Effects of EMF and the Impact on Child Development

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Children are especially vulnerable to EMFs and their effects, as their skulls are less dense and contain relatively more brain fluid than those of adults. A 1-year-old child absorbs almost twice as much radiation per kilo as an adult. The following image shows just how much higher the electromagnetic radiation absorption rates are in the brains of 5- and 10-year-old children as compared to the adult brain. 

Exposure to EMFs from cell phones, wireless networks and other wireless technological devices has long been associated with complaints of visual and hearing disruptions, headaches, dizziness, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and cognitive difficulties such as attention problems, difficulty focusing, poor memory, and foggy thinking. The rapidly growing number of patients presenting with complaints they associate with EMF exposure led Toronto Women’s College Hospital to commence an initiative in 2012 to train family doctors to recognize symptoms of EMF exposure. 

Given the diversity of these complaints, children’s vulnerability to EMFs and their effects, and the pervasiveness of EMFs in homes, schools and almost everywhere else in today’s world, we must admit  EMF exposure is adversely affecting child development. The role of EMFs in childhood and adolescent mental, emotional, and behavioural disorders begs serious examination.

An EMF contribution is reflected in the rising incidence of psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents that has escalated in recent years in tandem with the increasing use of personal and industrial EMF-generating devices in our technologically rich society. 

According to Canada’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health:

The mental health of young people is increasingly fragile. In Canada, one in five children and youth are identified with a mental illness. It’s a trend reflected in other countries. 

Generally, emotional, mental and behaviour disorders seen in children and adolescents relate to deficits in what mental health professionals refer to as “Executive Function”. Executive Function is a collection of brain processes responsible for planning; cognitive flexibility; abstract thinking; learning rules; initiating appropriate action; inhibiting inappropriate speech and behaviour; and selecting relevant sensory information.  

Executive Function is involved in judgment and decision-making, troubleshooting, impulse control, reasoning, managing time and space, organizing and co-ordinating activities, setting goals, self-reflection, self-correcting, multi-tasking, and mood.

Executive Function develops during childhood through to young adulthood. This is when the child and adolescent learn to:

• resist distraction by salient stimuli
• focus attention on important stimuli 
• be goal oriented
• organize and direct activity so that goals are achieved in ways that are appropriate and rule-abiding
• engage in abstract thinking
• make predictions about the future
• reason
• think from another’s point of view
• evaluate ideas
• reflect on one's own work
• be flexible in thinking, making it possible to think from another’s point of view
• keep track of time
• simultaneously attend to more than one task
• engage in group dynamics
• wait patiently
• finish work on time 
• seek assistance when needed

The Role of EMFs in Executive Function Deficits

There are various documented EMF effects known to alter brain function, composition and activity, which implicate EMF exposure as a major accelerator and contributor to deficits in Executive Function. Considering all of the following influences on the brain occur during EMF exposure, it is more than reasonable to consider EMFs an adverse influence on brain health during child development.

1. Research shows the pineal gland is a “magneto-sensitive” organ, meaning it is sensitive to electromagnetic fields and that EMF exposure suppresses pineal gland activity. The pineal gland is the brain’s main source of serotonin (5-HT). Serotonin is especially important for effective Executive Function and also influences many brain-controlled functions, including the wake-sleep cycle, perception, memory, sense of well-being, impulse control, aggression and one’s sense of reality.  Increasing evidence links 5-HT signalling alterations during child development to emotional dysregulation and psychopathology in adulthood. 

2. According to research findings, EMF exposure puts the body into a fight-or-flight response (also known as “emergency state”, “acute stress response” ) that reorganizes the brain’s energies, among other things. The response increases blood flow to the brain’s limbic system, producing heightened emotional response and hyper-readiness for action. The fight-or-flight response also reduces blood flow to the Frontal lobes/ forebrain, where Executive Function and cognitive thinking take place. The reduced blood flow impairs Executive Function abilities and cognition in general (attention to detail, information processing, forming associations, memory).

At the cellular level, the EMF-induced state of emergency creates changes in cell biology with huge potential to damage brain activity and function and even brain cell (neuron) health. Namely, fight-or-flight responses weaken the proteins in the cell membrane and delay non-vital processes, consequently impairing cellular communication and coordination. When in a state of emergency, the cell succumbs to chronic oxidative stress, wherein the cell begins to ferment and becomes increasingly inefficient. The alteration in cell biology changes the atomic structure of the cell and breaks the bonds that exist in and between cells. These damages trigger changes in blood chemistry, induce free radicals, disrupt the cell's ability to control  PH levels, enzyme activity, cell reproduction, synthesis, functioning and energy transfer. The state of emergency behaviour is passed on to each subsequent generation of cells.

3. As a result of living in electrified homes a phenomenon referred to by scientists as “cyclautronic resonance”, transfers the energy generated by the home’s electrical grid, in the form of EMFs, into the cells. The transfer results in cellular loss of electrolytes (ions) such as lithium, which regulates mental stability; potassium, which regulates brain function; and calcium, which functions to create calmness and balance.

4. EMF radiation similar to that emitted from cell phones, portable phones, Wi-Fi, and wireless computer equipment alters 143 proteins in the brain with detrimental effects on brain composition and function; in particular, in the hippocampus, cerebellum and frontal lobe, which are all involved in learning, memory and other complicated functions of the mammalian brain. 

5. Exposure to EMF cell phone radiation drastically inhibits the electrical properties of human DNA (conductivity, transmission ability), leading to corruption of the cell’s genetic material and, ultimately, the body’s functioning.

6. Biophysics indicates alterations in Earth’s electromagnetic field influence heart and brain patterns, which in turn regulate body functions. Additionally, a strong connection to the full spectrum of Earth’s frequencies is needed for optimum brainwave state and is essential for optimal healthy functioning. The electrosmog that blankets much of the planet, in combination with EMFs induced and accumulated in the body, weakens the body’s natural ground to Earth’s electromagnetic field – a connection vital for natural healthy, physical and mental functioning, immune system response, rejuvenation, and life itself.

EMF-Protective Support For Healthy Child Development

Bio-engineers, EMF experts and health experts agree the most sensible and healthiest means of EMF protection is one that guards against the damaging effects of EMFs and restores the body’s natural relationship to the natural frequencies of Earth’s electromagnetic field. Previously, pervasive electrosmog impeded us from immersing in Earth’s natural electromagnetic frequencies in all but remote areas. This obstacle to health is effectively removed using EMF remediation that immerses the body in Earth’s natural frequencies 24-7; so any child can live in harmony with EMFs while families enjoy the conveniences of modern electrical and wireless devices.