Technology
Cell Phones
For many, not using a cell phone would be very difficult, so if we have to live with them what can we do to minimise their affects on us.- Minimise the time you hold the phone to your ear.
- Do not use within one hour of going to bed.
- Switch off your mobile phone at night - (or put it in "flight" mode so you can still use the alarm or other features.)
- Try to ensure you have a good signal when using your phone (poor signals means it will transmit at a higher power).
- Choose a mobile phone that has been measured to have a low radiation output - yes- not all phones are the same and some radiate far less energy into you than others!
Minimising the time that you hold the phone to your ear can be achieved in many ways - you don’t have to stop making phone calls.
- You can use the phones built in loudspeaker (if it has one!). Ok in some situations but not much privacy!
- You can use a basic wired hands free earpiece - a big improvement on holding the phone to your ear bur some radio signal will travel up the wire to your head.
- You can use a bluetooth headset - still uses radio but at a very much reduced power than from your mobile phone. Not many reported health affect from these.
- You can use "air tube" based headset - this is probably the best option for prolonged use at it keeps all electrical wires away from your head and hence should minimise any health affects.
WI-FI
Wi-Fi has become so popular that it is very difficult to escape its effects. Even if you have no Wi-Fi in your house you may be still covered by your neighbours network - in some homes you can even pickup 8-10 neighbourhood networks.
If you are electro-sensitive this may be a problem, it's all down to the signal strength. As the signals become stronger, more people are noticeably affected. The worst space to be in is very close to the Wi-Fi router as the signal strength here is many times stronger than needed to successfully connect.
For other people's Wi-Fi you don't have many remedial options:
- Speak nicely to your neighbours and persuade them to relocate their Wi-Fi.
- Shield your house (or bedroom) - this is very difficult to do well and involves special shielding paint and conductive curtains for the windows - some trial and error will be involved and probably won't be 100% effective.
- Move away to a known "quiet" location without neighbours nearby.
For your own Wi-Fi you have more options:
- Turn off the Wi-Fi in your broadband router - can you live without it?
- Turn off your Wi-Fi router at night - maybe use a time switch.
- Turn off the Wi-Fi in your broadband router and use another Wi-Fi router (not expensive) to provide Wi-Fi which can then be independently switched off when not needed without losing your broadband internet connection.
- Locate your Wi-Fi router away from the main areas of your house - e.g. mine is in the attached garage, the signal strength in the house is low but still usable.
Luckily Wi-Fi has a relatively short range especially with walls in the way - maybe up to 50m (50 yards) in ideal conditions but often down to 5-10 yards/meters in brick buildings.
To use Wi-Fi sensibly to minimise any risk to your health or wellbeing you should bear the following in mind:
- Locate the base station (router) away from where you work or sleep - you want the signal strong enough to use but no more.
- Avoid using the Wi-Fi in bed just before you sleep - there are many reports of Wi-Fi disrupting sleep, and loss of sleep will seriously damage your health even if we can't prove the Wi-Fi has done some harm. If you have to have Internet in bed (not recommended) - then use powerline adapters and a short cable.
- Turn off Wi-Fi at night. - As just stated Wi-Fi is not good for sleep. Most routers don't have a separate switch for Wi-Fi so switching off the router is the only solution unless you buy another cheap Wi-Fi router which can then be used just for Wi-Fi when you need it and can be easily switched off when you don't.
Powerline adapters are cheap devices that send your network data over the house wiring, not requiring significant radio transmission.
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Reduced EMF Routers You can turn down the power output of some Wi-Fi routers such as on the high performance Netgear R6400 or the lower cost Netgear W604. Setting the power to as low as 10% of maximum power will reduce the range considerably but will also reduce your exposure to the EMFs. You can experiment with the power setting to find the best compromise, providing low EMFs with just enough power to provide connecivity where you need it.
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Cordless Phones
There are a wide range of cordless phones on the market around the world, using many different types of radio transmission. They all transmit a radio signal when being used and some transmit all the time!
So, in general it is important to use them carefully, treating the mobile part as you would a mobile phone, and the base station as if it were a mini cell tower - i.e. keep it away from your living area or bedroom.
These devices can be extremely useful but … be aware they can affect your health and sleep patterns, so try living without them for a few days and see if you notice any difference.