Safe Distance from Cell Phone Radiation? (Find Out the Truth)
Are you carrying your cell phone too close to your body? It is important to learn how to maintain a safe distance from cell phone radiation.
Not many people are aware of how far cell phone radiation travels. Are you?
Most people are unaware of the dangers of cell phone radiation. It can have a lot of potential harmful effects on your health. It is important to learn about the proper mobile phone safety precautions to keep yourself safe.
Government experts say they cannot comprehensively link cell phones to health problems. Some critics argue that according to their studies, cell phone radiation can increase the chances of brain and heart tumors. It’s even known to affect sperm quality negatively.
Considering the risks, let’s find out the truth of the matter.
Contents
Phone Safety Manual
Cell phone manufacturers provide phone usage and safety guidelines to their customers. Of course, you’ve never read one. Who is lame enough to go through the phone safety manual? Turns out, it’s more important than you think.
Manufacturers make a point to investigate cell phone radiation levels. They do this for all their products and based on the results, they determine how far cell phone radiation travels. The guidelines are made according to the information.
Make sure to read the mobile safety precautions provided by your phone manufacturer. These are not written in clear and large fonts. You will find the section on maintaining a safe distance from cell phone radiation in the fine print.
Ideally, you should keep an iPhone 7 at least 0.2 inches away from your phone, Google Pixel about 0.4 inches and Samsung Galaxy at 0.6 inches. They will still be pretty close but this is the least distance to maintain.
Cell Phone Radiation and Its Effects on Health
While government scientists have not conclusively stated that cell phones are unsafe, they still acknowledge the weight of the problem. There are various positions taken by government authorities regarding the matter of cell phone radiation and its effects on health.
The Food and Drug Administration tells us that they have not found any viable link between cell phone radiation and health risks. The National Toxicology Program at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences agrees with them on this too.
At the same time, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences also talks about how little known the potential long-term effects of exposure to cell phone radiation on human health is. It’s obvious that they are not very confident.
How To Protect Yourself from Cell Phone Radiation?
By this time, you should be asking the question “How can I protect myself from cell phone radiation?” The easiest thing to do would be to get rid of your cell phone altogether but let’s think of more practical solutions.
The first and most obvious thing to do is drastically reduce your use of your cell phone. Lesser use means lower exposure. Simple.
Try to limit the amount of calls you make using your cell phone. Cell phones emit the highest radiation when they are being used to make a call. Just opt for texting instead of calling whenever you want to communicate.
Holding a cell phone against your head while you talk on the phone will expose you to excessively high levels of cell phone radiation. If you really need to call someone, try to use hands-free or speakers instead.
Do Cell Phones Emit Radiation When Not Used?
“Do cell phones emit radiation even when they are not in use?” yes, they do. In fact, they emit a significant amount of radiation when not used. Cell phones are constantly scanning on idle mode.
They search the airwaves so that they can receive texts or phone calls. This means that you need to be mindful of how you carry your phone. Keeping it in the pocket (or bra) is probably not the best idea.
For women, the simplest solution is carrying it in their bag. You might already have a bag. Just put your cell phone in there. The question is: where should a man carry his cell phone? It is a good question.
Consider carrying a satchel bag. You can put other important things in there as well as your cell phone. It will be away from your body but you can still reach it easily if ever you need to use it.
Of course, a lot of men don’t like carrying bags of any kind with them. You could use a cell phone holster that you can attach to your belt. It’s not too far from you but at a reasonable distance.
Where To Keep Your Cell Phone While You Sleep?
Speaking of the fact that cell phones emit radiation even when they are not in use, did you ever think about where to keep your cell phone while asleep?
While there is no immediate danger by sleeping on your phone, you should be mindful of where you keep it. Don’t sleep with your phone under the pillow and definitely not while holding the cell phone. It’s bad for you.
Before you go to sleep, put your phone on the side table at as much distance as possible. Having it near you all night will expose you to radiation. Just keep it as far away on the side table’s edge.
While cell phone radiation can travel far, it is about keeping the right distance from it. If you are very worried about cell phone radiation levels while you are sleeping, just put it on airplane mode or turn it off.
Minimizing your Exposure to Cell Phone Radiation
Sometimes, it is not that easy to maintain a safe distance from your cell phone. It can be because of any number of reasons. In cases like that, you should consider a few things to minimize your exposure to radiation:
- Choose a device which has the lowest SAR ratings. This is the Specific Absorption Rate, which provides a measure of the strength of the magnetic fields it emits that the body can absorb. They are very easy to find.
- Avoid using your cell phone on the move. When you’re moving, the cell phone has to work harder to maintain a stable signal. That is why it will emit more radiation when you make a call while moving around.
- If you’re on call while holding the cell phone against your head, make it a point to switch sides regularly. This will reduce the concentration of exposure to one side and decrease the overall time of contact too.
- Use cell phone radiation blocking cases. There are cell phone cases designed to redirect the cell phone radiation away from you while you are using it. You can find a lot of products like that in the market.
- While carrying your cell phone with you in your pocket, make sure that the back of the cell phone is facing away from you. That is where the cell phone’s antenna is located and it’ll direct its radiation away.
- Avoid using your cell phone when the signal is weak. When there are low signals in the area, cell phones work harder to find more signals and that means they emit higher levels of radiation. Wait for better signals.
- Avoid using your cell phone in enclosed metal spaces. When you use your phone in a bus or an elevator, the radiation bounces around because the metal deflects it back into the area. That means higher exposure to radiation.
Cell Phone Use Among Children
When it comes to children, you should absolutely limit their use of cell phones to a minimum. In fact, they should not use cell phones at all unless there is an absolute emergency. They are more susceptible to radiation.
Children are being exposed to high cell phone radiation levels from a very young age. A longer period of exposure to this radiation over their lifespan will mean they are exposed to it more than adults. There is more.
At younger ages, their skulls are thinner and more vulnerable to penetration by the radiation emitted by cell phones. Since their brains are still developing, cell phone radiation exposure can have more adverse effects on them at a younger age.
Scientists have suggested that children might be more likely to suffer from sleeping disorders, headaches and memory loss due to the risks involved with cell phone radiation exposure. This also means a higher risk of cancer later in their life.
You should make it a point to keep yourself and others around you safe from the harm caused by cell phone radiation. Maintaining a safe distance from cell phone radiation is more important for you than you think.
Check out the mobile phone safety precautions provided with your set. Read the fine print so that you have a better idea of how much distance to keep and use your cell phone as little as you can.
Lastly, turn off your cell phone when you are not using it. If it is not on, it will not produce any of the harmful radiation that puts you and others around you at risk.