Apple recently announced their newest smartwatch, Apple Watch Series 3. This is truly a miracle of modern technology. It seems like something right out of science fiction novels and movies. Any crime-fighting detective, Dick Tracy, or Star Trek, fans out there? This new generation of Apple Watch brings phone calls and SMS text messages without being tethered to your phone. You can walk around and talk to your friends and family directly from the watch!
However, with anything too good to be true, there has to be a downside to this marvel of technology. Yes, and it’s not just in the Apple Watch; it’s all around us. Everywhere there is technology today it’s present, and it’s called EMF. I’d like to help you in this article understand what EMF is, how dangerous are EMF’s to you and your family, and what are some EMF safety steps you can take for you and your family.
What are EMFs?
Electromagnetic fields (EMF’s or EM fields) are the physical forces exerted on objects around electrically-charged objects. (Fun fact: EMF’s are one of the four fundamental forces of nature, which also include gravitation, and weak and strong interaction.) In our last article on the history of qigong, we discussed that qi is our life force, or as scientists call it, the electrical current or field produced naturally by the body. In essence, you have an EM field and when you’re healthy your cells, and thereby your whole body, emit a minute amount of electromagnetic radiation (EM radiation or EMR). EM radiation is just what it sounds like, the energetic waves caused by your EM field.
Now, your EM field and the EM radiation you present to the world is not harmful. But, that cellphone in your pocket…or the cellular tower outside your home…or your microwave in your kitchen…or the power station in your town…. Now, they may present a problem to your health and wellness.
How dangerous are EMFs?
So, how dangerous are EM radiation from the EMFs of everyday technology around us? It really depends on which scientist, country’s government, global standards organization, or doctor you ask. As the World Health Organization noted in 2000 in its publication, Backgrounder, manmade EMF could potentially cause risk for which current scientific research doesn’t yet have a definitive answer. So, they propose the “precautionary principle” to governments and their people regarding EM radiation, by “reflecting [on] the need to take action for a potentially serious risk without awaiting the results of scientific research.”
There’s so much we don’t know about EM radiation and its effects on humans, especially those more vulnerable, such as children, the elderly, and the immunosuppressed populations. What we do know, is that changes in EMFs’ sister force, gravity, on the human (from astronauts traveling to/from and living on the International Space Station) have dramatic effects on the body. The absence or the increase of gravity on humans clearly demonstrates limitations to space travel without appropriate interventions. If one natural force can so dramatically affect our health, why wouldn’t a force that manipulates our tissue cells?
Further, we are being bombarded with overlapping amounts of the EM radiation daily from multiple sources of “safe” levels of radiation. They are measured in “specific absorption rate” (SAR), or the amount of ionizing radiation (the type that breaks chemical bonds) subjected to a volume of our body’s tissue. While you see the most harmful exposure to EM radiation on bodies as a burn (think a sunburn from UV light’s radiation), some types of radiation, such as infrared radiation’s cause of Glassblower’s cataracts, doesn’t show its effects until years later after repeated exposure to seemingly harmless radiation.
With only the solace that commercial industry-backed studies provided to government agencies, such as our U.S. Federal Communications Commission, show inconclusive evidence, we are left to take precautions ourselves from the potentially dangerous EMF’s and their resulting EM radiation.
What are some EMF safety precautions for you and your family?
Armed with this information about even the potential dangers of EM radiation, what can you do to protect yourself and your family? I have some important techniques for limiting exposure to technologically-produced EMF’s so you can sleep easier at night. (And, yes, EMF’s are known to disrupt sleep as well!)
First, since cellular technology uses low-level microwave radiation waves to communicate, you should keep the body of those devices away from your skin as much as possible. Many experts recommend using a headset plugged into your cellular mobile devices. As well, you can use the hands-free feature of your phone and set it down away from you to have a comfortable conversation without it being pressed against your ear.
Next, think about the placement of cellular towers around your home and work. If they are directed at parts of your home, especially where you congregate for long periods of time (rooms where there are televisions or computers, kitchen/dining rooms, bedrooms, and children’s playrooms), you should think about re-arranging the rooms to those less occupied as reasonably practical. Or, you can also look at some high-tech fabrics to combat EM radiation, that can block some or all of a cellular tower signals from entering your home’s most often occupied rooms. For example, you might draw these EMF curtains closed and power down your phone’s cellular antenna (by placing it in Airplane Mode) while sleeping in your bedroom at night.
If you’re in a low signal area, it’s also best to wait until you reach a stronger signal to take mobile phone calls. When your phone can’t reach a broadband network, it actually increases its strength to the cellular antenna in your phone. This increases the EM radiation emitted from your device. So, when you have better mobile coverage, your phone will emit less signal. Marry that with my first recommendation of using hands-free, a Bluetooth headset, or a wired headset, and you can significantly reduce repeated EM radiation exposure to your body.
Wherever possible, place space between yourself and EM radiation. While you’re using your laptop, place a pillow between your lap and the laptop. Place your baby monitor close enough that you can hear the baby if he or she cries, but don’t place the monitor so that it’s too close or touching the baby (and certainly not near its head). While we’re on the topic of children, whenever possible, turn on Airplane Mode for any device that you hand to your child, or use the WiFi over the broadband cellular connection (as the former is vastly less EM radiation strength-wise than the latter).
And finally, ladies, be sure to find another location to place your cell phone rather than in your sports bra! Some healthcare providers believe the recent uptick in breast cancer is correlated to this current practice.
—
If you’d like to learn more about EMF and ways to combat it for your health and family’s well-being, check out this useful EMF Resources guide. How do you reduce your EMF exposure for you and your family? Let me know in the comments!