Schumann Resonances and Their Effect on Human Bioregulation

James Odell, OMD, ND, LAc

Lightning photo courtesy of NOAA Photo Library, NOAA Central Library,

OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)

Earth’s Atmosphere and the Schumann Resonances

Earth’s atmosphere has five main, distinct layers, which are, from the surface up: the troposphere (up to 12 km — where weather occurs); the stratosphere (12–50 km — home to the ozone layer); the mesosphere (50–80 km — very cold); the thermosphere (80–700 km — warmer, which contains the aurora); and the outermost exosphere (700–10,000 km — which gradually fades into space). Within parts of the mesosphere and thermosphere are stretches of high-energy electrons and ionized atoms, referred to as the ionosphere, which stretches from about 50 to 965 kilometers (30 to 600 miles) in altitude.

The sun’s very high-energy X-rays and UV radiation hit the gas molecules and knock off electrons from their parent atoms, creating a lot of ions. When these particles are excited, they collide to create auroras — also known as the northern and southern lights. We can say that the ionosphere is the energy shell of the Earth, where the energy flowing from space intersects with the energy from the Earth.

The Northern Lights, Canva

A cavity forms in the ionosphere, which acts as a waveguide for electromagnetic waves that exist in the lower part of the ionosphere (physicists call them “standing waves”). This “cavity” is naturally excited by energy from lightning discharges and radio atmospheric signals or sferics. A sferic (sometimes also spelled "spheric") is a broadband electromagnetic impulse that occurs as a result of natural atmospheric lightning discharges. Thus, the ‘Earth-ionosphere cavity’ is effectively a spherical layer of non-conductive air sandwiched between two conductive layers, in which electromagnetic waves (such as those generated by lightning) can bounce around. That layer has a series of resonant or ‘natural’ frequencies.

This causes the Earth-ionosphere cavity to "ring" like a bell or resonate at specific frequencies. Here, some of the waves — if they have just the right wavelength — combine, increasing in strength, to create a repeating “atmospheric heartbeat” known as the Schumann resonance.

Wave Collisions

Image Schumann Resonances - NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Discovery of the Earth’s Natural Frequency

In 1952, German physicist Professor Winfried Otto Schumann of the Technical University of Munich began attempting to answer whether the Earth itself has a frequency — a pulse. His assumption about the existence of this frequency was derived from his understanding that when a sphere exists inside another sphere, electrical tension is created. Since the negatively charged Earth is located inside the positively charged ionosphere, a tension exists between the two, giving the Earth a specific frequency (frequencies). Through a series of calculations, he was able to deduce a frequency he believed was the pulse of the Earth-ionosphere space. Thus, the Schumann resonances (or frequencies) are quasi-standing electromagnetic waves that exist in the cavity (or space) between the surface of the Earth and the ionosphere.

Two years later, in 1954, Schumann and Herbert König reported reliable and predictable frequencies in the atmosphere that existed in the cavity (or space) between the surface of the Earth and the ionosphere. Several frequencies occur in this cavity, most between 3 Hz and 60 Hz. There are distinct peaks at extremely low frequencies around 7.83 Hz (fundamental), 14.3, 20.8, 27.3, and 33.8 Hz. These correspond to wavelengths of 38,000, 21,000, 14,000, 11,000, and 9,000 km.

These frequencies function as a background frequency that influences the biological circuitry of much of life on Earth. The amount of resonance fluctuates as the ionosphere becomes more or less dense, which depends largely on the amount of solar radiation striking it. Another influence is that the world's three lightning hotspots — Asia, Africa, and South America — also follow a day/night cycle and are seasonal as well. Thus, the peaks of radio signal strength at the Schumann resonance follow a constantly shifting, but reasonably predictable, schedule.

Winfried Otto Schumann

Measurement of Schumann Frequencies

Schumann resonances are measured using specialized sensors called electromagnetic field sensors located at research stations worldwide. These stations use horizontal magnetic induction coils to measure the magnetic field components and vertical electric dipole antennas to measure the electric field component. Sophisticated digital signal processing is then applied to isolate the weak resonance signals from background noise and process them to create data, such as spectrograms, that show changes over time.

Recording of Schumann Resonances

Schumann Resonance and Human Bioregulation

The interaction between the human body and the Earth’s magnetic field at Schumann resonances is one of the important fundamental questions of science that continues to be studied. The quantum mechanical characteristics of subatomic molecular structures determine the occurrence of all chemical reactions of metabolism in the human body. The chemistry of metabolic reactions in the human body is a secondary consequence of the dynamics of the electromagnetic states of the atoms of the molecules in the body and their subatomic structures. Therefore, it is logical that the electromagnetic field structures that form the atoms of the molecules in the human body should respond to changes in the parameters of external electromagnetic influences by changing their quantum mechanical characteristics.

