Bueno-Lopez A, Eggert T, Dorn H, Schmid G, Hirtl R, Danker-Hopfe H. Effects of 2.45 GHz Wi-Fi exposure on sleep-dependent memory consolidation.
J Sleep Res 2020;
30:e13224. [PMID:
33166026 DOI:
10.1111/jsr.13224]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2020] [Revised: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Studies have reported that exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) emitted by mobile telephony might affect specific sleep features. Possible effects of RF-EMF emitted by Wi-Fi networks on sleep-dependent memory consolidation processes have not been investigated so far. The present study explored the impact of an all-night Wi-Fi (2.45 GHz) exposure on sleep-dependent memory consolidation and its associated physiological correlates. Thirty young males (mean ± standard deviation [SD]: 24.1 ± 2.9 years) participated in this double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled crossover study. Participants spent five nights in the laboratory. The first night was an adaptation/screening night. The second and fourth nights were baseline nights, each followed consecutively by an experimental night with either Wi-Fi (maximum: psSAR10g = <25 mW/kg; 6 min average: <6.4 mW/kg) or sham exposure. Declarative, emotional and procedural memory performances were measured using a word pair, a sequential finger tapping and a face recognition task, respectively. Furthermore, learning-associated brain activity parameters (power spectra for slow oscillations and in the spindle frequency range) were analysed. Although emotional and procedural memory were not affected by RF-EMF exposure, overnight improvement in the declarative task was significantly better in the Wi-Fi condition. However, none of the post-learning sleep-specific parameters was affected by exposure. Thus, the significant effect of Wi-Fi exposure on declarative memory observed at the behavioural level was not supported by results at the physiological level. Due to these inconsistencies, this result could also be a random finding.
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