From brain fog to sleepless nights, symptoms of EMF exposure are no joke—but don’t worry, reducing EMF exposure is totally doable. Let’s tackle this invisible troublemaker together!

Let’s be honest—most of us have a love-hate relationship with our devices.

Sure, your phone is your lifeline to everything from cat memes to emergency calls, but did you ever stop to wonder what it’s doing to you in return?

Spoiler alert: it’s not good.

EMFs (electromagnetic fields) are the silent third wheel in your relationship with technology, always there, always messing with your health, and never paying rent.

Before you click away, thinking, “Great, another thing to add to my list of things to stress about,” take a deep breath.

With a little knowledge, it’s fixable.

Understanding what EMFs are and how they interact with your body is the first step toward taking back control.

And no, I’m not here to tell you to throw your phone into the ocean and live in a cave. (Although caves do have impressively low body voltage.)

In this article, we’re diving into the science of EMFs—what they are, how they’re impacting your health, and most importantly, what you can do to thrive despite living in a tech-saturated world

Key Takeaways:

• EMFs are ubiquitous in our world, and exposure is unavoidable.
• EMF exposure can cause very real harm to your health.
• Mitigation of EMF exposure can pay huge health dividends!

At the risk of dredging up memories-you-tried-to-forget about High School Physics class, let’s start our conversation about EMFs with a review of the science behind them. (It’s ok, there won’t be a test!)

The Physics: Wavelength and Frequency

Understanding wavelength and frequency and how they impact your body can help you protect yourself.

Wavelength

A wavelength is simply the distance between one wave’s peak and the next peak as energy moves through space.

Imagine waves on the ocean. If the waves are slow and spread far apart, they have a long wavelength. If they are fast and close together, they have a short wavelength.

Radio waves have the longest wavelengths and least energy, while gamma rays have the shortest wavelengths and most energy.

Short wavelengths with lots of energy cause immediate and significant damage.

Long wavelengths with less energy may not cause immediate damage, but the potential for long-term damage with chronic exposure is high.

Wavelengths explain how different forms of energy interact with your life—from the warmth of the sun (infrared), to the colors you see (visible light), to the signals bringing Wi-Fi into your home (radio waves).

Understanding them isn’t just science—it’s understanding how energy shapes the world around you.

Frequency

Imagine you’re measuring something small, like distances, but instead of inches or feet, you’re counting waves of energy.

The number of waves per second is the frequency.

A single wave per second is called 1 hertz (Hz).

Think of it like taking one step per second – slow and steady.

The hum of electricity in your house is 60 Hz in the US.

Now, let’s see how these numbers grow as the waves get faster and faster.

• Kilohertz (kHz): 1,000 Waves Per Second – found in AM radio
• Megahertz (MHz): 1,000,000 Waves Per Second – found in FM radio
• Gigahertz (GHz): 1,000,000,000 Waves Per Second – the notorious “5G” lives here.
• Terahertz (THz): 1,000,000,000,000 Waves Per Second – found in infrared sensors.
• Petahertz (PHz): 1,000,000,000,000,000 Waves Per Second – UV radiation and x-rays.
• Exahertz (EHz): 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 Waves Per Second – Gamma and cosmic radiation.
• Zettahertz (ZHz): 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Waves Per Second – This is a craaaazy high frequency! There are no widely used applications. Advanced particle physics experiments anyone?

Now that we have a handle on wavelength and frequency, let’s turn our attention to EMFs.

What Are EMFs?

EMFs, or electromagnetic fields, are energy waves created by the movement of electrical charges. (Yup, more physics!)

They’re all around us, emitted by both natural sources (like the sun) and man-made technologies (looking at you, smartphones).

