It may be nice to have a chat in bed but using your mobile phone at bedtime can cause insomnia
 
Using a mobile phone before going to bed can damage your health, according to a major study.

It claims that radiation from the handset can cause insomnia and headaches as well as cutting the time spent in deep sleep.

Failing to get enough sleep can lead to depression, lack of concentration and personality changes.

In teenagers and young children, lack of sleep can result in attention disorders and poor academic performance.

The research, carried out by scientists funded by handset manufacturers, showed 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.

Deep sleep is essential as it is the time when the body rejuvenates cells and repairs damage suffered during the day.

Dr Chris Idzikowski, director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre, said: "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."

In the study scientists examined the sleep patterns of 36 women and 35 men aged 18 to 45.

Some were exposed to radiation that mimicked what a person receives when using a mobile phone. The others received none.

The first group 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 findings will shock many parents whose children routinely chat to friends on their mobiles before sleep.

The study, by scientists from the Karolinska Institute and Uppsala University in Sweden and from Wayne State University in Michigan, is thought to be the most comprehensive of its kind.

The research was published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and funded by the Mobile Manufacturers Forum.

一項大規模研究表明，睡前使用手機會損害健康。

該研究稱，手機產生的輻射會導致失眠和頭痛，而且會縮短深度睡眠的時間。

而睡眠不足則會導致情緒低落、注意力不集中及性格變化。

對于青少年和兒童來說，睡眠不足會導致注意力障礙和學習成績下降。

該項由科研人員開展的調查由手機制造商提供資金支持。研究結果表明，睡前使用手機會使進入深度睡眠的時間延長，而且深度睡眠的時間會縮短。

深度睡眠對健康很重要，因為身體在這段時間內會更新細胞及修復白天的損傷。

愛丁堡睡眠研究中心主任克理斯•艾迪茲科維斯基說：“資深科研人員搜集的大量證據已足以說明這一點，而且研究人員發現，如果睡前使用手機達到一小時，就會影響深度睡眠。”

研究人員對年齡在18歲至45歲的36名女性和35名男性的睡眠習慣進行了研究。

其中一部分人處在與手機輻射相同的模擬環境中，而另一部分人則處于無輻射環境中。

結果發現，受到輻射的那組研究對象進入深度睡眠第一階段所用的時間較長，而且深度睡眠的時間也較短。

研究人員得出結論：“該研究表明，當研究對象受到實驗室884兆赫無線信號的輻射后，對恢復白天損傷十分重要的睡眠結構便受到了不利的影響。”

這個結論一定會讓很多家長大吃一驚，因為現在不少孩子有睡前與朋友打手機聊天的習慣。

這項研究由瑞典卡羅琳斯卡研究所和烏普薩拉大學及美國密歇根韋恩州立大學的科研人員開展，被認為是迄今為止這一領域最全面的一項研究。

該研究由“手機制造商論壇”提供資金支持，研究結果由馬薩諸塞科技研究所公布。