This day and age we’re surrounded by electronic devices. The huge influx of items that on average each family has in their homes has grown exponentially in the last few years--particularly with the introduction of smart phones, tablets, smart appliances, etc. Because so many of these things have been very recently introduced, it’s very difficult to know exactly what potential short or long-term health impact they may have. However, if you’ve done any study into this subject, you realize there’s a lot more than meets the eye. Today we're featuring the first part in a series where we’re discussing the potentially negative impact that frequent and close exposure to devices can have, and what you can do to minimize that potential effect. So let’s get started.
EMFs
First, it’s important for us to realize that if you live on the earth (I think that would be all of us), we’re frequently being exposed to electromagnetic radiation (EMRs)--also called Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs) They seem to be more more commonly called EMFs, so that’s what we’ll call them here for the sake of simplicity.
EMFs include various classifications of electromagnetic radiation, and there are frequencies that are classified into several categories: ELF (extremely low frequency), RF (Radio Frequency) and MF or MR (Microwave). These can come from toasters, analog clocks, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets, cordless phones, cell phones, Bluetooth devices, motion detectors, Wi-Fi, etc.
At first you might think that the concern for this is just some quackery, but if you study it out, you’ll find there is legitimate, scientific, documentation relating to exposure from these things. Since we’re inundated by this, potentially every hour of each day, it might be worth taking note of the concerns and what we should do to minimize potential exposure.
What Are The Potential Concerns?
In nature, there are negative ions generated by things like waterfalls, lightning storms, sunlight, and the ocean. The effect of these on our bodies is healthy--relieving stress, boosting serotonin, etc. This isn’t simply the mental “I’m in relaxation mode when I’m at the beach” effect, but is a scientifically-supported effect of negative ions. In contrast, electrical devices create positive ions, which can have a negative effect on our bodies such as disrupting your sleep, causing inflammation, increasing stress, etc.
Because of our bodies ability to conduct electricity, including even our DNA, research suggests that EMF exposure can actually cause breaks in DNA, leading to DNA damage and cell mutation. Additional concerns are that EMFs can play a negative role in diseases such as Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig's Disease, be related to male infertility, and may even be a risk factor for some cancers.
It is believed that children are more vulnerable to the harm that EMFs may pose. This is possibly because a child’s cells replicate faster, and because their skull is thinner--which is less of a barrier against these potentially damaging EMFs. “In 2009, Dr. Lennart Hardell reported that children who begin using mobile phones at ages younger than 20 have a 520% elevated risk of developing glioma – even after just one year of use (this is compared to a 140% elevated risk across all ages).”* The particular concerns associated with the impact that EMFs can have on children should make us exercise extra caution to limit our kid’s device time or exposure to phones, computers, etc.
What Can You Do
The nature of radiation is such that the closer you are to it, the stronger it is. Having checked into the physics aspect of this just a little, we understand that in real life, that translates to this: Your body will get ¼ the radiation from your cell phone sitting 2 feet away from you, than it will get if it’s sitting 1 foot away. So essentially, the more distance you can put between you and your devices at any given time of day or night, the better.
Keep your phone away from your body--a few feet or across the room, whenever you can. When you need to have one close by, using a Bluetooth or other hands-free device cuts down on your EMF exposure. Even using speakerphone is a better choice that talking with your phone right by your face. Text, vs. calling is also a better choice, if you’re not on the road where texting is a dangerous choice.
Phone shields are available. Not all shields are alike, however, and may work against you (blocking rays from getting to your phone, vs. rays from getting to you). One brand we’ve read about and seen recommended was DefenderShield.
At night or when taking a nap, use an old-fashioned clock for your alarm and keep your phone out of your bedroom. If you need to have your phone close by, turn it on airplane mode, or even better, turn it off. Even having in on a dresser across the room would be better than on your nightstand.
Turn your WiFi/modem/router off at night when you don’t need it.
Parents, consider using an analog audio baby monitor vs. a digital one with video and WiFi option. Turn your iPad or iPhone or Tablet on airplane mode if you are letting your child play a game on it. You may also want to consider the value of considerably limiting device time to a minimum.