The main types of EMFs:

1. Non-ionizing radiation: Lower-frequency and longer wavelength EMFs, such as those from cell phones, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth devices.
   • Low Frequency (LF-EMF) – Frequencies range from 0 – 300 Hz. Low frequencies are known to amplify electric potentials in the body (1).
     • Extremely Low Frequency (ELF-EMF) – These have frequencies of 3 to 30 Hz and wavelengths of 10,000 to 100,000 km. These are associated with power lines, electrical appliances, MRIs, electric motors, transformers, and the Earth’s natural magnetic field (1, 2, 13, 17, 21, 25).
     • Very Low Frequency (VLF-EMF) – These have frequencies of 3kHz to 30kHz and wavelengths of 10 km to 100 km. These can penetrate through water and earth. We see these in compact fluorescent lights, submarine communication systems, radio transmitters for navigation and aviation, mineral and oil exploration, and even in lightning (2, 24)!
   • High Frequency (HF-EMF) – These frequencies range from 300 Hz to several GHz and include radio waves, microwaves, Wi-fi, radar, and cell phone signals (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 15, 18, 20, 21, 23). High frequencies can result in more serious health impacts.
2. Ionizing radiation: Frequencies are in the petahertz and above ranges. These high-energy EMFs, such as X-rays and gamma rays, can remove electrons from atoms and are well-known to damage DNA and tissues (2, 13, 24).

While natural EMFs are part of the Earth’s background, man-made sources have exponentially increased exposure in recent decades.

Did you know that Wi-Fi signals can pass through walls and your body, 24/7? 

And let’s not forget the countless smart home devices silently “talking” to each other in the background.

Before we get into the harmful effects of EMFs, I want to give a nod to natural EMFs.

Natural EMFs

The very Earth we live on is considered a two-pole magnet. (The technical term for this is “dipole.”)

Every living thing on the planet has evolved within this “protective cradle” of its natural geomagnetic fields.

Some examples of the Earth’s EMFs and their effects include:

• Magnetic oscillations from the core emanate at about 10 Hz (13). Cool fact: An alert but relaxed human brainwave oscillates around 8-14 Hz.
  • Schumann Resonances: These are found due to the relationship between the ionosphere and lightening and occur between 3 and 60 Hz (13).
  • Solar and weather activities

• Biological behaviors of animals, flora, insects, and even microbes such as seasonal migration, orientation, mating, territorial maintenance, and more (13). Did you know that your doggo likes to be in a North-South orientation when doing its business?

In our relentless quest for better and faster technology, we have completely changed the electromagnetic signature of the planet. 

With the advent and ever-increasing use of satellites, we now must concern ourselves with exposures generated from above and below.

But that’s not all. 

We also must think about dirty electricity and body voltage.

Dirty Electricity: A Hidden Culprit

Dirty electricity refers to the erratic spikes and surges in electrical wiring caused by modern devices (2, 31, 32).

It’s an often-overlooked source of EMF exposure that can amplify health risks.

Common culprits include:

• Aging or inefficient power lines.
• Energy-efficient appliances like LED lights and smart meters.
• Harmonics: Irregular surges of power that result from electronics with variable-speed motors, such as fans and refrigerators. Even dimmer switches and compact fluorescent lights create dirty electricity.

The problem? Dirty energy creates high-frequency EMFs that spread through your home’s wiring and even nearby buildings (31, 32).

Did you catch that?

“Even nearby buildings.”

This means you may have exposure to dirty electricity from your neighbors!

Dirty electricity has been linked to ADHD, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and suicide (2).

It’s important to remember that not only can you have passive exposure, but your body can also act almost like an antenna for EMF radiation!

This is called body voltage.

Body Voltage: Your Personal Electrical Charge

Body voltage refers to the electrical charge your body absorbs from surrounding EMFs (33).

In an ideal world, your body’s voltage should remain low—around 30-60 millivolts when measured while at rest.

However, in today’s tech-saturated environments, body voltage can skyrocket due to constant exposure to electronic devices and wiring.

How Is Body Voltage Created?

Your body acts like a sponge for ambient electrical fields.

Any contact with electrical devices or being near live wiring increases your body voltage (33).

