevance of studies the industry relies on to maintain that the radiation has no measurable effects.

Michael