Don’t keep your laptop on your lap. Put it on a desk or table nearby when possible. Or use a shield, such as DefenderShield’s brand of laptop shields that is supposed to protect you from various forms of EMFs, and also from the heat generated by the laptop, which is also considered harmful at times times.
Earthing
Going barefoot in your yard (i.e. in contact with the ground), will help to “ground” you. The negative ions in the earth will help to balance out those positive ones you’ve been exposed to. A newer technology called “earthing” is worth considering too. Earthing takes advantage of this “grounding” concept. When you are inside, there are specially-designed mats that you can sleep on or sit with that conduct those positive ions to the grounding port in your electrical outlet (don’t worry, you’re only being grounded, not electrified!). Special shoes with conductive spots where your toes are help to “ground” you when you are outside and still wearing shoes. Preliminary research indicates that earthing may reduce cortisol levels and inflammation, improve sleep and energy, normalize biological rhythms, and offers a host of other benefits.
Salt Lamps
Himalayan salt lamps are both a unique decorative item, as well as a potentially healthy source of light. Producing a warm, red glow, these salt lamps are said to emit negative ions (the opposite of your electrical devices) and thereby produce a balancing effect to all the EMFs your body is subjected to. Negative ions are also what you are benefited by when earthing, visiting the beach, etc. You can find salt lamps for sale online, or even at local stores.
These are just a few examples of things you can do to reduce the negative impact of EMFs. We would encourage you to take time to research this area more thoroughly yourself so you can make the best healthy choices for your and your family.
Conclusion
This is an area where there needs to be more scientific research. For one, the explosion of the electronic devices that we use and carry with us means that the study of long-term effects and studies and general information is probably in its infancy. There’s indication that quality studies are lacking, since some of the studies that have been done are possibly biased to have a favorable result for those who have a vested interest in technology “looking safe” for the consumer. This is only the tip of the iceberg, and we commend you to further study to make good decisions for your own healthy technology use. We personally feel that it’s a great idea to take precautionary measures in protecting ourselves from the potentially-harmful effects of close and frequent use of our technology. We also know that the best, most fulfilling part of life is not having instant access to the technology world, but quality, face-to-face relationships with people. So use technology wisely, take appropriate precautions to be healthy, and then get off your devices when you can and invest in the people in your life.
*Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19285839
EMFs
First, it’s important for us to realize that if you live on the earth (I think that would be all of us), we’re frequently being exposed to electromagnetic radiation (EMRs)--also called Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs) They seem to be more more commonly called EMFs, so that’s what we’ll call them here for the sake of simplicity.
EMFs include various classifications of electromagnetic radiation, and there are frequencies that are classified into several categories: ELF (extremely low frequency), RF (Radio Frequency) and MF or MR (Microwave). These can come from toasters, analog clocks, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets, cordless phones, cell phones, Bluetooth devices, motion detectors, Wi-Fi, etc.
At first you might think that the concern for this is just some quackery, but if you study it out, you’ll find there is legitimate, scientific, documentation relating to exposure from these things. Since we’re inundated by this, potentially every hour of each day, it might be worth taking note of the concerns and what we should do to minimize potential exposure.
What Are The Potential Concerns?
In nature, there are negative ions generated by things like waterfalls, lightning storms, sunlight, and the ocean. The effect of these on our bodies is healthy--relieving stress, boosting serotonin, etc. This isn’t simply the mental “I’m in relaxation mode when I’m at the beach” effect, but is a scientifically-supported effect of negative ions. In contrast, electrical devices create positive ions, which can have a negative effect on our bodies such as disrupting your sleep, causing inflammation, increasing stress, etc.
Because of our bodies ability to conduct electricity, including even our DNA, research suggests that EMF exposure can actually cause breaks in DNA, leading to DNA damage and cell mutation. Additional concerns are that EMFs can play a negative role in diseases such as Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig's Disease, be related to male infertility, and may even be a risk factor for some cancers.
