These days mobile phones are an integral part of our lives. Few of us could imagine life without them and they have improved our lives in many ways. Mobile phones can, however, negatively affect our health, and children are particularly vulnerable as their bodies absorb 2-10 times the radiation an adult body does. Here's a few easy steps everyone can take to mitigate the negative effects of mobile phones:
- Set your mobile phone to work only in 3G. In my own experiments, the effects on network speed are minimal, but the radiation levels are about 10 times less than in 4G.
- Never keep or hold the phone on your body. The radiation diminishes rapidly with distance, so even few centimeters reduce the amount of radiation your body absorbs greatly. Even the instructions of mobile phone manufacturers guide you to keep at least ½ - 1 inch distance to phone when using it. The 'safety' of mobile phones is also tested this way. Use the speaker or earset when talking and opt for messages whenever possible. You can also buy a radiation protection phone cover to reduce the amount of radiation.
- Never sleep with mobile phone under your pillow, on the nightstand etc. unless it is in airplane mode! The body is most vulnerable at night as it repairs and cleans itself. Mobile phones have been shown to negatively affect the melatonin levels and sleep quality.
- Keep the phone always on night mode and in addition, install Twilight or similar app to reduce the amount of blue light the phone screen emits. Blue light has been shown to be harmful for your eyes and disrupt your circadian rhythm and melatonin production. Disrupted circadian rhythm has been linked to wide variety of illnesses like cancer and diabetes.
- Don't use mobile phone at least an hour before going to sleep. Using mobile phones at night keeps your sympathetic nervous system activated and makes it more difficult to calm down and fall asleep. The blue light from the phone will also affect your sleep quality as discussed earlier.
Do you have more 'hacks' to mitigate the negative effects of mobile phones? Let us know in the comments!