Did your parents ever nag you about not being on your phone so much before bedtime? Or tell you to leave your phone in the living room overnight? Well if so, you might want to thank them. Our cell phones not only interfere with our brain activity and sleep patterns but also expose us to low levels of radiation that can be harmful over time. Most of the dangers that cell phones present are caused before and during bedtime and can be eliminated by not leaving our phones directly next to us. Here I will briefly go through some of the dangers cell phones present and touch on a few ways to prevent them.
Radiation
Most of us are familiar with the understanding that you should not be standing right next to your microwave while heating something up because of the radiation it emits. The same understanding should be known when it comes to our cell phones while they are charging. Cell phones emit low levels of radiofrequency energy. The amount varies based on numerous factors such as battery percentage and battery age. Now this radiation (both from a microwave and a charging cell phone) is quite low. However, it can be dangerous over time if exposed every day. Cell phones are a relatively new invention and research is still working to catch up to its effects. The facts are that cell phones emit radiation and radiation is bad for us. Even if the levels are low, they can have serious health impacts over time. We don’t need to wait for the research to come out on that one. To limit your exposure to this radiation, refrain from charging your phone on your nightstand or next to your body, and leave your phone at least a few feet away from you while sleeping.
Brain Activity
Our cell phones have a variety of impacts when it comes to our brain activity. For starters, our phones present us with a plethora of colors, options, and images that can trigger sensory overload and lead to irritable feelings. Our phones do everything for us which, yes, sounds great, but it decreases our cognitive capacity leaving us mentally lazy. We don’t need to write down directions before driving somewhere new or memorize our friend’s phone numbers anymore. Have you seen the new iPad features that calculate advanced math for you? You don’t even need to use the calculator! All you need to do is copy the math equation from your textbook and the answer will appear. This is going to have serious negative impacts on the younger generation’s education. Kids are starting to lack the ability to think outside the box and get creative simply because they have AI at their fingertips doing all the thinking for them. It is a sad truth that needs to be combated. So how should we combat it? Here are some great ways to improve brain activity:
- Write things down using pen and paper – your grocery list, daily goals, or upcoming plans
- Challenge your mind with puzzles, card games, and memorization games.
- Read – grab a novel, cookbook, magazine, anything!
- Socialize in person – get out and have more in-person conversations
- Get creative – draw, paint, color, or do anything to get your mind in creative mode
Sleep Patterns
Our phones are very stimulating devices. The plethora of colors, options, and images activates our brains in a harmful way by triggering a fight or flight response. This causes anxiety and prevents the brain from falling into a state of calm. It takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour for your brain to relax after phone usage. This means that, ideally, you should not be using your phone for the last hour of your day. Instead, you should try a more calming activity like yoga, reading, or listening to music. This will help relax your brain and allow you to fall into a deeper, more peaceful sleep.
The blue light from our phones is also incredibly harmful as it prevents the production of melatonin – an important hormone that controls our sleep cycle. Without this hormone, it is harder for us to fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up. We are left with insomnia and feeling extra groggy in the mornings. Many have turned to taking melatonin pills to help their body relax, but this only helps large corporations and leaves us relying on another pill to function. Natural meletonin is the best sleeping pill.
Conclusion
Our phones provide us with so many great features, but at what cost? Our sleep and mental sharpness are being negatively impacted while we are being exposed to low levels of radiation. We need to learn to limit our cell phone usage, especially before bed, and stop relying on virtual experiences to replace face-to-face connections and hands-on activities. By limiting screen time before bed we can help our brains relax and enter sleep mode. By not keeping our phones next to us at every moment we can reduce our radiation exposure. Phones do not need a place in every part of our lives. Determine how your phone is harming you and take steps to reduce the impacts it has on your life, even if it means leaving your phone just 5 feet away.