For example, sleeping next to a plugged-in device can spike your body voltage to hundreds of millivolts or more. Yikes!

What Causes Body Voltage?

Your body can pick up electric fields from:

1. Household Electricity (AC):
   • Proximity to electrical wiring, outlets, appliances, and devices that emit low-frequency electromagnetic fields (e.g., 50/60 Hz).
2. Electronic Devices:
   • Devices like cell phones, computers, and Wi-Fi routers emit higher-frequency EMFs, contributing to body voltage.
3. Environmental Factors:
   • Power lines, transformers, and even static electricity in the environment can add to body voltage.
4. Insulation from the Ground:
   • Modern shoes (rubber soles) and synthetic flooring reduce your body’s natural ability to discharge built-up voltage into the earth, increasing body voltage levels.

What’s the Problem with High Body Voltage?

When your body voltage is too high, it disrupts cellular communication and increases oxidative stress. Here’s what that might look like:

• Poor sleep quality, as your nervous system remains in a heightened state of alert.
• Increased inflammation, which can exacerbate chronic conditions.
• Difficulty concentrating, as brain function is subtly impaired by electrical interference.

Think of it like trying to have a deep, meaningful conversation in a crowded, noisy room—it’s exhausting and unproductive.

A quick personal confession: Once, after testing my body voltage, I discovered my reading was off the charts while sitting at my desk.

The culprit?

My chair was too close to the power strip.

Now I have a newfound respect for my “personal space”—and my nervous system is thanking me for it!

Let’s explore some of the common symptoms of EMF exposure next.

Symptoms of EMF Exposure

EMFs are invisible, but their effects often show up as a range of symptoms that may be dismissed or misdiagnosed.

Some EMF-related symptoms reported by my clients include:

• Low energy levels: Feeling unusually drained or sluggish, even after a full night’s sleep (2, 13, 20).
• Restless nights: Difficulty falling or staying asleep, possibly linked to disruptions in the body’s natural rhythm (1, 2, 20, 25)
• Mental cloudiness: Struggling with focus, clarity, or short-term memory, often described as “brain fog.” EMFs can literally cause changes in neural plasticity, synapses, and neurotransmitters (1, 2, 13).
• Unexplained discomfort: Persistent headaches, muscle tension, or tingling sensations that seem to come out of nowhere (2, 13).
• Heart sensitivity: Experiencing irregular heartbeats, fluttering, or a racing sensation (4).
• Emotional imbalance: Increased feelings of anxiety, mood swings, or a sense of irritability without clear triggers (1).

For people with toxic-driven chronic conditions, EMF exposure can amplify existing health challenges, making recovery even harder.

Imagine this scenario: you’ve tried every supplement, every diet tweak, and every wellness trend in the book, but you still wake up feeling like you’ve run a marathon in your sleep. 

It might be time to take a closer look at that Wi-Fi router sitting next to your bed.

How EMFs Change the Body

To understand how EMFs impact health, think of your body as a finely tuned electrical system.

Every cell in your body communicates through bioelectrical signals, and EMFs can interfere with this natural communication.

Here are some major ways EMFs affect the body:

