Using your cellphone before bed may stop you from getting a
decent night's sleep.
A new study, funded by cellphone companies, suggests the
radiation from mobile phones can cause insomnia, headaches and
confusion.
Talking on the phone before bed caused 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 done during
the day.
The study found children and teenagers were particularly
vulnerable as they were most likely to use phones late at night and
needed sleep the most.
Scientists from Sweden's Karolinska Institute and Wayne State
University in the United States studied 35 men and 36 women aged
between 18 and 45.
Some were exposed to the same levels of radiation emitted when
using a cellphone, while others were given only "sham"
exposure.
Those exposed to radiation took longer to enter the first of the
deeper stages of sleep and spent less time in the deepest one.
The study suggested people use a landline if they needed to make
a call before bed and not to sleep with mobile phones on their
bedside table.
Christchurch sleep specialist Dr Mike Hlavac said it was an
interesting study, but he would not be changing his advice to
patients without further investigation.
"It's interesting that you can potentially manipulate sleep
using mobile-phone signals. It would go with earlier research
suggesting radiation might have an impact on sleep," he said.
The length of radiation exposure given to those in the study –
three hours – was much longer than most people would talk on the
phone, he said.
Hlavac recommended patients with insomnia kept a cellphone by
the bed rather than an illuminated clock, which could keep them
counting the hours.
(Agencies via China Daily February 4, 2008)