Shun the habit of chatting on cellphone before bed

London, Jan 21 (UNI) It may be nice to have a chat in bed, but using your mobile phone before sleeping can damage your health, a major study says.

It claims that radiation from the handset can cause insomnia and headaches and also cut the time spent in deep sleep.

Failing to get enough sleep can lead to depression, lack of concentration and personality changes. Lack of sleep can result in attention disorders and poor academic performance in children and adolescents.

The research was carried out by scientists from the Karolinska Institute, Uppsala University in Sweden and Wayne State University in Michigan, the Daily Mail reported.

The results showed that using the handsets before bed causes people to take longer to reach the deeper stages of sleep and to spend less time in them.

Deep sleep is essential as it is the time when the body rejuvenates cells and repairs damage suffered during the day.

Professor Bengt Arnetz, who led the study, said, ''We did find an effect from mobile phones from exposure scenarios that were realistic. This suggests that they have measurable effects on the brain.'' He believes the radiation may activate the brain's stress system, making people more alert and less able to fall asleep.

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