PEMF and Insomnia

It happens to all of us. We go to bed thinking of how tired we are, and how much we need a good night’s sleep.

And then nothing happens. We lie in our bed for hours trying to fall asleep without any success.

It’s frustrating when it happens once, but it becomes a problem if it happens regularly.

Insomnia affects millions of people worldwide who cannot fall asleep at all, or who cannot stay asleep.

Luckily for all of them, PEMF therapy can help you regulate your sleep and deal with insomnia.

Keep reading below to learn more about this disorder, and to find out how to use PEMF therapy for help.

 

What Is Insomnia?

Insomnia is a sleep disorder that causes people to have difficulties falling asleep or staying asleep through the REM phase.

Sleep is crucial for the human body, so if insomnia persists for a prolonged period, the consequences can be devastating.

People who suffer from insomnia usually experience lethargy, fatigue, daytime sleepiness, and a feeling of being mentally and physically unwell.

Other common effects of insomnia include anxiety, irritability, and mood swings.

Insomnia also increases your chances of developing chronic diseases.

 

Causes of Insomnia

Insomnia can be caused by both physical and psychological factors.

Temporary insomnias are usually caused by a stressful event or a recent occurrence, while long-lasting insomnias are usually caused by an underlying medical condition.

The most common causes of insomnia are:

• Disrupted circadian rhythm. It can be caused by job shifts, jet lag, high altitudes, extreme heat and cold, noise pollution.
• Psychological issues. Depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders.
• Estrogen and other hormone shifts during menstruation may cause insomnia.
• Medical conditions. Many chronic diseases may cause insomnia.
• Other factors. Pregnancy, worrying, genes, parasites, sleeping next to a snoring person.

 

Symptoms and Signs of Insomnia

There are many symptoms and signs that are associated with insomnia.

However, insomnia itself can be a symptom of other diseases.

The most common symptoms are:

• Difficulty falling asleep
• Waking earlier than planned
• Waking up during the night
• Daytime sleepiness
• Anxiety, depression, irritability
• Poor focus and concentration
• Tension headaches
• Lack of coordination
• Difficulty socializing
• Worrying about sleeping

According to these symptoms, we can divide insomnia into three main types.

Transient insomnia means that symptoms last for up to three nights.

Acute insomnia means that symptoms last for several weeks.

Chronic insomnia means that symptoms last for months, and sometimes even years.

 

Treatment of Insomnia

Since insomnia is usually a consequence of another health condition, it will disappear when that health condition is successfully addressed.

The main focus of the treatment is to find the cause of insomnia, and to treat it.

Apart from eliminating the cause, we can use both medical and behavioral treatments to deal with insomnia.

Behavioral therapies include CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), or group sessions.

Medications given are usually sleeping pills, sleep aids, antidepressants, melatonin, ramelteon, and antihistamines.

Apart from these therapies, PEMF therapy can be used, as well, to achieve very positive effects and help people with insomnia fall asleep more easily.

Let’s take a closer look at PEMF treatment for insomnia and some research that supports it.

 

PEMF Therapy and Insomnia

One of the most positive results that people witness when they use PEMF therapy is associated with sleep.

In order to understand why this is, it is important to know how our body determines when it is time to go to sleep.

Our body follows the circadian rhythm, for which one full cycle lasts 24 to 25 hours, in determining sleeping and waking hours.

This rhythm can be disturbed by many internal and external factors, which can lead to insomnia.

Our body knows what time of day it is by sensing the Earth’s electromagnetic waves, which are slower at night and faster during the day.

However, sometimes our receptors are out of sync, and we need the additional stimulation and electromagnetic boost that PEMF therapy offers.

By using low-frequency stimulation before sleep, we signal to our brain that the time for falling asleep is nearing; our body starts producing more melatonin, our heartbeat and blood pressure drop, and we prepare to enter sleep.

By contrast, in the morning, we can use high-frequency stimulation to wake up more easily and kick-start our day.

 

PEMF and Insomnia Research

In 2001, a study was conducted at the Bundeswehr University Munich seeking to find out how PEMF therapy affected insomnia, and whether it could be considered a therapy for this health condition.

This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled study led by Pelka RB, Gruenwald J, and Jaenicke C. (1)

In total, the study lasted for four weeks, during which the scientists examined the effects of PEMF therapy on insomnia.

In total, 101 patients participated in the study.

They were split into two groups. One group (n=50) received real PEMF stimulation, and the other group (n=51) received placebo.

All of them were split into three additional groups according to their problems: Sleep latency, nightmares, and interrupted sleep.

To assess the effects of PEMF therapy, the scientists observed sleep latency, sleepiness after rising, the frequency of sleep interruptions, daytime sleepiness, daytime headaches, and difficulties with concentration.

The general conclusion was that the PEMF group showed much lower values for all criteria after the end of the study (P < .00001).

The placebo group also showed some improvement (P<.05), but the differences between the two groups were significant.

Seventy percent of patients from the PEMF group (n=34) experienced either significant relief from their problems or a complete absence of insomnia.

Twenty-four percent (n=12) reported definite improvement.

Six percent (n=3) reported a slight improvement.

Of all placebo patients, only one (2%) reported significant relief.

Forty-nine percent (n=23) reported slight improvement.

And 49% (n=23) experienced no change in their symptoms.

