What are EMFs?
EMFs, or electromagnetic fields, are invisible areas of energy. Anything that is electrically charged can generate EMFs, everything from the sun to your cell phone.
But we are talking about manmade EMFs here, often associated with aforementioned cell phone, as well as electrical power.
In my assessments, I cover four specific types of this artificial radiation.
We can also think of EMFs as low frequency and high frequency. The low-frequency EMFs come from electrical sources such as power lines, electrical wiring, and appliances such as your washing machine, air-con, and refrigerator. On the other hand, high-frequency EMFs are emitted by wireless devices, including your cell phone, iPad, and Wi-Fi router.
In this article, I focus on the symptoms of EMF sensitivity. Once we learn more about what EMFs are, their sources (ubiquitous and probably in your own hand right now), and their potential effects, we understand more about our health.
What is Electromagnetic Sensitivity or EHS?
This is the term given to people who report health issues asociated with EMFs, often to debilitating effects.
These Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs) created by devices like smartphones, WiFi routers, and home appliances in the form of wireless radiation. They may be other forms of EMFs such as magnetic and electrical fields created by other appliances and structures such as power lines.
These energy fields are invisible and can affect our health in ways we may not immediately recognise.
Symptoms of EHS
To understand By now you might be familiar with the common symptoms of EHS: headaches, fatigue, sleep disturbances, skin irritation, dizziness, and difficulty concentrating.
But aren’t these common health issues anyway?
Here is how to tell if your symptoms are related to EMFs.
1—Headaches
Our brain is a massive energy hog. Even mild thirst or when your body is dehydrated (doesn't get the fluids it needs) can cause headaches.
If your headaches are frequent and/or severe, often worsening with increased EMF exposure, they are likely related to EMFs..
2—Fatigue
If you wake up still feeling tired, you might be sensitive to EMFs, because they disrupt circadian rhythms by interfering with melatonin production and altering sleep patterns.
When you are struggling with EHS, you feel persistent tiredness that does not improve with rest.
3—Sleep Disturbances
Relatedly, you find it difficult to go to sleep, or even stay asleep. You wake at night, even though you’ve the best blackout curtains. Such difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, often linked to the presence of electronic devices.
4—Skin Irritation
The skin is related to our gut, which is why food allergies manifest as eczema, psoriasis, etc. EMFs, too, can trigger the skin directly. Symptoms may include redness, tingling, or burning sensations on the skin.
5—Dizziness
You get a sense of sensation of lightheadedness or imbalance, particularly in environments with high EMF exposure. You might actually get dizzy to the point of fainting.
6—Difficulty Concentrating
You might have trouble focusing or maintaining attention, which can affect daily activities.
We talk about generation brain rot. But it is no coincidence that our youth are the first ones growing up in a digital era.
Gen Z grew up in a screen-saturated world. Compared to Gen Z, many Generation Alpha children (born during 2013) were given iPads around the age of 2 to 4, growing up with a tablet already in front of them.
The science is clear on how screen overuse leads to concentration problems
7—Mood Swings
It is not right to feel your emotions swing. You might feel mood swings with rapid changes in mood, including irritability or anxiety, even anger.
8—Muscle Pain
This is generalized pain or discomfort in muscles, without any other cause. You have not recently hurt yourself. You’ve not been working out too much, etc. Sometimes the pain resembles fibromyalgia.
9—Heart Palpitations
You might feel noticeable changes in heart rhythm, which may occur in high EMF areas.
10—Sensitivity to Noise
You develop a sensitivity to sounds, which you have never had before. This can be any sound, whether crowded malls or people talking normally nearby, which can exacerbate feelings of discomfort.
There are many other symptoms. These are the EHS, Electromagnetic Sensitivity, or EMF exposure are confirmed in the research below:
Headaches [6]
Lack of Appetite [1]
Digestion problems [2]
Anxiety [1,5]
Sleep Difficulties [1,2,3]
Unstable moods and Bursts of anger Due to Poor Sleep [1]
Depression [1]
Fatigue [1]
Lack Of Concentration [1,6]
Irritability [1]
Memory problems [1,6]
Visual problems- blurry vision [1,2]
Vertigo or Dizziness [1,2]
Tinnitus or Ringin In The Ears [2,3,6]
Abdominal Swelling [2]
Burning pain in hands, shoulders, legs and feet [2]
Itch [4]
Edema, swelling, bloating [2,4]
Chills [2]
Photosensitivity
Tachycardia [2,5]
Heart Palpitations [2,4,5]
Difficulty Breathing [2]
Cystitis [2]
Skin Rashes [1,4]
Heightened sensitivity to touch, smells, chemicals, light, and noise [6]
Weakness [6]
These symptoms can occur immediately, minutes or hours later, or over months or years.
When exposure continues, you develop a higher risk of brain and gut issues, reduced cognition, and cancer.
My EHS Story
For example, I lived with near-daily bouts of dizziness, headaches, and even migraines. When I got my first iPad, I developed heart palpitations, although I still did not put two and two together.
When I got pregnant, these symptoms magnified seemingly overnight. Some grew louder over subsequent weeks. Other symptoms emerged: extreme fatigue, difficulty concentrating, digestive issues. The doctors assured me that most pregnant women feel awful.
But my symptoms did not alleviate throughout pregnancy, nor after giving birth. They seemed to increase or decrease inexplicably. Until I connected them to my environment, especially my home and my workspace.
What Causes Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity or EHS?
These sources can be outdoors, but are more often than not found indoors in your own home.
Indoor sources:
Wi-Fi
Smart meters
Microwave oven
Alarm systems (i.e., motion-detectors)
LED lights, dimmers (emit unclean electricity)
Cordless phones
Washing machines
Electric heating located under your floors
Plasma TV monitors
Any other “Smart” appliances
Electric Blanket
Wired Clock Radio
Outdoor sources:
power lines
cellphone towers
Electric vehicles are another source of EMFs. You could argue that they an indoor source since they affect you sitting inside.
Who Is Most Electrosensitive?
Children are more susceptible to the potential effects of EMFs due to their developing bodies and brains. Their skull is thinner, their brain contains more water and fat, and their nervous system is still developing.
In fact, studies have shown that kids can absorb twice as much radiation in the head, and ten times as much in the bone marrow, compared to adults.
Children are also growing up in a wireless radiation soup. Science has shown how EMFs weaken the blood-brain barrier, alter gene expression, and interfere with hormone production.
This is why EMF awareness is crucial to secure our health today and that of future generations. This is why EMF awareness IS protection for children.
Simple strategies are:
These to help protect your children from some excess EMF exposure.
But children need protection from the environmental stress caused by invisible EMF fields. This means rethinking what’s in your home and what’s near your child 24/7. This is why I include other components of a calm safe home in an EMF-focused consultation; they go hand in hand.
On top of that, EMFs may be invisible but we can talk about it. Educate your children about the potential risks of extended electronics usage and encourage safe technology use.
Given the proliferation of digital infrastructure and the very real ways we are seeing degenerative health in digital lifestyles, I am so glad to more awareness is growing about this topic.
But we can do more and change the one place that we spend our lives and create most of our core memories with—the home.
Building Biology Home: Creating the Home to Protect Our Families
If you are serious about raising healthier kids in a wireless world, you are in the right place.
If you want to learn more about EMFs and building biology principles to create a calm home, subscribe to my newsletter. I share how to create a calm with practical truth, not fear.
Get started now with my EMF Bootcamp to eliminate, once and for all, the most common toxin in your space. In this bootcamp, you will understand the importance, types of EMFs, and effective strategies for your defense against EMF exposure.
Do you want an EMF-safe home? Work with me.
