The latest to be added to the list of the harmful effects caused by mobile phones is sleep disorder.

A team of researchers in Europe and the United States has carried out a study and found that radiation from mobile phones delays and reduces sleep, and causes headaches as well as confusion, The Independent reported on Sunday.

According to researchers, using the cell phones before bed causes people to take longer to reach the deeper stages of sleep and to spend less time in them, thereby interfering with the body’s ability to repair damage suffered during the day.

“We did find an effect from mobile phones from exposure scenarios that were realistic. This suggests that they have measurable effects on the brain.

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,” lead researcher Professor Bengt Arnetz said.

The researchers came to the conclusion after analysing 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.

Wireless signals
“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,” Prof Arnetz was quoted as saying.

The results of the study by the researchers from the Karolinska Institute and Uppsala University in Sweden and from Wayne State University in Michigan have been published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.