The Relation Between Exposure to Electromagnetic Field and Daily Life Cycle: Affects on Learning in Students

Circadian rhythm includes approximately 24-hour physiological changes and is synchronized by environmental stimulus. Supra chiasmatic nucleus regulating this rhythm is in charge of regulating variants related to the sleep. Sleep serves a number of functions such as growing up, learning, memory strengthening. A person can feel himself ready for a new day, fit and alive following high-quality and efficient sleep. Socio-demographic factors, biological, psychological and environmental factors affect sleep. Electromagnetic waves transmitted from electronic devices have adverse effects on circadian system. The objectives of this study are to determine factors affecting sleep quality and sleep status of university students and evaluate exposure to the electromagnetic field and to analyze their relation. Volunteer students, selected randomly among students at Izmir University of Economics participated in the descriptive study. Data were collected with a questionnaire including personal and behavioural characteristics, sleep, state of wakefulness, time of sleep, use of electronic devices, attention and concentration states, complaints, and ESSorth sleepiness scale and Pittsburg sleep quality scale. It was found out that students being exposed to electronic field highly because of long-term mobile phone and computer use had sleep problems and poor sleep quality and were sleepy excessively during day time. General health condition, preferred studying period, physical activity, period of sleeping, sleeping in illuminated area, state of dozing off, distance from the mobile phone while sleeping affect sleep quality significantly. Habits, state of waking up as rested, sleeping while studying/falling asleep and sleep interrupting at night affect both state of sleepiness in the daytime and sleep quality significantly.