The Complete Guide: Are You Sensitive to Electromagnetic Fields?

UPDATED 15/4/2026

• What is Electromagnetic Sensitivity or EHS?

• My EHS Story

• What Causes Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity or EHS?

• Who Is Most Electrosensitive?

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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:

• Cellphones

• 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:

• limiting screen time

• keeping wireless devices out of bedrooms

• using wired devices whenever possible

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.

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References and resources about EHS symptoms:

[1] Gómez-Perretta cell radiation exposure study 
[2] Piras et.al. Fibromyalgia and EHS Study 
[3] Bhat, Kumar Gupta Study of the Effects of Radiations Study of the Effects of Radiations  
[4] Johannson Immune system and electromagnetic fields study             
[5] Magda Havas Wireless Radiation and Autotomic system study 
[6] Gunnar Heuser Functional MRI and EHS Study

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Early to Bed - the One Thing That Calms Your Cortisol, Pain, and Stress Levels

Are you stressed, overweight, and health issues creeping up faster than you thought it would?

You’ve tried a hundred diets and supplement pills. You’ve tried to increase exercise. You turn to pills and drugs to keep energy up, the weight off, and anything to help you get a handle on life again. You don’t know what else to do, and the chronic daily stress weighing you down mentally, emotionally, spiritually.

Your stress levels is high because you’re permanently on a cortisol high.

When you’ve slept well, it is easier to deal anything when you wake up. Stress and unpleasant situations can wear you down even harder if you’re still fatigued after a poor night’s sleep. 

But it’s not just the quality and duration of sleep that affect cortisol levels. What time you go to bed and wake up also plays a role. Research shows that people who work night shifts and sleep during the day are more likely to have elevated cortisol levels.

Shift work under the age of 40 is associated with a higher body mass index (BMI) and higher cortisol levels.

 Cortisol Is More than a Stress Hormone

Cortisol is known as a hormone released in response to stress. But it plays a crucial role in regulating our sleep-wake cycle, having to work in tandem with other hormones like melatonin. It also regulates metabolism, reducing inflammation, and controlling blood sugar levels.

Cortisol can be elevated due to lack of sleep, especially in the evening after a lack of sleep. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system is responsible for producing cortisol. 

When a threat to the body appears, the hypothalamus, a part of your brain, synthesizes special substances that are sent to the pituitary epididymis. That in turns turn, sends a signal to the adrenal glands. In response, the adrenal cortex releases cortisol, some of which again enters the brain, affecting the thinking process. This relationship between the brain and the kidneys is called the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, or the HPA for short.

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is also responsible for regulating sleep cycles. Stress, illness, or poor nutrition can activate the axis. Subsequently, this can worsen your sleep and increase cortisol.

If You’re Sleeping Late, You’re Living a like a Shift-Worker

The thing is, you’re living like a shift-worker even if you think leading a normal day-night lifestyle. You’re ruining your HPA response just by staying up late, and creating a wired-up stress response for yourself the next day.

If you keep the night owl life, you’re creating a higher stress level than you actually could have.

How can you change your nighttime habits to actually get to sleep earlier?

Sleep hygiene is one of the deciding factors in its quality. Try to create an environment in which the amount of noise and light is minimal. This will help blackout curtains, eye masks, earplugs.

Tips to Help You Fall Asleep Earlier if You Want to Calm Your Cortisol Levels:

• Go to bed and wake up at the same time.

  Keep consistent. You’re trying to reset hormones and keep a more productive, calm balance of hormones, rather than live in hormonal hell.

• Sleep hygiene is one of the deciding factors in its quality.

  Create an environment in which the amount of noise and light is minimal. This will help blackout curtains, eye masks, earplugs.

• Wash bedding and sleepwear regularly.

  Fresh clean laundry helps the body to relax. Anything that helps you relax is a friend. Keep it non-toxic.

• Put away devices that emit blue light (TV, phone, tablet) 2-3 hours before bed.

