Human Psychophysiology Is Influenced by Low-Level Magnetic Fields: Solar Activity as the Cause
1
Department of Theoretical and Experimental Electrical Engineering, Brno University of Technology, 616 00 Brno, Czech Republic
2
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Letter, Catholic University in Ružomberok, 034 01 Ružomberok, Slovakia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Panagiota Preka-Papadema and Chris G. Tzanis
Atmosphere 2021, 12(12), 1600;
https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12121600 (registering DOI)
Received: 30 October 2021 / Revised: 19 November 2021 / Accepted: 29 November 2021 / Published: 30 November 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue
The Effect of Helio-Geomagnetic Activity in the Geo-Environment and by Extension to Human Health)
Abstract
We evaluate the impact of changes in solar activity on three significant human psychophysiological parameters: skin conductance, electromyography (EMG), and the share of abdominal and diaphragmatic breathing in overall ventilation. Variations affecting human psychophysiology due to changes in solar activity directly document the assertion that psychology, behavior, and decision-making all reflect geomagnetic field alterations that stem from variable solar activity. The relevant experiments showed that solar processes, during which the Earth is exposed to electrically charged particles from the Sun (solar wind), exert an impact on the psychophysiological parameters of the body.
Keywords: BioGraph Infiniti; skin resistance; abdominal/diaphragmatic breathing; EMG
1. Introduction
This article outlines the data and knowledge obtained from experiments centered on the low-level magnetic fields that emerge through solar activity variations and affect geomagnetic stability [1]. The concept and interpretations of the research are closely described in relevant references [2,3,4,5,6]. In general terms, the interdisciplinary research examines those psychophysiological and other measurable human parameters which may change due to solar activity-induced processes in low-level (low-frequency) magnetic fields. The subdisciplines and problems involved range within, above all, physics, medicine, electro- and geomagnetism, atmospheric science, and cosmic meteorology [1].
Regarding low-level magnetic fields, these comprise low-frequency fields at f = 0.01–3 kHz within the following bands: the ultra low frequency (ULF) region, fu = 300 Hz–3 kHz; the super low frequency (SLF) region, fslf = 30–300 Hz; and the extremely low frequency (ELF) region, fel = 0.1–30 Hz [7].
The above frequency bands are enshrined in relevant regulations issued by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) [8]; in these documents, however, the boundary values of the amplitudes are markedly higher, such as the 50 mT in Blim. The value defines the maximum change of the magnetic flux within a field having the frequency of f = 1 Hz, assuming the presence of persons in this type of environment. Problematically, however, the Blim boundary value multiple times exceeds the values measured to date in atmospheric magnetic field changes arising from solar eruptions and their consequences, i.e., geomagnetic storms [9].
In the presented context, we discuss the impacts of low-level fields induced by solar activity variations on some of the parameters characterizing or found in a healthy individual, these parameters being skin resistance, Rs; muscular contractions, Ds; and the proportion of thoracic breathing to diaphragmatic respiration, Ot-d.
The evaluation of the experiments as set out in [2,3] consisted in determining whether and, possibly, to what extent solar activity variations affect the measurable parameters of the mental and psychophysiological stability of the human body.
Importantly, the conclusions made after the completion of the individual research phases have been related to the assumed or proved impacts of solar activity variations on human health, exploiting an analysis of human behavior in stress situations; such moments induce behavior at which we can observe changes in the measurable and/or quantifiable psychophysiological parameters of the human body, including human body parameters such as the heart rate or breathing frequencies, skin resistance, body temperature, and muscular contractions. In the research specified within [4,5,6], the stress on the participants was generated by using the Stroop color test [10] and a mathematical task (subtracting the number 7 from 1071), the evaluated factors being the overall correctness and the time to achieve the result. Each of these stress states, tz, lasted two minutes and had been designed to simulate the standard load on a human organism during regular daily life situations. The total time to measure a respondent equaled Tsumr = 19 min; the procedure comprised three rest (or relaxation) stages, each lasting Trel = 5 min, and two stress phases, tz, separated from one another by the rest ones. Expectably, the experiments showed that individuals with higher levels of psychophysiological lability are more prone to reflecting variation in the intensity of solar activities, such variation manifesting itself especially through altered skin resistance and respiration frequency, together with more frequent transitions from diaphragmatic breathing into the thoracic type. Another notable effect that arises from the psychophysiological shift rests in more frequent muscular contractions in labile persons [4,5,6].
