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Minimizing Risk

EMF: Knowing Your Risks

Clearly, none of us are going to be giving up our phones any time soon. That said, we want to encourage you to take a few key steps to protect your health when you’re using your phone. Most of these steps are obvious, but it never hurts to have a reminder.

Several large studies from Europe indicate an association between the use of cell phones and an increase in the incidence of cancers of the brain and auditory nerves (ear to brain). Despite these increases, the rates in younger people are currently low, possibly because the accumulated effects take years to become apparent. From 2011 through 2015, there were fewer than 4.5 brain cancer cases for every 100,000 people in the United States under age 65, compared with approximately 19.1 cases for every 100,000 people in the United States who were age 65 or older. Given the increases in cancer rates over the past twenty years, there is wisdom in taking a precautionary approach.

Cancer Risk

Cell phones use frequencies similar to those used in a microwave oven, except at an intensity a thousand times lower. Although the intensity is much lower, researchers have found some increased incidence of cancer with extensive or long-term phone use, so talking on the phone with a headset or on speaker mode is an excellent habit. The following are studies that give some sense of risk.

Animal study involving two-year exposures. A large study by the U.S. National Toxicology Program reported statistically significant increases in cancer among genetically identical rats that were exposed to cell phone frequencies for a period of two years at three different levels of intensity. Some of the exposed animals had significantly higher rates of brain tumors (gliomas) and cancer affecting the nerves that connect the inner ear with the brain (neurofibrosarcomas). Animals in the study that were not exposed to radiation (the control group) did not develop either type of tumor. Conclusions after a decade of research using G2 and G3 cell phones reported these findings:

Study with exposures to ten thousand animals. A two-year Italian study monitored the health of more than ten thousand animals exposed to low-frequency (50 Hz) EMF. The exposed animals experienced a significant increase in tumors, including brain malignancy. Note that current Android and Apple phones, and various tablets, operate at 120 Hz.

British population studies. Three British studies of interest analyzed the incidence of brain cancers population-wide over the past twenty years. The first study, in Britain from 1996 to 2007, looked at cancers that might implicate the first popular mobile phones—the flip (clamshell) phones introduced by Motorola in 1996. Two points are important when considering this study:

Million Women Study. Conducted in Great Britain, this study used questionnaire data from study participants. The original published findings reported an association with an increased risk of acoustic neuroma (cancers involving the nerves from the ear to the brain), stating, “For acoustic neuroma … RR = 2.46 … the risk increasing with duration of use.” RR means “relative risk,” indicating more than double the risk with years of use.

A more recent British study by Volkow and colleagues analyzed data from 1995 to 2015 for incidence of one particular type of brain tumor, glioblastoma multiforme. Although the numbers were low, new cases had more than doubled. In exploring possible environmental and lifestyle causes, use of CT scans and mobile phones were cited, reporting: “In healthy participants … a fifty-minute cell phone exposure produced a statistically significant increase in brain glucose metabolism in the … regions closest to the handset.” One implication is that longer phone calls may influence brain metabolism, relevant to cancer processes.

The Interphone Study. A survey by a consortium of researchers from thirteen countries reported three findings suggesting possible risk:

Scandinavian research. Recent analyses of cancer data by Michael Carlberg and Lennart Hardell of the Department of Oncology, University Hospital, Örebro, Sweden, reported that long-term cell phone use was associated with an increased risk of malignant gliomas (brain tumors), with the greatest risk in people who used the cell phone before the age of twenty. They also pointed out an evaluation of the scientific evidence on these risks by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) at the World Health Organization (WHO) in May 2011. An increased risk for glioma and acoustic neuroma was concluded, based on human epidemiological studies.

Male Reproductive Health

Guys, we strongly encourage you to avoid working with portable computers on your lap, because laptops generate heat. Heat suppresses sperm production, but researchers have also found adverse effects due to frequent and high intensity exposure to Wi-Fi signals (in the absence of heat).

Research from Argentina. At a medical center in Cordoba, researchers on reproductive health reported that exposure of human sperm to a wireless internet-connected laptop decreased sperm motility and induced DNA fragmentation that was not due to the effects of heat. The authors stated, “We speculate that keeping a laptop connected wirelessly to the internet on the lap near the testes may result in decreased male fertility. Further in vitro and in vivo studies are needed to prove this contention.”

Finnish research. Researchers pointed out that both animal and human studies have found that EMF exposure negatively affects sperm quality, including sperm count, structure, motility, and cell metabolism, producing toxic effects on genetic material, and causing oxidative stress.