  Blue light jacks up cortisol.

• Avoid caffeinated drinks in the afternoon.

  Caffeine’s half-life, is anywhere from 2 to 12 hours, depending on your body.

• Avoid excessive strength and cardio activities two hours before bed.

  Avoid anything overly mentalling stimulating before bed. This means cutting out most news because they’re primed to grab attention and proke a reaction.

• Try a grounding sheet.

  In this study, researchers found grounding the human body to earth (“earthing”) during sleep reduced cortisol levels at night and even re-synced cortisol levels with the natural 24-hour circadian rhythm profile.

Lifestyle Tip for a Calm Home - Deep Sleep

Of all the factors contributing to poor health and unsatisfied relationships, stress is perhaps the most overlooked.  

At home, while the stress response can be a helpful biological function, enabling you to respond to daily tasks, demands, and and urgencies, this "lifesaving" reaction ends up doing far more harm than good when continually triggered.

And many of the small everyday details at home can trigger stress: financial worries, clutter, juggling multiple tasks, overwhelming demands, even if they are from our loved ones…

Why you want deep sleep

Deep sleep is the stage of sleep that helps the brain rest and recover, allowing it to replenish energy. keeping hormones balanced. The pituitary gland secretes human growth hormone during this stage, which helps tissues in the body grow and regenerate cells.

The most important thing that a person can do is to set aside more time for sleep. Doing so allows the body to go through more sleep cycles, which makes it possible to have more deep sleep.

Emotional Resilience Reduces the Impact of Stress

Stress is an inescapable part of life; it's how you address it that will determine whether it will translate into health problems later on. The stress reaction should dissipate as quickly as possible after the perceived danger has passed. The scientific term for this is "resilience" — your ability to rapidly return to normal, physically and emotionally, after a stressful event.

Resilient People Are More Tuned in to Bodily Cues of Stress

During times of stress and uncertainty, your resilience is a crucial factor for how well you get through things; “resilience” is the scientific term for your body’s ability to rapidly return to normal or a harmonious equilibrium.

Some people are naturally more resilient than others, and researchers have long pondered the reasons why. One hypothesis is that people who are more resilient have learnt to listen to their body. 

Deep Sleep Builds Emotional Resilience

Exposure to trauma can weaken your emotional resilience. The good news is you can rebuild or improve it as well. One solid strategy that can help build emotional resilience is good sleep. Research shows people who get more deep sleep are less fearful.

The study,6 published in the Journal of Neuroscience, claims to be the first to demonstrate that sound, deep sleep helps buffer against emotional distress, while sleeping poorly raises your risk of experiencing a difficult event as emotionally traumatizing. According to the authors:

"Sleep, and particularly rapid-eye movement sleep (REM), has been implicated in the modulation of neural activity following fear conditioning and extinction in both human and animal studies. It has long been presumed that such effects play a role in the formation and persistence of post-traumatic stress disorder, of which sleep impairments are a core feature … 

In the current study, we employed long-term mobile sleep monitoring and functional neuroimaging (fMRI) to explore whether trait-like variations in sleep patterns … predict subsequent patterns of neural activity during fear learning. 

Our results indicate that higher baseline levels of REM sleep predict reduced fear-related activity in, and connectivity between, the hippocampus, amygdala and ventromedial PFC during conditioning. Additionally, skin-conductance-responses (SCR) were weakly correlated to the activity in the amygdala. 

Conversely, there was no direct correlation between REM sleep and SCR, indicating that REM may only modulate fear acquisition indirectly. In a follow-up experiment, we show that these results are replicable, though to a lesser extent, when measuring sleep over a single night just prior to conditioning. As such, baseline sleep parameters may be able to serve as biomarkers for resilience, or lack thereof, to trauma."

The link between mental health and REM sleep (deep sleep)

Long-standing clinical observations demonstrate that nearly all mood and anxiety disorders co-occur with one or more sleep abnormalities. 

