SLEEP:
A few dangers of not sleeping steadily or deeply for 7 or more hours a night includes impaired judgment, reduces growth hormone, increased forgetfulness, lack of storing long term memories, 5 times more likely to have depression, health problems, depletion of your sex drive, weight gain and more. Sleep patterns can also be disrupted significantly by background electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in the sleep environment. Wi-Fi in a building from a router is broadcast 360 degrees and, as we know, penetrates through walls. Having a cell phone or other Wi-Fi device on or near your bed is a definite no-no. Even a clock radio near your head on a bed stand emits a strong enough electromagnetic field to interfere with some people’s sleep. Electronic equipment in a bedroom that can be turned off but is still plugged in to the adapter or the wall outlet and has a power light emits an EMF into the sleep environment. Your body may still perceive this even through your closed eyelids.
HOW PEMFS INDUCE / SUPPORT SLEEP:
Lower intensity, frequency-based PEMF therapy has positive effects on calming the brain through at least one mechanism, entrainment. Entrainment refers to the synchronization (also know as resonance) of an existing frequency, such as the brain in a specific brainwave state, to an external frequency stimulus, such as one provided by a PEMF device. Entrainment is a concept first identified by the Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens in 1665, who discovered the phenomenon during an experiment with pendulum clocks. He set them each in motion and found that when he returned the next day, the sway of their pendulums had all synchronized. Although there are many types of entrainment, for our purposes we refer primarily to neural or brainwave entrainment. Any stable frequency presented to the body, especially the brain, evokes a brain response. The brain synchronizes its own natural dominant brainwave frequency with that of the external stimulus. This is called brainwave entrainment. There are many research studies where PEMFs were used successfully to produce brainwave entrainment.
On the positive side, this same mechanism is commonly used to induce many different brainwave states—such as a trance—for enhanced focus, relaxation, meditation, or sleep induction. The brainwave entrainment effectively pushes most of the brain or the entire brain waves into a certain goal resonant state. Research has shown that chronic insomnia is associated with brain hyperexcitability. Through entrainment, hyperexcitability can be reduced, thus slowing down brainwave frequency patterns. In addition, numerous studies have indicated that PEMFs have other effects on brain neurochemistry, including increasing serotonin levels.
IMPROVING SLEEP:
So, even though low-frequency pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) can be very helpful for enhancing and maintaining sleep, these benefits can be easily undone by environmental high-frequency EMFs. Stresses, whether physiologic or emotional, can affect circadian rhythms. A number of research studies have been carried out using magnetic fields to help with sleep.
*The information shared above are excerptsfrom Articles written by William Pawluk, MD, MScBoard Certified Family Physician and Holistic Health Practitioner; Former Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and University of Maryland. To read his full article, click here.