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Mobile phones stop teenagers getting a good night's sleep
By Kate Devlin Medical Correspondent
Last updated: 1:23 AM BST 10/06/2008
Teenagers who send more than five text messages a day on their mobile phones or make more than five calls are ruining their chances of getting a good night's sleep, a new study shows.
By Kate Devlin Medical Correspondent
Teenagers who send more than five text messages or make more than five calls a day on their mobile phones are ruining their chances of getting a good night's sleep, a new study shows.
Young people who often used their phone to text or call their friends were more likely to have trouble sleeping than those who used their mobile moderately.
As a consequence "excessive texters" felt more tired during the day and drank more caffeine to help them stay awake.
Many young people also felt a "pressure" to be at the end of their phones "around the clock", the stress of which led them to take up smoking or drinking, the team behind the research warned.
The study, presented at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS), in Baltimore, found that teenagers who used their mobiles often were more prone to disrupted sleep, restlessness, stress and fatigue than other young people.
Researchers at Sahlgren's Academy in Gothenburg, Sweden, looked at 21 otherwise healthy teenagers, between 14 and 20 years of age, who had regular school or work hours and who did not suffer from serious sleep problems.
The volunteers were split into two groups, the first who made less than five calls or sent less than five texts a day and a second group who used their phones at least 15 times daily.
The scientists found that those who used their mobile phones the most were most susceptible to stress and fatigue.
Not only did they find it more difficult to fall asleep than the other group but they also suffered from more disruptive sleep patterns once they finally nodded off.
The study also found that those who often used their phones were more likely to take drinks designed to make them feel more alert during the day.
They were also more likely to feel more awake at night than in the morning, suggesting a delayed biological clock.
Dr Gaby Badre, who led the study, said that those who used their phones the most appeared to have a different, more frantic lifestyle than other teenagers.
Dr Badre said: "Addiction to cell phone is becoming common. Youngsters feel a group pressure to remain inter-connected and reachable round the clock.
Children start to use mobile phones at an early stage of their life. There seem to be a connection between intensive use of cell phones and health compromising behaviour such as smoking, snuffing and use of alcohol."
Getting a good night's sleep was extremely important for young people, she added, and they should be made more aware that excessive mobile phone use can bring with it "serious health risks" as well as attention problems and trouble sleeping.
Jessica Alexander, from the Sleep Council, which promotes healthy sleeping habits, said: "Too many teenagers are stimulating their brains with mobile phones or computers late at night, when they should be settling down in preparation for sleep."
Although adults are advised to get between seven and eight hours sleep a night, doctors recommend that adolescents get nine hours.
However, another paper presented at the SLEEP 2008 conference shows that teenagers often get into a pattern of getting less sleep on school nights and having to "make up" the difference at weekends.
Daily Mail
We love our mobiles... but are we being told all the facts about how safe they are?
By JEROME BURNE - More by this author » Last updated at 22:07pm on 3rd March 2008
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=525268&in_page_id=1774
Please find below a copy of questions on electromagnetic fields to the UK Secretary of State for Health from fellow Radiation Research Trustee Andrew Mitchell MP for Sutton Coldfield, Shadow International Development Secretary. Also read the response from Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo MP.
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he is taking in relation to exposure from electromagnetic microwave radiation from mobile telephone masts and wireless broadband technology; [182167]
(2) if he will request the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection to undertake an urgent review of guidance on exposure to time-varying electric, magnetic and electro magnetic fields in the frequency range up to 300Ghz, with particular reference to non-thermal health effects; [182168]
(3) what recent published medical research he has evaluated on the effect of telephone mast emissions on the health of nearby communities in the UK; [182169]
(4) if he will undertake an ecological study into the health of people living in communities close to mobile telephony masts. [182170]
Dawn Primarolo: Mobile telephones, base stations and wireless installations in this country are expected to comply with the electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure guidelines published by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). The ICNIRP guidelines are incorporated into the European Recommendation on limiting public exposure to electromagnetic fields (EC/519/1999) adopted by European member states.
