Research findings on the potential risks of cell phone use are confusing at best. Each month, it seems, another study is published with results that refute the previous month’s study. What everyone can agree on is that there’s no harm in avoiding the radiation that the phone produces.
Evidence shows that prolonged or frequent exposure to ionizing radiation causes DNA damage in cells, which can eventually lead to cancer, but research is not as conclusive about whether non-ionizing radiation (from cell phones) has the same effect. “I think only time will tell,” says Ann Louise Gittleman, author of the book Zapped: Why Your Cell Phone Shouldn’t Be Your Alarm Clock and 1,268 Ways to Outsmart the Hazards of Electronic Pollution. “And when we do have the definitive data, it probably will be too late.”
“People are not going to go without technology,” Gittleman says. “We’re not going to go backward. But in order to go forward, we need to be proactive about protecting ourselves.”
Gittleman and Dr. Jandial offer these 10 tips to minimize exposure to radiation from your cell phone:
- Limit the frequency and length of calls. Keep cell phone calls as short as possible. If the conversation starts to drag on, hang up and call back from a landline.
- Use a landline when practical. If you know you’re going to be having a lot of hours-long heart-to-hearts with your mom or your best friend, use a landline — preferably one that isn’t cordless. Gittleman says that there’s some research that indicates cordless phones may be emit even more radiation than cell phones. “It’s almost like having a mini cell phone tower in your home,” she explains. “One study showed that cordless phones caused heart rate and arrhythmias to increase.”
- Don’t chat in cars, trains, or elevators. Your phone has to work a lot harder to get signal out through the metal, so it emits stronger electromagnetic radiation, Gittleman explains. Also, if you’re using your phone in a metal container, the frequency waves it emits have nowhere to go and instead bounce back and forth in the space around you, exposing you to more-than-usual radiation.Going at high speeds (such as in a train) also automatically boosts the power of the signal to maximize the phone’s attempts to connect to a new relay antennae, Gittleman explains. More power equals more radiation.
- Only use your phone when you have a full signal. When you have poor reception, your phone has to work harder to connect, which increases the strength of the electromagnetic radiation it gives off. Don’t try to make calls when your bars are low, and if the signal goes bad mid-conversation, hang up and try again later.
- Use a headset or speaker mode. Gittleman suggests using an air tube headset, which is less conductive of radio frequency than regular wired headsets and also keeps the phone further away from your head.
- Get text savvy. Take a cue from your kids. “Younger people tend to text more, which is a good habit,” Dr. Jandial says. Texting requires less battery power and less signal strength to connect, so your phone doesn’t emit as much radiation as when you’re talking. Plus, any radiation that is released is further away from your brain.
- Hold the phone away from your head. Putting a phone up to your ear is “almost like using a mini microwave oven on your brain,” Gittleman says. Whenever possible, keep the phone at least 6 to 7 inches from your skull — including when it’s on but not in use. (Don’t sleep with it next to your pillow if you use it as an alarm clock.)
- Keep your battery charged. Low battery power makes it difficult for your phone to find a signal, so you’re likely to have poor reception and be exposed to more radiation.
- Switch sides regularly during conversation. Spread out your exposure to any radiation by alternating which side of your head is closest to your phone. This helps to ensure that no one part of your brain gets an unusually high dose.
I hope you find these tips helpful.
all my best,
Karen Cameron
www.IndependAid.com & www.Memoir-Maker.com
Source: www.EveryDayHealth.com
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