And for Mothers, post partum depression and emotional resilience

Much of “post partum depression” is in fact sleep deprivation that wears at our ability to cope with the range of physical, psychological, and hormonal changes—that occur at least well over the first year of having baby.

For the woman whose nervous system is frozen and suppressed, the intensity of birth (despite being a worthwhile experience to bring their baby earth side) can expose, provoke, or stir up stored survival stress from old trauma resulting in the labels PPA or PPD.

(And if you didn’t know, suicide is the leading cause of death for new moms.)

When I became a mother, the bone-deep exhaustion that comes with it coloured my world. Even though I learnt to function daily with it, my mind battled a continual fog.

There is nothing quite like new parent sleep deprivation. It can be a shock for new parents, and even for second (or third, fourth...) time parents. 

Rather than adding emotional demands on the new, emotionally worn, parent, I believe it is more effective to prioritise space for quality rest.

Create emotional resilience at home with deep sleep

Sleep post-children will probably never be the same. However, recharging looks different as a mom, and I have learnt to expand my definition of rest to include relaxing activities and naps instead of believing that night-time sleep is the only good form of rest. 

Here are some ways to create small spaces to rest at home during the day:

• Comfortable seating areas around the house. If you have a few minutes on the couch, close your eyes and allow them to rest by taking in less light and visual stimulation.

• Uncluttered areas where you can relax into a soothing stretch or yoga pose, such as a child’s pose or legs up the wall. This allows your parasympathetic system to kick in as your breathing slows down.

• Baby’s nap area is not just a space reserved for childish slumber. It’s a vital spot to replenish your nurturing energies. When you do get to nap with your nap, avoid television, radio, and looking at your clock so you aren’t counting the moments to do the chores (or when baby has broken the nap). A cool, dark environment is also optimal for napping, if it is calm for adult as well as children’s sensibilities.

• Create a bedroom sleep sanctuary. Have fun with this and make it a place for rest beyond your wildest dreams.

Does your home help or hinder how well you handle difficult circumstances? How well do you handle the effects of stress and negative emotions? Let’s make space for real deep sleep — for real emotional resilience.

How to Make Your Bed: The Building Biology Way

“If you make your bed, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. That was the golden nugget of advice that Admiral McRaven gave during a commencement address: “make your bed.” You can watch the short clip here.

It seems innocuous, but the truth is that making your bed automatically gives you a “win” at the very beginning of your day. This win greatly impacts your motivation to keep going and, therefore, your actions. What if this “win” is biologically primed to support your health and vitality? Making your bed could be a crucial daily routine that sets up a biologically supportive sleep sanctuary for you to have quality deep sleep.

As McRaven puts it, “if you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.”

So, is there a biologically optimal way to make a bed? What can we learn from the health issues plaguing modern life about how to approach designing for this important chunk of everyday life? Here are some notes on the ideal biological sleeping arrangements—from sleep hygiene to non-toxic materials.

Making your bed helps deep sleep

If you make your bed with your health in mind, you are creating a clean, tox-free sleeping environment. You are making a space that you can rest and relax easily in. Good sleep helps maintain a healthy circadian rhythm — this is is vital because many bodily and hormonal functions operate based on your circadian rhythm, including such important everyday functions such as sleepiness, wakefulness, and hunger. 

If you can make your bed every day, you would be creating a bed sanctuary for proper daily deep sleep that necessary for health.

Why you want deep sleep

Deep sleep is the stage of sleep that helps the brain rest and recover, allowing it to replenish energy. keeping hormones balanced. The pituitary gland secretes human growth hormone during this stage, which helps tissues in the body grow and regenerate cells.

The most important thing that a person can do is to set aside more time for sleep. Doing so allows the body to go through more sleep cycles, which makes it possible to have more deep sleep.

But we know getting good sleep is not as simple as just closing your eyes. Setting up your bed and bedroom environment as a sleep sanctuary will help you achieve this.

