Do Cell Phones Affect Brain Function?

One of the most important tools in today's modern society is the cell phone. We have become so dependent on these smart mini computers that it is estimated we spend on average 4 hours a day gazing into their tiny screens or talking through them. The question is "how are cell phones and the microwaves they emit affecting our health?".

The problem is the nobody wants to hear that something as “indispensable” as our cell phone could be very harmful to our health, but that’s exactly what's continued research and increased evidence is showing.

Smart phones and other personal gadgets have the potential to cause a plethora of health problems, from dizziness and headaches to brain tumors. The continued link between brain cancer and cell phone use has been a particularly controversial one but mounting evidence has only made this assumption a strong possibility.

The latest research has shown that those who begin using cell phones heavily before age 20 have four to five times more brain cancer by their late 20s, compared to those whose exposure is minimal.

In 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an arm of the World Health Organization (WHO), declared cell phones a Class B Carcinogen, meaning a “possible cancer-causing agent,” based on the available research. This places cell phones in the same category as diesel engine exhaust, some pesticides, and some heavy metals.

The research panel ruled that there was “strong evidence” that regular cell phone use increased the risk of two types of tumors – brain tumors (gliomas) and acoustic neuromas.When you consider the fact that your body is bioelectric, it’s easier to understand how and why biological damage from wireless phones might occur.

Our body uses electrons to communicate, and inside every cell are mitochondria, the “power plants” of the cell, and these mitochondria can be adversely impacted by electromagnetic fields, resulting in cellular dysfunction. Other mechanisms of harm have also been discovered in recent years.

The conclusion was that the more hours spent with a cell phone pressed against the ear, and the more years spent using a mobile phone, the higher the odds were for developing neurological problems. Those who logged the most amount of hours on their cell phones were twice as likely to develop a tumor as compared to those who used them the least.

There are signs that technology is progressively getting more harmful.

The findings show that 3G phones may cause more harm than earlier versions, raising the risk of brain cancer four-fold. It also appears to have shorter latency period—just five to 10 years, compared to about 25 years for earlier mobile phone versions.

One theory is that the electromagnetic fields emitted from cell phones can damage your cells and DNA by inducing a cellular stress response. Studies show that no heat is required for this DNA damage to occur.

A review of 11 long-term studies published in the journal Neurology in 2009 revealed that using a cell phone for 10 years or longer approximately doubles your risk of being diagnosed with a brain tumor on the same side of the head where the cell phone is typically held.

Another important study, funded by the US government, was published in JAMA8, 9 in 2011. Using a specialized brain scanner capable of detecting alterations in glucose, the researchers determined that cell phone radiation triggers your brain cells to metabolize glucose at an increased rate.

Glucose metabolism equates to cell activation, so the findings indicate that radiation from your cell phone has a well-defined measurable influence on your brain. Essentially, each time you put a cell phone up to your ear, you’re artificially activating your brain cells. While that much is clear, it’s still unknown whether this excess glucose production is harmful, or can cause a cascade of problems down the line.

Prevention Guidelines to Protect Your Brain

It’s important to note that research is showing that there is a general agreement that there’s a delayed period of time of about 10 years or more before the damage shows up, which places children at greatest risk—a risk that is potentially exacerbated with more modern 3G technologies, which appear to be even more harmful than earlier versions.

From my perspective, the evidence clearly indicates that we need to take more precautionary measures until the industry starts taking this matter more seriously. We as parents must take the responsibility to keep our children safe . To minimize the risk to your brain, and that of your child, please pay attention to the following advice:

Better Brain Tips

1) Don’t let your child use a cell phone. Barring a life-threatening emergency, children should not use a cell phone, or a wireless device of any type. Children are far more vulnerable to cell phone radiation than adults, because of their thinner skull bones.

2) Keep your cell phone use to a minimum especially pressed against your head. Do not sleep with it under your pillow or next to you and turn your cell phone off more often. Reserve it for emergencies or important matters. As long as your cell phone is on, it emits radiation intermittently, even when you are not actually making a call. Use a land line at home and at work for longer conversations

3) Limit cell phone use to areas with excellent reception. The weaker the reception, the more power your phone must use to transmit, and the more power it uses, the more radiation it emits, and the deeper the dangerous radio waves penetrate into your body. Ideally, you should only use your phone with full bars and good reception.

4) Avoid carrying your cell phone on your body, and ideally, put it in your purse or carrying bag. Placing a cell phone in your bra or in a shirt pocket over your heart is asking for trouble, as is placing it in a man's pocket if he seeks to preserve his fertility. The most dangerous place to be, in terms of radiation exposure, is within about six inches of the emitting antenna. You do not want any part of your body within that area while the phone is on.

5) Don't assume one cell phone is safer than another. There's no such thing as a "safe" cell . Some people who have become sensitive can feel the effects of others' cell phones in the same room, even when it is on but not being used. If you are in a meeting, on public transportation, in a courtroom or other public places, such as a doctor's office, keep your cell phone turned off out of consideration for the “secondhand radiation” effects.

6) Use a well-shielded wired headset: Wired headsets will certainly allow you to keep the cell phone farther away from your body. However, if a wired headset is not well-shielded -- and most of them are not -- the wire itself can act as an antenna attracting and transmitting radiation directly to your brain. So make sure the wire used to transmit the signal to your ear is shielded. One of the best kinds of headsets use a combination of shielded wire and air-tube. These operate like a stethoscope, transmitting the sound to your head as an actual sound wave; although there are wires that still must be shielded, there is no wire that goes all the way up to your head.