Schumann himself was interested in the biological effects of sferics in general, and his colleague Herbert König continued his work. Schumann and König’s research revealed relationships between Schumann resonances and life on Earth. Their research spans from its influence on yeast cells and bacteria, as well as plants and animals, to humans. Herbert König, who became Schumann’s successor at Munich University, discovered and further demonstrated a clear link between Schumann resonances and brain rhythms. He compared human EEG recordings with natural electromagnetic fields of the environment and found that the so-called alpha waves during brain activity lie in the same frequency range as the first two modes of the Schumann resonance. He speculated that this is possibly no coincidence but a human adaptation to the electromagnetic environment over the long course of evolution.

König and his colleagues described the remarkable similarities in spectral power density profiles and patterns between the Earth-ionosphere resonance and human brain activity, which also share magnitudes for both electric field and magnetic field components. The phenomenon that brain rhythms may overlap and become synchronous with ultra-low-frequency electromagnetic activity occurring within this resonant cavity has been observed and reiterated by other scientists.

Since then, several studies and hypotheses have proposed that the human body may be sensitive to the Earth's natural electromagnetic field, which includes the Schumann resonances. The human brain is sensitive to the effects of SRs and reacts to them by changing its functional state in accordance with the frequencies of impact, and the autonomic nervous system of the human body is synchronized with the dynamics of the Schumann resonance.

Schumann Resonances and its Biological Effects

Proposed biological mechanisms include:

Brainwave entrainment: The 7.83 Hz fundamental frequency of the Schumann resonance falls within the theta (4–8 Hz) and alpha (8–13 Hz) brainwave ranges. This has led to speculation that the brain may synchronize with or be influenced by this frequency, potentially affecting mood, stress levels, and cognitive function.

Cellular effects: Extremely low-frequency (ELF) fields, such as those produced by the Schumann resonance, may affect cellular activity by modulating the flow of calcium ions across cell membranes. This ion exchange is critical for cell signaling and function throughout the body, influencing processes from brain function to heart rhythm.

Hormonal regulation: Some researchers hypothesize that the Earth's magnetic field influences the pineal gland, which regulates melatonin production and circadian rhythms. Fluctuations in the Schumann resonance caused by solar activity may therefore potentially impact sleep patterns.

Cardiovascular function: Some studies suggest that fluctuations in the Schumann resonance and geomagnetic activity correlate with changes in heart rate variability and blood pressure. This could indicate an effect on the autonomic nervous system.

Biophysics now suggests that our biological systems are tuned in to the background frequency of our planet via the Schumann resonances. Since this first discovery, more scientific research has posited that Schumann resonances are important electromagnetic standing waves influencing biological oscillators within the mammalian brain. A living system has many similar resonant frequencies due to its degrees of freedom, where each can vibrate as a harmonic oscillator, supporting the progression of vibrations as waves that move as a ripple within the whole system.

Brainwave Correlations

The first five Schumann resonances overlap with the brain frequency bands or waves. Brain waves are grouped according to their frequencies and are labeled with Greek letters. Their most common frequencies include delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma.

Delta (0.5–4 Hz): Delta waves are the slowest brainwaves, most active during deep, dreamless sleep. They are vital for physical restoration, immune function, and accessing the unconscious mind. In this frequency, the body undergoes cellular repair and releases growth hormones, supporting muscle healing and regeneration. Delta waves also reduce cortisol (the stress hormone), balance the parasympathetic nervous system, and support detoxification processes like glymphatic drainage in the brain. Energetically, delta states create deep grounding, surrender, and access to the void — the field of infinite potential.

Theta (4–7 Hz): This brain rhythm is associated with drowsiness. It also occurs at the first stage of sleep and during deep meditation when we are awake but open to mental imagery. It has been associated with creativity, intuition, daydreaming, and fantasizing.

Alpha (7–12 Hz): Alpha waves bridge the conscious and subconscious mind, supporting relaxed wakefulness and calm focus. Found predominantly during restful yet alert states — such as meditation, daydreaming, or a state of creative flow — alpha activity reflects a balanced nervous system, where stress hormones decrease and serotonin levels increase.

Beta (12–30 Hz): Beta waves dominate during active thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making. They mark a fully awake, externally focused state — often in work, communication, or any high-cognitive-demand situation.

Gamma (30–100 Hz): Gamma waves are the brain’s highest-frequency state under normal conditions, linked to moments of insight, spiritual experiences, and exceptional mental clarity.

