Nowadays most of us are extremely attached to our cell phones. Some more than others for many different reasons. It might be for work purposes or simply keeping in contact with family and friends. Whatever the use is for, cell phones emit what is called radiofrequency (RF) energy and studies are revealing how too much RF exposure is bad for our health.

First off, I want to clarify that the risks associated with cell phone have not been 100% proven as different studies show different results.

So what exactly are the risks involved with cell phone use?

Joint pain: Texting, emailing, maneuvering back and forth between apps, and scrolling through your screen, your joints may be overworked. The continued use over time may cause joint pain and inflammation. Back pain is a possibility as well as you may hold your phone between your neck and shoulders or lean your neck forward for long periods of time when looking down at your screen.

Vision: The longer we stare at our cell phones, the more we are straining our eyes. Even though many are in denial that they strain their eyes while on their phones, think about it, it’s a smaller screen so it does happen naturally. Problems with your vision from this straining won’t be anything you’ll experience immediately, but just be aware this is a possibility with continued use.

Fatigue: There’s a time and a place for cell phone use but right before bed and while in bed isn’t that time or place. The light from our cell phone screens keeps the mind awake. Even though you may turn the brightness down, the blue light that our cell phones give off prevents us from letting our brains rest. This contributes to the fatigue you may experience the next morning. I highly recommend stopping your cell phone use at least an hour before bed so that you can start to get tired.

Illnesses: A simple tip I have for this is just be aware of how much your device is exposed to. Our hands are all over our screens and we set our device down on so many different surfaces.  Therefore for hygiene purposes, it’s best to clean your device. I occasionally take an alcohol swab and just thoroughly clean my entire phone to get rid of the bacteria that it harbors.

Cancer: Radiofrequency (RF) energy is a form of non-ionizing radiation. While different studies have shown different results, some scientists suspect that exposure to this radiation will increase your risk of brain cell damage which could result in tumors.

With all this information provided above, we all know in reality we’re not just willing to ditch our cell phones. We’re too attached and it’s our main form of communication. However, people do spend a lot of their spare time on their phone with apps and searching on the internet and that’s where it would be easiest to cut down on your exposure. All I ask is that you take precaution and limit how much time you spend on your cell phone. Your long term health will thank you.