1. Oxidative Stress
   EMF exposure increases oxidative stress in the body, producing an excess of free radicals that can damage cells, proteins, and DNA (1, 2, 13, 19, 22). Over time, this oxidative stress contributes to inflammation and chronic health conditions. Picture it like static on a radio—the more static, the harder it is for your cells to communicate clearly.
2. Nervous System Effects
   Your nervous system, often called the body’s “command center,” is especially sensitive to EMFs. EMFs can cause increased permeability of the blood-brain-barrier (1,2). Chronic exposure can over-activate your stress response, leaving you feeling wired yet exhausted (1, 2, 12, 13). This state of nervous system dysregulation can disrupt your body’s ability to heal and recover. It’s like having your foot stuck on the gas pedal while trying to stop your car.
3. Hormonal Imbalances
   EMFs can suppress the production of melatonin, a hormone critical for sleep and cellular repair. They can also disrupt cortisol levels, throwing off your natural circadian rhythms and leading to fatigue and mood swings (25).
4. Communication Disruption
   EMFs impact neurotransmitter production and calcium channels critical for cellular communication (1, 2, 13, 22, 24).
5. Formation of Peroxynitrite
   Peroxynitrite is “by far the most damaging molecule that occurs during metabolism” (2). It’s associated with chronic inflammation, mitochondrial damage, and reduced cellular energy.
6. Causes a Cellular Stress Response (12)
   This stress response occurs at the cellular level in response to damage or stress. The goal is to repair the cell, if possible, no matter what caused the damage or stress. It starts with Cell Cycle Arrest, where the cell tries to conserve the energy needed for repair. Next, the cell starts the repair process and then removes the debris. If the cell cannot repair itself, the final stage of the stress response is cell death.

Check this out! EMF exposures have been shown to:

• Increase the hatching and emergence of mosquitoes (13)
• Attract Rickettsia-infected ticks (13)
• Stress bacteria to the point where they change their shape, phenotype, and make transcription changes (13)
• Probable Human Carcinogen

ELF-EMFs were classified as a Probable Human Carcinogen (Group 2B) in 2002, and RFs as the same in 2011 (2, 9, 21).

For those already dealing with heavy metal toxicity, parasites, mold, or other issues, EMFs can be even more problematic.

Heavy metals in the body act like antennas, intensifying the effects of EMF exposure.

Essentially, it’s like giving EMFs a VIP pass to mess with your system.

Putting It All Together

Sometimes the best way to understand the very real impact of intangible things like EMFs is to consider a real-life example.

One of my patients, let’s call her Kristi, was a self-described gluten-free yogi.

She was doing alllll the things.

She was eating local, organic, clean foods.

Kristi had minimized her exposures to mold and chemicals.

She managed her stress, worked out, and had switched to distilled water.

But she still felt like crap.

She would say things like “I work harder at being healthy than anyone I know, and I still don’t feel good.”

Kristi even asked if this was just as good as she would ever feel.

She had multiple signs of parasitic infection, and she started a parasite cleanse.

Kristi was FOUR MONTHS into her parasite cleanse but had no visible releases.

That is NOT typical!

As a result, she thought she didn’t have parasites and was rapidly losing hope.

We had been talking about EMF exposure, but she just didn’t think it could possibly make her feel as bad as she did.

But she finally agreed to assess her body voltage when she was in her bedroom.

Just a reminder, body voltage should be less than 100mV with regular activities, and under 10 mV while sleeping.

Anything over 1 volt is considered “catastrophic to health.”

Kristi measured at SEVERAL volts!!

She began turning off the breaker to her bedroom at night.

Within 24 hours, she started releasing multiple types of parasites.

They continued to pour out of her for six months.

Gross, yes, but now that they were out of her body, she could finally heal.

Her brain fog lifted, her energy sky-rocketed, her hormones balanced, and she finally understood just how great she should feel!

Now, I haven’t seen specific studies on the impact of EMFs on parasites, but as we saw earlier, they increase antibiotic resistance of bacteria, cause them to change their shape and phenotype, and even initiate transcriptional changes!

They also impact infected ticks and mosquitoes.

Common sense would tell us (and my clinical experience has shown me over and over) that EMFs DO affect parasitic activity in our bodies.

But who will pay to do that research? Ummmm, no one. So, we just have to use our own brains here.

I hope sharing Kristi’s story allows you to get a glimpse of how interwoven health issues can be.

And how changing “one little thing” can make all the difference.

What are some things you can do to protect yourself? I’m glad you asked!

