How Do Cellphones Affect Your Health?

Sanfine International Hospital | Dec 22, 2016 10:00 am | Add a comment | 1906 reads | Sponsored

There are more cellphones subscriptions than there are people around the world. Everyone has heard that phones might be dangerous for our health. Let's take a look at 5 different ways cellphones have health consequences.

Possible link between cancer and use of cellphone
The International Agency for Research on Cancer classified the radiofrequency electromagnetic fields emitted by cellphones as “possibly carcinogenic to humans." They further stated that there wasn’t enough evidence to conclude if cellphones were dangerous or not. The truth is, no organization knows for sure. Cancer can take decades to develop and cellphones haven’t been around long enough to determine if there are long term health consequences of using them. Just to be on the safe side:

  • Keep your phone as far away for your head aspossible (by using earphones, for example)
  • Wannabe-fathers should keep their phones out of their pockets, as it could negatively affect their sperm count
  • Children should limit cellphone usage as they are more susceptible to the effects of radiation 
  • Always try to keep a minimum distance of 20cm from your phone (this could reduce radiation by 98%)
  • Limit cellphone usage in areas with reception is poor – this requires cellphones to emit more radiation

Eye vision problems
Because cellphone screens are much smaller than computer monitors, you squint and strain your eyes more while reading messages or browsing the internet on your phone. This can cause eye strains or discomforts.

Furthermore, phone and tablets emit a HEV light (blue light) that could actually harm our eyes permanently. This blue light is also emitted by the sun and light bulbs, but unlike our phones, we don’t stare at those. The best way to protect yourself is to respect the 20-20-20 rule: for every 20 minutes you spend looking at your phone, take a 20-second break by looking at something 20 feet away. Experts say that this blue light can also cause sleeping problems. Not to mention the constant beeps from texts or notifications.

Road accidents
A study led by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University showed that even just listening to someone speaking on the phone reduced the amount of brain activity devoted to driving by 37%. Nowadays, talking on handheld phones is illegal in many countries (for the record, China is one of those countries). Yet even people who were used hands-free phones were found to be four times more likely to have an accident involving an injury according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Not only do cellphones distract drivers, they also distract pedestrians, or so says a study published in the journal “Pediatrics." The studied showed children were more distracted when crossing the road whilst talking on the phone. They found that the risk of being hit by a car, or the number of close calls (coming within one second of getting hit) increased by 43% when children were talking on the phone.Texting could be even worse: ever bumped into a post whilst texting and walking?

Phantom pocket vibration syndrome 
People check their phones 150 times per day, on average. Try living without your phone for a day. We just can’t get rid of them: this type of behavior is a sort of addiction.There is even a word for it: nomophobia, the fear of being out of mobile phone contact.

Many cellphone users have described phantom vibrations although their cellphones are off. “If you use your cellphone a lot, it becomes part of you” says Dr. William Barr, the chief of neuropsychology at the New York University School of Medicine. Some experts say this condition is a result of anxiety surrounding missed messages and phone calls.

Spine deterioration
Some people experience neck and shoulder pain after prolonged use of their cellphones. Tilting your head (which weighs 10-12lb or 4.5-5.5kg in neutral position) forward by 60 degree, makes it feel 50lb (23kg) heavier. The extra spine stress can cause your spinaldiscs to break down. This phenomenon is known as “text neck," for obvious reasons. To avoid this, it’s important to have a proper posture whilst texting:have your shoulder blades retracted and instead of hunching forward, raise your arms and lower your eyes whilst texting.

Photos provided by Sanfine International Hospital