Everyone knows our generation is the one that is glued to technology, more than any other in the past. We are constantly told that we need to “put down the screen and go be a teen”. Frankly, I’m tired of being told I have a problem. Sure, I’m on my phone a lot at times but I know when to put it away. I can walk away from my phone and not worry about it too much while I’m gone. So…can you say the same? Do you have the ability to walk away from your phone and not worry about what’s happening? According to researchers, 75% of our peers (college students) don’t have the ability to do this. In fact, they can’t get more than 10 feet away from their phones at any given time. Now I’m not here to point fingers, tell you this is called an addiction, and give you phone numbers to help you deal with your problem. What you want to do about this issue is up to you. However, I would like to share some research that has been around for years but hasn’t been given too much thought. It’s the idea that sleeping with our phones near our heads can actually cause us to be exposed to radiation and develop sleep problems that will be detrimental to our health in the future.
The problem that has been stated and I find to be most concerning is that cell phone exposure at night can harmful to your health. Now, I’ve been doing my research and I have yet to find something that says the radiation given off by your phone is a major problem. Sure, it gives off radiation at all times but there is little research to suggest that it is a harmful amount. We are exposed to this radiation any time the phone is on so it doesn’t really change when you go to bed with the phone close by. Obviously it would be better if you could avoid having your phone right under your pillow, but if you need it for an alarm then do what you have to do. If you do end up doing this, you should also know that as technology is advancing, the amount of radiation being put out by phones is decreasing. They are becoming more efficient and less harmful than earlier models.
Most researchers are actually more concerned with the fact that the light from the screen and our obligation to stay on our phones can cause unhealthy sleep patterns and habits. I also find this to be more of a ‘personal problem’ than anything else. I’m not trying to say that this ‘technology addiction’ isn’t an issue, because for some people it is. However, the point of this post is to get you the facts, plain and simple. The fact here is that if you can keep your bedtime usage under control and know when it’s time to stop, then you won’t have a problem with your sleep or your health.
Now, for some of you, this may not be enough to convince you. I didn’t do a great job of citing evidence here so if you go research this topic yourself, I wouldn’t blame you. Additionally, I have some solutions for anyone who wants to keep their phones by their beds but for whatever reason is now nervous about doing so. If you have a smartphone the first thing you can do is put your phone in ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode. This will turn off your phone’s ability to receive messages, calls, and e-mails so you won’t have to worry about feeling obligated to check your screen. Some phones come with this ability in the Settings and others work through an app. More importantly, you can put your phone on airplane mode, which will actually cut off all wireless transmissions from your phone and along with this, the radiation. This will also act like a ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode in that you can’t receive any notifications but your alarm will still work and it will conserve a bit of battery.
I know there is a lot more research that goes into this topic than what I have provided so I would definitely encourage anyone to look into it more if they are left wondering after reading this post. However, from what I understand, the amount of radiation given off by your cell phone isn’t detrimental to your health and it can also be avoided. I for one will probably still sleep with my phone at the end of my bed but will now be using airplane mode as a slight precaution. Do with this what you will; I hope you at least walk away more informed.
Photo from:
http://www.ektron.com/Blogs/Sean-Howe/How-Students-Really-Use-their-Smart-Phones/