EMF Protection Strategies

While it’s impossible to eliminate EMFs completely, there are effective ways to minimize exposure and protect yourself:

• Reduce Sources
  • Turn off breakers or Wi-Fi routers at night or switch to wired internet connections.
  • Opt for wired headphones instead of Bluetooth earbuds.
  • Avoid using your phone when the signal is weak, as it emits higher EMFs during these times.
  • Swap compact fluorescent lights for LED lights. (The lesser of two evils.)
• Time and Distance
  • Limit screen time and take frequent breaks from devices.
  • Keep devices like laptops and tablets off your lap; use a desk instead.
  • Use speakerphone or wired headsets for calls to keep your phone away from your head.
  • Move your bed away from major electrical wiring, routers, etc.
• Measurement and Protective Devices
  • Purchase a high-quality EMF meter.
  • Invest in EMF-blocking phone cases, laptop shields, and protective fabrics.
  • Create an EMF-free sleeping space by removing electronics and using shielding materials like canopies or curtains.
  • Use a simple voltmeter to measure your body voltage in different environments.
  • Use only products that have been vetted by someone you trust, as all EMF measurement and protective devices are NOT the same. This is one area where you don’t want to skimp!

Bonus tip: Embrace the nostalgia of analog solutions. Think landline phones and alarm clocks—remember those? They’re not just retro; they’re EMF-free.

Supporting Your Body Against EMFs

Your body’s natural resilience can be strengthened to counteract EMF exposure. Here’s how:

• Nervous System Regulation
  • Practice stress-reducing techniques like breathwork, yoga, or meditation.
  • Spend time in nature to ground your body’s electrical system. Physically connect to the Earth by walking barefoot on grass or using grounding mats. This practice helps discharge excess voltage from your body. Think of it as hitting the reset button for your energy field.
• Antioxidants
  • Consume a diet rich in antioxidants (e.g., berries, green tea, dark leafy greens) to combat oxidative stress.
  • Consider supplements like glutathione, vitamin C, and N-acetyl cysteine for additional support.
• Detox Practices
  • Regularly support your body’s drainage pathways (e.g., liver, lymphatic system) to remove toxins.
  • Incorporate practices like dry brushing, infrared sauna sessions, and hydration with distilled, mineralized water.

Conclusion

If you’ve been in my orbit for any length of time, you know: no one can “fix” your health for you.

But understanding how EMFs work and making small, manageable changes can make a massive difference.

Remember Kristi’s story? All it took was flipping one circuit breaker to spark a cascade of healing. (Pun intended.)

You don’t have to ditch technology altogether to protect yourself.

Turn off your Wi-Fi at night.

Swap those fancy Bluetooth headphones for wired ones.

Start grounding yourself by walking barefoot outside—no expensive gadgets required.

These small shifts can lower your body voltage and help your cells get back to doing what they do best: healing.

Your body isn’t broken—it’s just asking for a little less interference.

Ready to take action? Take our free EMF self-assessment to discover your risk level and learn how to protect your health.

By acting now, you’re giving yourself the gift of better sleep, more energy, and the kind of clarity that makes you wonder why you didn’t do this sooner.

You’ve got this. Now go measure that body voltage (and maybe move that power strip).

FAQ Section

Q: How can I tell if EMF radiation is affecting me?

A: Symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, poor sleep, and headaches could be signs of EMF sensitivity. If these symptoms improve when you reduce EMF exposure, it’s worth investigating further.

Q: Do EMF-blocking devices really work?

A: Some protective devices are effective, especially when combined with overall reduction strategies. Look for products tested by reputable third-party organizations.

Q: Are children more sensitive to EMFs?

A: Yes, children’s developing brains and thinner skulls make them more vulnerable to EMF radiation. Limit their exposure by keeping devices away from their bodies and creating tech-free zones.

Q: What are Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Symptoms?

A: EHS symptoms are a range of symptoms associated with exposure to EMFs in those with a sensitivity to electromagnetic fields. They can include fatigue, headaches, brain fog, muscle pain, inflammation, skin irritation and more. Even exposure to low levels of electric and magnetic fields can trigger physiological effects and cause health problems.