Biological Significance and Experiments

Research has shown that the absence of Schumann waves creates mental and physical health problems in the human body. Professor R. Wever from the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Physiology in Erling-Andechs began a study where he built an underground bunker that completely screened out magnetic fields. He then had student volunteers live in the bunker for four weeks, where they were hermetically sealed in this environment. Throughout the four weeks, Professor Wever noted that the students’ circadian rhythms diverged and that they suffered emotional distress and migraine headaches. Considering that they were young and healthy, no serious health conditions were presented, which likely would not have been the case with older people or people with compromised immune systems. Wever then added the Schumann frequency back into the environment, and the results were astonishing. After only a brief exposure to 7.8 Hz (the frequency that he had been screening out), the volunteers’ health stabilized.

Thus, it seems that the extremely low frequencies (6 to 30 Hz) and corresponding wavelengths of 100,000 to 10,000 kilometers of atmospheric electrical discharges operate as a stimulus for the human and animal brain’s electrical activity and bioregulation. They constitute a very significant part of the animals' biological clock, in addition to the diurnal light-dark cycle in the terrestrial environment. This is in complete agreement with the Wever (1979) experiments. Moreover, remarkable similarities in analog characteristics between sferic EMFs and axonal action potentials in animal brain nerve cells have been reported.

Electrosmog’s Effect on Schumann Resonances and Life on Earth

Research over the last several decades demonstrates that alterations in geomagnetic activity from man-made electromagnetic technology — “electrosmog” — have caused significant changes in the intensity and stability of the Schumann resonance. Telecommunication technology operates within the Earth’s ionosphere cavity, and these artificial signals can influence and even change the Schumann resonance to fluctuate outside its normal spectrum. This, in turn, can potentially induce alterations in the normal resonance with many Earth life-forms, particularly influencing brain rhythms and human physiology synchronization.

Electrosmog exposure has been shown to cause many different physiological pathologies. All appliances, computers, TVs, cell phones, radios, digital devices, air conditioners, lighting, power lines, communication lines, airwaves, and radio waves produce electromagnetic fields that can be disruptive to our own biofrequencies. These electromagnetic frequencies, either from above — interrupting our link with the Earth-ionosphere resonance — or from direct exposure, can interfere with the body‘s electromagnetic operating system.

Thus, many scientists conclude that the Schumann resonance is already being altered by all the radiofrequency/microwave “electrosmog” radiation humans are presently creating, and the implementation of 5G will alter it significantly more. In the process, whether or not it is raising the Schumann resonance frequency, 5G may also be creating enough electropollution noise to disconnect humanity from accessing the Schumann resonance itself, thereby creating and/or amplifying a variety of acute and chronic disease conditions.

Research in the last 30 years shows that ELF electromagnetic fields affect the way calcium ions move in brain tissue and how this affects the cells’ inner workings. The more permeable the blood-brain barrier becomes — which can occur with 5G — the greater the amount of toxins that can enter the brain. The opening of the blood-brain barrier and calcium leakage are also associated with oxidative damage to neurons and can damage the DNA structure.

5G frequency is connected to the 60 GHz millimeter-wave band. Thus, 5G applications will require the unlocking of new spectrum bands in higher frequency ranges above 6 GHz to 100 GHz and beyond (5G will start initially with sub-6 GHz, moving as quickly into 6 GHz and above as the network advancement allows). This will allow the utilization of sub-millimeter and millimeter waves to transmit ultra-high rates of data in the same amount of time as compared with previous deployments of RF/MW radiation.

5G represents a massive step up from 3G at 1.8–2.5 GHz and 4G at 2–8 GHz, placing it well within the microwave category. This frequency is far away from the natural resonance of 7.83 Hz that our bodies are accustomed to and far above current EMF levels (which are already damaging enough). At 60 GHz, the frequencies may impair oxygenation, as well as the body’s ability to produce vitamin D and melatonin. In this context, 5G and its 60 GHz delivery system are an assault on our bioregulatory systems.

Conclusion

The brain is a very sensitive electromagnetic organ. It is observed that Schumann resonance signals interact with the brain, altering the EEG and neurohormones. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of Schumann's discovery was its correlation with biological processes. The primary frequency of 7.83 Hz falls within the human brain's alpha rhythm range (7–13 Hz), associated with relaxation, creativity, and optimal cognitive performance. The first five Schumann resonance modes (0–35 Hz) coincide with the frequency range of the first four EEG bands. The primary EEG frequency bands are: Delta, 0.5 to 4 Hz; Theta, 4–8 Hz; Alpha, 8–13 Hz; and Beta, 13 to 30 Hz.

Recent research has shown that human physiology appears to be synchronized with these Earth frequencies. Studies have documented changes in blood pressure, cardiac rhythm, and melatonin levels when subjects are shielded from these natural frequencies, suggesting their fundamental role in regulating biological processes.

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