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It claims that radiation from the handset can cause insomnia and headaches as well as cutting the time spent in deep sleep.

Failing to get enough sleep can lead to depression, lack of concentration and personality changes.

In teenagers and young children, lack of sleep can result in attention disorders and poor academic performance.

It may be nice to have a chat in bed but using your mobile phone at bedtime can cause insomnia

The research, carried out by scientists funded by handset manufacturers, will add to the health fears surrounding radiation emitted by the devices.

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.

Dr Chris Idzikowski, director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre, said: "There is now more than sufficient evidence from a large number of reputable investigators who are finding that mobile phone exposure an hour before sleep adversely affects deep sleep."

In the study scientists examined the sleep patterns of 36 women and 35 men aged 18 to 45.

Some were exposed to radiation that mimicked what a person receives when using a mobile phone. The others received none.

The first group took longer to enter the first of the deeper stages of sleep and spent less time in the deepest one.

The scientists concluded: "The study indicates that during laboratory exposure to 884 MHz wireless signals components of sleep believed to be important for recovery from daily wear and tear are adversely affected."

The findings will shock many parents whose children routinely chat to friends on their mobiles before sleep.

The study, by scientists from the Karolinska Institute and Uppsala University in Sweden and from Wayne State University in Michigan, is thought to be the most comprehensive of its kind.

The research was published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and funded by the Mobile Manufacturers Forum.

That group claimed the results were inconclusive and that scientists did not claim handsets caused sleep disturbance.

But 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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But if so, she could be in for an awfully long wait.

This photo of what looks remarkably like a female figure with her arm outstretched, was taken on Mars.

Call me rocky: The intriguing image captured by Nasa on Mars

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it has set the Internet abuzz with claims that there really is life on the red planet.

Others may well feel that it is simply an optical illusion caused by a landscape.

Alien life: What seems to be a human-like Martian is pictured on Mars

The image was among many sent back to Earth by Spirit, Nasa's Mars explorer vehicle which landed there four years ago.

Initial inspections revealed nothing unusual, but closer examination by amateur astronomers has thrown up this intriguing picture.

Painstaking: Space enthusiasts spent four years analysing this image, which on much closer inspection shows the 'alien'

As one enthusiast put it on a website: "These pictures are amazing. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw what appears to be a naked alien running around on Mars."

Another, dismissing cynicism about the somewhat stony look of the "alien", wrote: "If you show me another rock in another photo from Mars, or Earth, that naturally looks like that, I will reconsider."

Say cheese: The mystery image was captured by Nasa's explorer vehicle, Spirit

A third contributor, who might have come closer to the majority view, said: "Ah, the human eye can be tricked so easily."

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