The total numbers of respondents related to the count of stress load measurements are indicated in Table 1. The eventual set of participants was comparatively narrow, as we had intended the recruitment to yield a homogeneous sample of persons aged 18 to 25. These individuals, all affiliated with the Brno-based University of Defence, had to pass demanding entrance tests to fit our purposes; the testing focused on physical and mental resilience. The value of 210 in Table 1 expresses the total number of measurement cycles.
Table 1. The counts of measurements completed and respondents involved [3].
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The outcomes of the experiment, which started on 22 April 2014 and continued until 26 June 2014, were eventually correlated with the solar activity intensity data measured by NASA and NOAA in the same period [11]. During the two months, we relied on NASA-produced TXT files capturing the activity between 1874 and the year of the research. In these files, the daily collected details referred especially to the number of sunspots. At present, solar wind data can be shared via, for instance, the website
https://omniweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/ (accessed on 30 November 2021).
After completing the above input stages, we compared the stress load and human behavior-related information in the social context, targeting a different set of subjects from within the general population; the actual comparison was performed by utilizing socioeconomic indexes such as the DJIA [12] and the S&P 500 [13]. From the perspective of our research, the indexes represent human economic behavior (and its social dimension) on capital markets, where the decision-making involves high stress loads and responsibility rates. Interestingly, the parameter processing results reflect variations in the intensity of solar activity. The risk-based behavior of an investor can be characterized as emotional, influenced by investment psychosis. Overall, capital markets are considered a zone where emotions prevail over pragmatism [14]. In psychophysiological terms, emotions embody a measurable indicator, especially as regards evaluating the patterns and alterations in skin resistance, Rs. The measurability of emotions finds application also in other fields, such as data verification and polygraph interrogations [15]. Further, skin resistance variations are evaluated to provide psychophysiological biofeedback [16], which facilitates practicing human concentration skills and allows sensing responses to external stimuli that induce emotional processes; the stimuli and responses are, most often, visual or audial.
The experiment and its transposition into the social sphere enabled us to search responses to the following crucial questions:
(A)
Is human psychophysiology influenced by changes in solar activity?
(B)
Do solar activity variations embody a major factor affecting human mental states, behavior, and decision-making?
To consider and analyze these issues, we employed the methodology below.
...
Conclusions
In the context of this article, the primary experimental research of low-level electromagnetic fields showed that geomagnetic field alterations generated by solar eruptions affect numerous psychophysiological factors. A deeper insight into the role and importance of such changes enables human beings to integrate themselves socially and to interact successfully with other individuals while the overall impact on the negative personal and environmental parameters is minimized. Such parameters include, above all, mental, behavioral, and decision-making shifts that are measurable by means of relevant psychophysiological indicators interpreted in relation to the variability of low-level magnetic fields. The observed field variations were demonstrably induced by geomagnetic processes in the environment, or, by another definition, geomagnetic storms arising from altered solar activity. The parameters and solar wind intensity were subjected to comprehensive evaluation.
As regards the preformulated hypotheses, we reached the following conclusions:
The hypothesis H0, “low-level magnetic fields generated through solar activity exert a negative impact on human beings, influencing their behavior and decision-making”, was confirmed via the applied method.
The hypothesis H1, “there is a significant interaction of the human low-level magnetic and electromagnetic fields on the one hand and geomagnetic variation-induced low-level magnetic fields on the other”, remains to be expanded and supported with further investigation, especially in terms of human brain waves and their interaction with the above-outlined external factors.
The hypothesis H2, “solar activity, the resulting geomagnetic storms, and economic behavior and decision-making are directly interrelated”, was also confirmed via the applied method.
Follow-up experiments are planned to sense human EEG activities and to determine how they correlate with low-level electromagnetic fields.
The knowledge and skills acquired during the project are of fundamental significance for risk predictability and elimination within multiple fields and subsectors, such as social science, economics, marketing, medicine, transportation, and various industries.
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