It is believed that children are more vulnerable to the harm that EMFs may pose. This is possibly because a child’s cells replicate faster, and because their skull is thinner--which is less of a barrier against these potentially damaging EMFs. “In 2009, Dr. Lennart Hardell reported that children who begin using mobile phones at ages younger than 20 have a 520% elevated risk of developing glioma – even after just one year of use (this is compared to a 140% elevated risk across all ages).”* The particular concerns associated with the impact that EMFs can have on children should make us exercise extra caution to limit our kid’s device time or exposure to phones, computers, etc.
What Can You Do
The nature of radiation is such that the closer you are to it, the stronger it is. Having checked into the physics aspect of this just a little, we understand that in real life, that translates to this: Your body will get ¼ the radiation from your cell phone sitting 2 feet away from you, than it will get if it’s sitting 1 foot away. So essentially, the more distance you can put between you and your devices at any given time of day or night, the better.
Keep your phone away from your body--a few feet or across the room, whenever you can. When you need to have one close by, using a Bluetooth or other hands-free device cuts down on your EMF exposure. Even using speakerphone is a better choice that talking with your phone right by your face. Text, vs. calling is also a better choice, if you’re not on the road where texting is a dangerous choice.
Phone shields are available. Not all shields are alike, however, and may work against you (blocking rays from getting to your phone, vs. rays from getting to you). One brand we’ve read about and seen recommended was DefenderShield.
At night or when taking a nap, use an old-fashioned clock for your alarm and keep your phone out of your bedroom. If you need to have your phone close by, turn it on airplane mode, or even better, turn it off. Even having in on a dresser across the room would be better than on your nightstand.
Turn your WiFi/modem/router off at night when you don’t need it.
Parents, consider using an analog audio baby monitor vs. a digital one with video and WiFi option. Turn your iPad or iPhone or Tablet on airplane mode if you are letting your child play a game on it. You may also want to consider the value of considerably limiting device time to a minimum.
Don’t keep your laptop on your lap. Put it on a desk or table nearby when possible. Or use a shield, such as DefenderShield’s brand of laptop shields that is supposed to protect you from various forms of EMFs, and also from the heat generated by the laptop, which is also considered harmful at times times.
Earthing
Going barefoot in your yard (i.e. in contact with the ground), will help to “ground” you. The negative ions in the earth will help to balance out those positive ones you’ve been exposed to. A newer technology called “earthing” is worth considering too. Earthing takes advantage of this “grounding” concept. When you are inside, there are specially-designed mats that you can sleep on or sit with that conduct those positive ions to the grounding port in your electrical outlet (don’t worry, you’re only being grounded, not electrified!). Special shoes with conductive spots where your toes are help to “ground” you when you are outside and still wearing shoes. Preliminary research indicates that earthing may reduce cortisol levels and inflammation, improve sleep and energy, normalize biological rhythms, and offers a host of other benefits.
Salt Lamps
Himalayan salt lamps are both a unique decorative item, as well as a potentially healthy source of light. Producing a warm, red glow, these salt lamps are said to emit negative ions (the opposite of your electrical devices) and thereby produce a balancing effect to all the EMFs your body is subjected to. Negative ions are also what you are benefited by when earthing, visiting the beach, etc. You can find salt lamps for sale online, or even at local stores.
These are just a few examples of things you can do to reduce the negative impact of EMFs. We would encourage you to take time to research this area more thoroughly yourself so you can make the best healthy choices for your and your family.
Conclusion
This is an area where there needs to be more scientific research. For one, the explosion of the electronic devices that we use and carry with us means that the study of long-term effects and studies and general information is probably in its infancy. There’s indication that quality studies are lacking, since some of the studies that have been done are possibly biased to have a favorable result for those who have a vested interest in technology “looking safe” for the consumer. This is only the tip of the iceberg, and we commend you to further study to make good decisions for your own healthy technology use. We personally feel that it’s a great idea to take precautionary measures in protecting ourselves from the potentially-harmful effects of close and frequent use of our technology. We also know that the best, most fulfilling part of life is not having instant access to the technology world, but quality, face-to-face relationships with people. So use technology wisely, take appropriate precautions to be healthy, and then get off your devices when you can and invest in the people in your life.
*Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19285839
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