Therefore, we can conclude that after only four weeks of PEMF treatment, 100% of patients in the study experienced some insomnia relief, and improved their sleep patterns.

Moreover, it is important to mention that the scientists indicated that no side effects of the treatment were reported during or after the study.

That fact is highly important when we consider that usual medicines for insomnia may cause serious health consequences that may even exacerbate the patient’s condition.

 

Other Benefits of PEMF Therapy

All diseases begin at the cellular level.

They start as one infected or malfunctioning cell that then spreads to infect other cells, tissues, and organs.

PEMF therapy works at the cellular level to treat the core cause of many diseases.

Some of these include arthritis, bone fractures, diabetes, depression, migraines, pain, nerve damage, and many others.

Below, we’ll give you a more in-depth look into these health conditions, among others, with which PEMF therapy can help.

 

Treats Symptoms of Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis mostly affects older people, but it can be found in younger people, as well.

It causes deformations and dysfunction of the joints in different parts of the body, and manifests through pain, swelling, and inflammation.

A study conducted in 1998 in India investigated whether we can use PEMF therapy to relieve these arthritis symptoms.

The scientists concluded that PEMF therapy reduced the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (especially in seronegative patients), and provided significant relief for these patients. (2)

 

Stimulates Bone Healing

PEMF therapy can stimulate and accelerate bone healing, especially in the case of nonunion fractures.

A bone fracture is considered “nonunion” when it fails to heal in a specific period.

After that, it most often requires surgery to reconnect the bones once again.

However, surgery is not necessary, as scientists from Bangladesh determined in 1999 in their study.

They exposed 13 patients with nonunion fractures to 14 weeks of regular PEMF stimulation.

After the end of the study, 11 out of 13 patients experienced complete healing of their fractures. (3)

 

Improves Range of Motion

Cervical osteoarthritis affects the neck, and usually occurs in elderly people, or those older than 65.

However, it sometimes affects younger people, as well.

It is a progressive disease that is most perceptible in the morning, and it causes reduced range of motion, pain, and stiffness.

A study published in Clinical Rheumatology investigated what effect PEMF would have on the symptoms of cervical arthritis.

The study showed that PEMF treatment increased the range of motion, and decreased pain and stiffness, in the majority of study subjects.  (4)

 

Accelerates Nerve Repair

PEMF therapy accelerates nerve repair in mice pretreated with PEMF stimulation, a study conducted in 1993 suggests.

The mice in the study received a crush lesion in their sciatic nerve in only one leg, while the other leg was used as a control.

Half of the mice were pretreated with PEMF, and the other half was not.

The results showed that the PEMF group recovered much more quickly than the control group. (5)

 

Helps Treat Diabetic Polyneuropathy

If you are suffering from diabetes, your chances of developing diabetic polyneuropathy are high.

This is a complication of diabetes that is characterized by feelings of weakness and numbness in different parts of the body.

In 2003, a study was published in Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology that sought to determine whether PEMF therapy could help with this condition.

The results were positive and encouraging, since the study showed that PEMF improved nerve function and reduced the symptoms of DPN. (6)

 

Helps with Depression

People who struggle with depression usually resort to antidepressants or behavioral therapy for relief.

Both can be very effective in battling this complex condition.

However, in many patients, these modalities do not work well, and sometimes even worsen the symptoms.

Danish scientists conducted a study that determined that PEMF therapy is beneficial to depressed patients.

It produced especially positive results when it was used alongside other treatments, since it increased their effectiveness and decreased any side effects. (7)

 

Alleviates Pain

PEMF therapy also offers powerful relief from chronic and acute pain.

Even though pain is important, since it indicates that there is a problem that we need to address, chronic pain can significantly damage our quality of life.

Researchers at the International Pain Research Institute conducted a study in 1993 that showed that PEMF therapy reduced pain in study patients.

The patients were women suffering from pelvic pain, but PEMF can target other types of pain, as well. (8)

 

Boosts Blood Flow

This is a very important effect of PEMF therapy, since by improving the blood flow, our body can tackle different health conditions more successfully.

Better blood flow heals wounds more quickly, prevents aging, treats injuries, and prevents heart attacks and strokes.

That makes the findings of researchers from Wake Forest University in the U.S. very important.

They discovered that PEMF therapy could improve blood flow in areas that were treated with PEMF therapy by causing vasodilatation, and allowing more blood to reach the area and saturate it with nutrients and oxygen. (9)

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, if you are suffering from frequent episodes of insomnia or from persistent chronic insomnia, you should try your best to find a solution that works for you.

If left untended, insomnia can cause a range of physical and psychological disorders.

As numerous studies clearly show, PEMF therapy decreases the symptoms of insomnia quickly and efficiently.

In the study that we presented, 100% of patients experienced some degree of relief and sleep improvement.

Most of them experienced dramatic improvement.

PEMF therapy does all of this in a completely natural way.

It mimics the electromagnetic field of the planet Earth, and helps the body maintain its circadian rhythm.

By using PEMF stimulation at low frequencies (less than 10 Hz), you will increase your chances of falling asleep more easily, staying asleep for much longer, and stopping waking up during the night.

Finally, as opposed to other popular forms of treatment for insomnia, such as sleeping pills, PEMF therapy has no side effects.

You can use it on a daily basis, for best results.