Can magnetic field affect humans?

Power frequency electric and magnetic fields cause electrical currents inside the body. The magnetic fields can cause faint flickering visual sensations (called phosphenes) or even stimulate nerves and muscles , although these effects occur at levels many thousands of times higher than those encountered in buildings.

The Earth’s magnetic field does not directly affect human health . Humans evolved to live on this planet. High altitude pilots and astronauts can experience higher levels of radiation during magnetic storms, but the hazard is due to the radiation, not the magnetic field itself.

That said, international guidelines for public exposure to magnetic fields set an upper limit of 40 millitesla – around 1,000 times stronger than the Earth’s magnetic field.