Are You Sleeping With Your Phone Next To Your Head? You Should Know This!
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Mobile phones have crept into almost all the nooks and crannies of life. Hanging around on social media while in the loo, chatting on the couch, exchanging mushy messages, and calling your partner while he or she is not around, have all become very common occurrences. Our phone has become like a second skin to us in the way it has managed to bring the world at our fingertips. And while this pricey little piece of electronic keeps us constant company while we are awake, it doubles up as an alarm while we sleep too.
If you are someone who has completely given up on those shrill conventional analogue alarms or the dainty digital ones, and instead have made your phone the official time-keeper, you need to know how damaging that could be. Read on to know more as to why your phone mustn’t be your favourite companion in bed, especially near your head!
Why Is This A Problem?
To understand what makes cell phones a bad partner in bed, let us understand as to how this electronic gadget functions. A cell phone is nothing but an electromagnetic transmitter and receiver. The basic job of a phone is to make calls, but nowadays a phone is also a medium to access the World Wide Web. All the input, be it voice or data that goes out or comes into your phone is formed of electromagnetic waves.
Have you ever noticed how heated up your phone gets if you have been on a call for a while? Or have you experienced that splitting headache or burning sensation in your eyes when you have been staring at social media for too long? Ever wondered why that happens? The reason behind all of this is the heavy amount of electromagnetic radiation that your tiny little phone emits. According to reports in CBS News, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer has declared that the radiation emitted by mobile phones is highly likely to have carcinogenic properties (1). There have been similar conclusions reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, a 2009 study supports the fact that using cell phones too much indeed is very dangerous (2).
Cell Phones Aren’t Good In Bed
Keeping a cell phone near you and especially near your head spells danger. Lying next to a thing that emits or radiates harmful waves that can penetrate your cells and cause alterations to your biochemistry is just one example of the many risks involved. Apart from being very carcinogenic, the heat and light emitted from your phones are damaging to the eye, ears, and brain. If you keep it next to you while it is still on (not in the airplane mode or switched off), you are constantly alert because of the incoming messages and notifications. This leads to rising stress level, anxiety-related issues, insomnia, poor concentration and cognitive abilities, irritability, drop in productivity, and severe headaches.
Points To Ponder Upon And Practice
There are certain practices we need to follow to make sure that we aren’t falling prey to cell phone induced health problems. While going on a complete digital detox is the best solution, it doesn’t seem very easy to follow. Hence, keep in mind the following points while using your precious phone:
- Avoid taking or making too many phone calls. If you have experienced the heat of your gadget, you know why I would recommend this.
- Make sure to keep your phone in the aeroplane mode while you aren’t using it. Keeping the phone in aeroplane mode shuts off the transceivers, thus cutting out all the harmful radiation that emanates from a phone that is actively on.
- Never sleep close to a phone that is actively on. If your partner is fond of texting or chatting on their phone during bedtime, make sure you change your partner and not the room (read: sarcasm). On a serious note, excess usage of phone can wreak havoc on your sex life.
- Use headphones or speakers to avoid direct contact with your mobile phone.
- Find a spot that has good network strength. This is to avoid excess power dissipation from the mobile phone. The more energy it lets out, the more harmful it gets. So, watch out!
With the advancements in technology, the world is quickly shrinking. Almost anything that we imagine is at our fingertips, and now it is too late to relinquish those gadgets completely. However, it is possible to use our gadgets in a smarter way such that the damage it causes is minimum. If you want to stay fit and healthy, wake up happier and energetic, then pep your love life rather than staring at those gadgets in the dark!