Here are how sleep strategies can help from the perspective of building biology. And in every single action, these habits can be very powerful. As you sleep in your bed night after night, waking up from the same bed routine day after day.

So let’s look at a few closely…

Choose natural bedding

The options can seem overwhelming when it comes to sheets and pillows. Consider your sheets and pillows and choose what is tox-free and most sleep-enhancing for your needs.

The most tox-free bedding is made with natural fabrics through processes that use less water than traditional practices and don’t require harsh chemicals like pesticides or bleach or inexpensive and dangerous additives like micro plastics.

Useful guidelines include: Global Organic Textile Standard, Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX, Cradle to Cradle, and Fair Trade. These give their individual stamps of approval on products, promising that they meet certain markers in order to be considered ethically sourced, organic, safe, and responsibly labeled.

Depending on your preferences, natural bedding generally boast inherent benefits like moisture wicking and antibacterial properties.

Here is a brief list:

• Organic cotton

  Cotton is breathable, inexpensive, readily available, and easy to care for. Organic also means it is processed without using chemicals like fertilizers or pesticides or genetic modifications which reduce its susceptibility to insects like bollworm.

• Organic Hemp & Organic Linen

  Two more classic natural bedding fabrics are hemp and linen. They’re both stronger than cotton, with hemp being up to eight times stronger.

• Eucalyptus fiber

  The feel of eucalyptus is downy, resistant to irritants like dust and mold, and naturally cooling. Eucalyptus plants also combat congestion, repel insects, and promote relaxation.

• Organic latex

  The properties of organic latex make it naturally mold-, mildew-, bacteria-, and dust-resistant.

Declutter the bedroom

A clean home is a happy home, because it is a healthy.

While a home doesn’t need to be sanitised or spotless, when you tidy the bedroom, it provides a clear slate for restful sleep.

Tidying the bedroom will not only provide you with another small win for the day, it will relieve stress so that your mind can fully focus on what matters most. Learn how building biology principles can be a part of stress management techniques.

Declutter your light environment

Avoiding blue light, such as smartphones or computers near bedtime, is essential to allowing the cascade of hormones necessary for enough deep rest.

At night, keep the room as dark as possible by covering windows and turning off lights from alarm clocks and other electronic devices.

Opening and shutting your windows helps make a consistent sleep schedule and trying to fall asleep and wake up at consistent times.

Declutter your EMF environment

The last thing you want in your bedroom environment are artificial EMFs. Sleep is when your body begins the heavy duty of clearing fluid.

Artificial EMFs interfere with this process, and add oxidative stress, which leads to inflammation and weakens your cells over time[*]. Your body uses up antioxidants combating EMF radiation, leaving your cells open to damage from other sources of stress.

Growing research has found that EMFs may hit your brain especially hard and could even contribute to neurodegeneration.

EMFs can come from WiFi, cell phones, laptops, and other everyday electronic devices. Learn more here, or book a home consult.

Taking the time to make your bed

As society seem to get ever busier and high tech, sleep is seeming a bigger and bigger luxury and all things bedroom is seeing a renaissance of interest as people chase what they perceive to be elusive sleep.

I think we are realising the importance of how intertwined our bed and sleep: it is part of basic hygiene and essential to our self-care.

We spend a third of our lives asleep, or about under half of every day. This means that we are constantly being exposed to any chemicals or microscopic bacteria. It also means we are exposed to any pollution and toxins permeating our sleep environment.

The good news is that you can decrease a lot of your exposure to pollution, and increase your resilience, by a lot with just the simple action of making your bed. Try making your bed daily with these building biology practices.

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For more help, get in touch for a FREE discovery call to find out your needs to create the perfect sleep sanctuary.

So let’s get started because making your bed can change your health.

P.S. Don’t forget to grab your guide to a biological home. click here, and I’ll send it to your inbox in a few minutes. This is the perfect way to get started with the building biology principles you just learnt about.