What Happens With Cell Phone Radiation?

What Happens With Cell Phone Radiation?

Are there potential health risks?

Mobile phones have been becoming increasingly more popular every year since the 1990s. Cell phones are an integral part of modern telecommunications. There are an estimated 6.9 billion cell phone subscriptions globally. With such a large number of phones in circulation, it is important to understand and monitor any potential public health risks.

Cell phones communicate by transmitting radio waves through a network of antennas throughout the world. Radio waves are electromagnetic fields that produce non-ionizing radiation. Unlike ionizing radiation, non-ionizing radiation does not carry enough energy to ionize atoms or molecules. Therefore non-ionizing radiation cannot cause ionization in the human body. Ionizing radiation would refer to the radiation that is produced by an x-ray machine.

Mobile phones are low-powered radiofrequency transmitters. They typically operate at frequencies between 450 and 2700 MHz with a maximum power of 0.1 to 2 watts. The power significantly decreases the further away it is from the body. If you have ever read the user manual for these new devices, often times it will say not to hold the phone directly on your face, and to use it about 0.5 inches from your head. Have you ever seen anyone talking on the phone with it not pressed to their face/ear? This is one of the reasons why cell phones now come with headphones with a microphone on them.

Did you know that the worse your reception is the more power your cell phone uses? Using phones in good reception areas allows the phone to transmit frequencies at lower power levels. If you are in a bad reception area, the phone has to work harder and send more signals to attempt to make a connection.

Health Effects Due to Long-Term Cell Phone Use

There have been a large number of studies over the last 2 decades to figure out if mobile phones pose a potential health risk to your body. To this day, no adverse health effects have been established as being caused by mobile phone use.

What research does know, is that phones cause tissue heating. Most of the energy created by the phone is absorbed into the skin or other superficial tissues which causes a rise in temperature in that area. But still, no research suggests consistent evidence of adverse health effects from exposure to these radio frequencies.

Tips to Reduce Cell Phone Radiation Exposure

There are a few things you can do to help reduce your exposure to these radio frequencies. You can:

• Use headphones when on the phone.
• Don’t press your phone directly to your ear, read your manual to see how far away you should keep your phone away from your face.
• Use your cell phone hands-free.
• Reduce the length of your phone calls.
• Use your phone in good reception areas.

Final Thoughts

It is still too early to tell if cell phone use causes potential health risks. Since cell phones just started becoming popular in the 1990s, there are many ongoing studies that include all age groups to try to pinpoint specific health risks, if there are any.

Do you think cell phone use poses a health risk? Are you going to use any of the tips to reduce the frequency and radiation exposure? Leave your comments down below!