Spending the night next to a router - Results from the first human experimental study investigating the impact of Wi-Fi exposure on sleep

PAPER manual 2020 Randomized trial Effect: mixed Evidence: Moderate

Read original paper → DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2020.113550 Evidence Lab

Abstract

Spending the night next to a router - Results from the first human experimental study investigating the impact of Wi-Fi exposure on sleep Danker-Hopfe H, Bueno-Lopez A, Dorn H, Schmid G, Hirtl R, Eggert T. Spending the night next to a router - Results from the first human experimental study investigating the impact of Wi-Fi exposure on sleep. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2020 May 11;228:113550. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2020.113550. Abstract BACKGROUND: The use of wireless telecommunication systems such as wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi)-enabled devices has steadily increased in recent years. There are persistent concerns that radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure might affect health. Possible effects of RF-EMF exposure on human sleep were examined with regard to mobile phones and base stations, but not with regard to Wi-Fi exposure. OBJECTIVES: The present double-blind, sham-controlled, randomized, fully counterbalanced cross-over study addressed for the first time the question whether a whole night Wi-Fi exposure has an effect on sleep. METHODS: Thirty-four healthy young male subjects (mean ± SD: 24.1 ± 2.9 years) spent five nights in the sleep laboratory. A screening and adaptation night was followed by two experimental nights. Each of the experimental nights was preceded by a baseline night. Sleep was evaluated at the subjective level by a questionnaire and at the objective level (macro- and microstructure) by polysomnography. Either 2.45 GHz Wi-Fi (max psSAR10g of 6.4 mW/kg) or sham signals were delivered by a newly developed head exposure facility. RESULTS: Results showed no statistically significant acute effects of a whole-night Wi-Fi exposure on subjective sleep parameters as well as on parameters characterizing the macrostructure of sleep. Analyses of the microstructure of sleep revealed a reduction in global EEG power in the alpha frequency band (8.00-11.75 Hz) during NREM sleep under acute Wi-Fi exposure compared to sham. DISCUSSION: The results of the present human experimental study are well in line with several other neurophysiological studies showing that acute RF-EMF exposure has no effect on the macrostructure of sleep. The slight physiological changes in EEG power observed under Wi-Fi exposure are neither reflected in the subjective assessment of sleep nor at the level of objective measurements. The present results are not indicative of a sleep disturbing effect of Wi-Fi exposure. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

AI evidence extraction

At a glance

Study type

Randomized trial

Effect direction

mixed

Population

Healthy young male subjects

Sample size

Exposure

RF wi-fi · 2450 MHz · 0.0064 W/kg · whole night (experimental night)

Evidence strength

Moderate

Confidence: 78% · Peer-reviewed: yes

Main findings

No statistically significant acute effects of whole-night 2.45 GHz Wi-Fi exposure on subjective sleep parameters or sleep macrostructure were observed. Sleep microstructure analyses showed reduced global EEG power in the alpha band (8.00–11.75 Hz) during NREM sleep under Wi-Fi exposure compared with sham.

Outcomes measured

Subjective sleep parameters (questionnaire)
Sleep macrostructure (polysomnography)
Sleep microstructure (EEG power; alpha band during NREM)

Limitations

Only healthy young male subjects were studied
Acute/short-term exposure (whole-night) only
Laboratory sleep setting may limit generalizability

Suggested hubs

school-wi-fi (0.9)
Experimental study of Wi-Fi (2.45 GHz) exposure and sleep outcomes.

View raw extracted JSON

{
    "study_type": "randomized_trial",
    "exposure": {
        "band": "RF",
        "source": "wi-fi",
        "frequency_mhz": 2450,
        "sar_wkg": 0.006400000000000000306699110552699494292028248310089111328125,
        "duration": "whole night (experimental night)"
    },
    "population": "Healthy young male subjects",
    "sample_size": 34,
    "outcomes": [
        "Subjective sleep parameters (questionnaire)",
        "Sleep macrostructure (polysomnography)",
        "Sleep microstructure (EEG power; alpha band during NREM)"
    ],
    "main_findings": "No statistically significant acute effects of whole-night 2.45 GHz Wi-Fi exposure on subjective sleep parameters or sleep macrostructure were observed. Sleep microstructure analyses showed reduced global EEG power in the alpha band (8.00–11.75 Hz) during NREM sleep under Wi-Fi exposure compared with sham.",
    "effect_direction": "mixed",
    "limitations": [
        "Only healthy young male subjects were studied",
        "Acute/short-term exposure (whole-night) only",
        "Laboratory sleep setting may limit generalizability"
    ],
    "evidence_strength": "moderate",
    "confidence": 0.7800000000000000266453525910037569701671600341796875,
    "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
    "keywords": [
        "Wi-Fi",
        "RF-EMF",
        "sleep",
        "polysomnography",
        "EEG",
        "alpha band",
        "NREM",
        "double-blind",
        "sham-controlled",
        "randomized",
        "cross-over"
    ],
    "suggested_hubs": [
        {
            "slug": "school-wi-fi",
            "weight": 0.90000000000000002220446049250313080847263336181640625,
            "reason": "Experimental study of Wi-Fi (2.45 GHz) exposure and sleep outcomes."
        }
    ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract/metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This content is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice.

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