Try and imagine a world without your smart phone or cell phone? It is hard isn’t it? Statistics show that 78 percent of American teens, between the ages of 12 and 17 own a cellular device. Half of those teens or 47 percent have claimed to own a smart phone. Smart phones are high-end cellular devices containing advanced features, which can help humans interact with others, connect to social media, play games, surf the web and give them constant remainders. With everything you need at your fingertips, do smart phones come with a price? Are smart phones silently killing us? Can a small device actually do this much harm? Can my phone actually be a threat to me?
Smart phones are actually doing a lot of harm to you, without you even knowing it. Cellular devices are bringing owners one-step closer to headaches, fatigue, brain tumors and cancer. As frequent use of your smart phone can damage your eyes, the tiny bright screens also tend to have a drastic change on sleep patterns as well.
Research shows that smart phones emit more radiation compared to regular cellular devices. As cell phones are used to make phone calls and texts with, these basic operations can cause the device to send and receive radio or microwaves. As radio waves and microwaves are considered to be a non-ionized radiation, you shouldn’t be caught off guard just yet. Long time exposures to electronic heat can lead one to headaches, fatigue, brain tumors and cancer. Also, talking on the phone directly can put you at a higher risk of brain damage. With the radio waves traveling through your skull and possibly damaging your brain, the amount of talk time spent on your smart phones should drastically be decreased.
If you find yourself reading texts, emails or news updates frequently, putting a stop to this bad habit can help your gentle eyes in the distant future. An organization called Vision Council has made the discovery that straining your eyes on the tiny font on your phone, can lead to double vision, dryness of the eyes and difficulty focusing. This is called computer vision syndrome and it is very serious. About 70 percent of American adults tend to have this syndrome. To reduce the symptoms, attempt the 20-20-20 rule. This rule states that after you look at your phone screen for 20 minutes, you should take a 20 second break and focus on a distant object about 20 feet away from you. This will take the strain and stress off your eyes, allowing them to relax.
Did you just happen to get a new smart phone? How about a tablet? Purchase a laptop recently? Seem really tired lately? Want to know why? Your body is not producing enough of the hormone melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that is produced when your body recognizes you are in the dark, and it helps you fall asleep faster. The less melatonin you have in your system, the longer it will take for you to fall asleep. Professor Shantha Rajaratnam, an Australian researcher has made the phenomenal discovery that artificial light can affect one’s body clock. Artificial lights from electronic devices such as laptops, iPods, phones, and televisions can reduce the amount of melatonin produced. Like mentioned before, it will take you longer to fall asleep. Many disruptions in sleep patterns can lead to a lack of awareness, give one difficulty concentrating, or affect one’s memory. Professor Rajaratnam recommends staying off electronic devices two hours prior to your bedtime. This will give your body the time to create more melatonin. If you are planning to use your device late at night, it is strongly recommended to turn down the brightness and to stay away from bright blue images.
As smart phone use continues to rise, they will always be damaging our bodies. As we have a higher chance of getting cancers and tumors, a reduction in direct phone calls must be seen. The use of Bluetooth’s and headphones can reduce the amount of radiation entering your brain. Also, dimming the screens at night or powering off your devices 2 hours prior to your bedtime can help you stay sharp and healthy.
A few links that I've used:
http://www.pewinternet.org/files/old-media/Files/Reports/2013/PIP_TeensandTechnology2013.pdf
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cell-phone-radiation1.htm
http://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living-pictures/isick-how-cell-phones-can-harm-your-health.aspx#/slide-1
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-01/artificial-light-leading-to-increase-in-sleep-disorders/4790448
Smart phones are actually doing a lot of harm to you, without you even knowing it. Cellular devices are bringing owners one-step closer to headaches, fatigue, brain tumors and cancer. As frequent use of your smart phone can damage your eyes, the tiny bright screens also tend to have a drastic change on sleep patterns as well.
Research shows that smart phones emit more radiation compared to regular cellular devices. As cell phones are used to make phone calls and texts with, these basic operations can cause the device to send and receive radio or microwaves. As radio waves and microwaves are considered to be a non-ionized radiation, you shouldn’t be caught off guard just yet. Long time exposures to electronic heat can lead one to headaches, fatigue, brain tumors and cancer. Also, talking on the phone directly can put you at a higher risk of brain damage. With the radio waves traveling through your skull and possibly damaging your brain, the amount of talk time spent on your smart phones should drastically be decreased.
If you find yourself reading texts, emails or news updates frequently, putting a stop to this bad habit can help your gentle eyes in the distant future. An organization called Vision Council has made the discovery that straining your eyes on the tiny font on your phone, can lead to double vision, dryness of the eyes and difficulty focusing. This is called computer vision syndrome and it is very serious. About 70 percent of American adults tend to have this syndrome. To reduce the symptoms, attempt the 20-20-20 rule. This rule states that after you look at your phone screen for 20 minutes, you should take a 20 second break and focus on a distant object about 20 feet away from you. This will take the strain and stress off your eyes, allowing them to relax.
Did you just happen to get a new smart phone? How about a tablet? Purchase a laptop recently? Seem really tired lately? Want to know why? Your body is not producing enough of the hormone melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that is produced when your body recognizes you are in the dark, and it helps you fall asleep faster. The less melatonin you have in your system, the longer it will take for you to fall asleep. Professor Shantha Rajaratnam, an Australian researcher has made the phenomenal discovery that artificial light can affect one’s body clock. Artificial lights from electronic devices such as laptops, iPods, phones, and televisions can reduce the amount of melatonin produced. Like mentioned before, it will take you longer to fall asleep. Many disruptions in sleep patterns can lead to a lack of awareness, give one difficulty concentrating, or affect one’s memory. Professor Rajaratnam recommends staying off electronic devices two hours prior to your bedtime. This will give your body the time to create more melatonin. If you are planning to use your device late at night, it is strongly recommended to turn down the brightness and to stay away from bright blue images.
As smart phone use continues to rise, they will always be damaging our bodies. As we have a higher chance of getting cancers and tumors, a reduction in direct phone calls must be seen. The use of Bluetooth’s and headphones can reduce the amount of radiation entering your brain. Also, dimming the screens at night or powering off your devices 2 hours prior to your bedtime can help you stay sharp and healthy.
A few links that I've used:
http://www.pewinternet.org/files/old-media/Files/Reports/2013/PIP_TeensandTechnology2013.pdf
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cell-phone-radiation1.htm
http://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living-pictures/isick-how-cell-phones-can-harm-your-health.aspx#/slide-1
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-01/artificial-light-leading-to-increase-in-sleep-disorders/4790448