Measurements by Ofcom (www.ofcom.org.uk) have consistently shown base station compliance with the guidelines. Exposure from mobile telephone handsets is available on the manufacturer’s website at www.mmfai.org/public/. The Health Protection Agency’s Radiation Protection Division (HPA-RPD) is undertaking a systematic programme of research into wireless local area networks (WLANs) and their use. In a recent announcement the HPA has said that WiFi and WLAN signals are very low power and the results so far show exposures are well within ICNIRP guidelines, which are available at:
www.hpa.org.uk/hpa/news/articles/press_releases/2007/071012_wifi.htm
The HPA-RPD periodically reviews the scientific research into the potential health effects from electromagnetic fields. Its comprehensive 2004 review recommended the adoption of the ICNIRP guidelines in this country, but also acknowledged the need for further research (www.hpa.org.uk/publications/). A 2007 assessment on behalf of the European Commission also endorsed the ICNIRP public exposure guidelines, but similarly noted the paucity of scientific data in some areas:
www.ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/comm
The independently managed Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) programme has supported a number of studies into the possible health effects of radio signals from mobile telephone technology. The studies of base stations were carried out in carefully controlled conditions as living close to base stations is not a reliable measure of overall exposure to radio signals. None of the research published in the ‘MTHR 2007’ report demonstrates that biological or adverse health effects are produced by radiofrequency exposure from mobile phones or base stations. These studies and recommendations for further research are described on the MTHR website at www.mthr.org.uk.
Mobile phone radiation wrecks your sleep
Phone makers' own scientists discover that bedtime use can lead to headaches, confusion and depression
By Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor
Published: 20 January 2008
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 findings are especially alarming for children and teenagers, most of whom – surveys suggest – use their phones late at night and who especially need sleep. Their failure to get enough can lead to mood and personality changes, ADHD-like symptoms, depression, lack of concentration and poor academic performance.
The study – carried out by scientists from the blue-chip Karolinska Institute and Uppsala University in Sweden and fromWayne 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, it has caused serious concern among top sleep experts, one of whom said that there was now "more than sufficient evidence" to show that the radiation "affects deep sleep".
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."
The embarrassed Mobile Manufacturers Forum played down the results, insisting – at apparent variance with this published conclusion – that its "results were inconclusive" and that "the researchers did not claim that exposure caused sleep disturbance".
But Professor Bengt Arnetz, who led the study, says: "We did find an effect from mobile phones from exposure scenarios that were realistic. This suggests that they have measurable effects on the brain."
He believes that the radiation may activate the brain's stress system, "making people more alert and more focused, and decreasing their ability to wind down and fall asleep".
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.
A series of them – most notably a recent highly publicised study at Essex University – have similarly found that people claiming to be electrosensitive could not distinguish when the radiation was turned on in laboratory conditions, suggesting that they were not affected.
Critics have attacked the studies' methodology, but the new findings deal them a serious blow. For they show that the radiation did have an effect, even though people could not tell when they were exposed.
It also complements other recent research. A massive study, following 1,656 Belgian teenagers for a year, found most of them used their phones after going to bed. It concluded that those who did this once a week were more than three times – and those who used them more often more than five times – as likely to be "very tired".
Dr Chris Idzikowski, the director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre, says: "There is now more than sufficient evidence, from a large number of reputable investigators who are finding that mobile phone exposure an hour before sleep adversely affects deep sleep."
Dr William Kohler of the Florida Sleep Institute added: "Anything that disrupts the integrity of your sleep will potentially have adverse consequences in functioning during the day, such as grouchiness, difficulty concentrating, and in children hyperactivity and behaviour problems."
David Schick, the chief executive of Exradia, which manufactures protective devices against the radiation, called on ministers to conduct "a formal public inquiry" into the effects of mobile phones.
Lead Story:
“The Gathering Brainstorm”
Mark Austin reports in the Ecologist, December 2007/ Jan 2008 on the inexcusable march of WIFI available from WH Smith. An excellent resume on the need for WIFI review now.
Cutting 5000 Masts!
T-Mobile and 3 poll 3G Mobile phone networks, Richard Wray, Guardian Unlimited, December 19 2007
Israeli Study
Daily Mail, David Derbyshire > 14th December 2007
International Commission for Electromagnetic Safety (ICEMS) has launched its website www.icems.eu
The International Commission for Electromagnetic Safety (ICEMS) is a non-profit organization that promotes research to protect public health from electromagnetic fields and develops the scientific basis and strategies for assessment, prevention, management and communication of risk, based on the precautionary principle.
An interesting article by David S. Egilman, MD, MPH & Susanna R. Bohme, AM on the corruption of Science "Corporate Corruption of Science and Its Effects on Workers and the Environment". Download PDF.
View the European Social Forum's Seminar on Mobile telephony and Public Health held in Athens, Greece 4th > 8th May 2006, including RRT's science advisor Dr John Walker Here
See Geoff Lean writing in the Independent on Sunday 16th September 2007 where Europe’s top environmental watchdog calls for immediate action from WIFI mobile phones and their masts. www.eea.europe.eu highlights “radiation risk from everyday devices assessed” 30/10/07
Press and Media list
A Popular Revolt
"The Ecologist" 17th September 2004
Jay Griffiths reports: "Costing 2.9 Billion the UK's new Police communication system - Tetra, has been described by one independent scientest as likely to cause more civillian deaths than all the worlds terrorist organisations put together"
See www.starweave.com/ecologist/
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