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 insomnia¹ 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 disorders² 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 rejuvenates³ 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 investigators⁴ who are finding that mobile phone exposure an hour before sleep adversely⁵ 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 mimicked⁶ 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 wireless⁷ signals components⁸ of sleep believed to be important for recovery from daily wear and tear are adversely affected⁹."

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 Forum¹⁰.

一项大规模研究表明，睡前使用手机会损害健康。

该研究称，手机产生的辐射会导致失眠和头痛，而且会缩短深度睡眠的时间。

而睡眠不足则会导致情绪低落、注意力不集中及性格变化。

对于青少年和儿童来说，睡眠不足会导致注意力障碍和学习成绩下降。

该项由科研人员开展的调查由手机制造商提供资金支持。研究结果表明，睡前使用手机会使进入深度睡眠的时间延长，而且深度睡眠的时间会缩短。

深度睡眠对健康很重要，因为身体在这段时间内会更新细胞及修复白天的损伤。

爱丁堡睡眠研究中心主任克理斯•艾迪兹科维斯基说：“资深科研人员搜集的大量证据已足以说明这一点，而且研究人员发现，如果睡前使用手机达到一小时，就会影响深度睡眠。”

研究人员对年龄在18岁至45岁的36名女性和35名男性的睡眠习惯进行了研究。

其中一部分人处在与手机辐射相同的模拟环境中，而另一部分人则处于无辐射环境中。

结果发现，受到辐射的那组研究对象进入深度睡眠第一阶段所用的时间较长，而且深度睡眠的时间也较短。

研究人员得出结论：“该研究表明，当研究对象受到实验室884兆赫无线信号的辐射后，对恢复白天损伤十分重要的睡眠结构便受到了不利的影响。”

这个结论一定会让很多家长大吃一惊，因为现在不少孩子有睡前与朋友打手机聊天的习惯。

这项研究由瑞典卡罗琳斯卡研究所和乌普萨拉大学及美国密歇根韦恩州立大学的科研人员开展，被认为是迄今为止这一领域最全面的一项研究。

该研究由“手机制造商论坛”提供资金支持，研究结果由马萨诸塞科技研究所公布。