Chinese studies. When a group of animals was exposed to pulsed EMF, researchers found that exposure in the first generation was associated with adverse effects that occurred in male offspring of the second generation: animals that had never been exposed to EMF. Specific effects included decreases in testosterone, sperm quantity, and sperm enzyme activity. There was an insidious quality to the changes, because by all other measures the reproductive health of the second generation was unchanged.

A second Chinese study of 150 male workers, half with high occupational EMF exposure compared with workers who had low exposure, reported that chronic exposure to EMF decreased male testosterone levels in the blood stream and increased markers of inflammation.

Research in Iran. Using an animal model, researchers reported that exposure to EMF from cell phones produced increases in testicular proteins related to cancer risk and reproductive damage. This is important in light of the widespread practice of men carrying their phone in their pocket, since exposures to reproductive organs could at times exceed manufacturer guidelines for proper usage.

5G. The international rollout of 5G networks has started, with small-size transmission cells in close proximity to where people live. Preliminary observations showed that millimeter-wave (MMW) radiation at high frequency can alter gene expression, promote cell proliferation, increase oxidative stress (a cancer precursor), and raise levels of inflammation.

Reproductive Health in Women

Results from a ten-year study of EMF by the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) studied 2G and 3G transmission exposures and reported the following conclusions of particular interest to women of childbearing age:

Researchers in China monitored the health of 180 female workers exposed to EMF for more than one year in comparison with 349 female workers not exposed to EMF in the workplace. The researchers found that increased exposure to EMF was associated with an increased incidence of menstrual disorders at a rate two to three times that of those with no exposure.

Individuals experiencing issues in terms of fertility will want to assess their exposure to EMF associated with their phone and computer use to reduce excessive exposure. Researchers have pointed out that because reproductive tissue grows so rapidly, these cells are more vulnerable to levels of damage from excessive EMF radiation.

Risks to Children

The models that are used for assessing EMF exposure in adults may not be sufficient when applied to children. Research studies have shown that EMF signals can penetrate a child’s brain more easily than the adult brain. At this point in time, it is not clear what this means in terms of actual risk. Researchers Fernández-Rodríguez, Claudio Enrique, and Alvaro de Salles measured skull thickness and bone mass in children and adults in relation to EMF exposure associated with smartphones and Wi-Fi transmitters. Simply stated, all their measurements suggest that the brains of children absorb more EMF than adults.

Your device’s safety warnings and disclaimer: Have you read them? A printed copy of safety information is provided with the purchase of all computers. However, in some cases, the manual is so small it is practically illegible. For a legible copy, consumers must look up the manual on the internet. Although the greatest risks are likely to affect children and teens, most parents and teachers never read the warnings, despite the caution from manufacturers: “Read all safety information below and operating instructions before using [this device] to avoid injury.”

Manufacturer’s guidelines indicate that the most intense EMF exposure occurs near the antenna, while the device is connecting to a cell phone tower. For example, according to the safety guidelines required by the municipal government of Berkeley, California, with the purchase of every cell phone: “If you carry or use your phone in a pants or shirt pocket … when the phone is on and connected to a wireless network, you may exceed the federal guidelines for exposure to RF radiation.” Researchers have suggested that these exposures could have more serious consequences for children, particularly in terms of cell phone use because the bones of a child’s skull are thinner.

Each manufacturer applies its own antenna design, so you will want to download the instructions online to be sure you know where the antenna is located. A review of manufacturers’ guidelines consistently revealed the following three points:

Promoting Balance in Our Children’s Lives

“It’s time for dinner,” the mother said to her thirteen-year-old son, who was engrossed in a computer game.

“I’ll be up in a minute,” he replied.

Gaming creates a world unto itself, an experience that is enticing, hypnotic, addictive.… Thirty minutes later, the boy still had not surfaced for dinner. The changing visuals had activated his hypervigilance, so he was captured by the game, totally unaware of how much time had passed or the changes in his body chemistry and responses. These patterns were established genetically, and reinforced as a young child, when his parents gave him their smartphone to quiet him during dinner at a restaurant.

As he played, his breathing rate doubled, and his shoulder tension increased. (Figure 25-4 shows typical changes in a young boy playing computer games.) He focused on the screen intently, and that reduced his blinking rate. Although this sounds minor, all the gamers in his neighborhood needed glasses for nearsightedness by junior high, and this impact on vision is a trend that is occurring globally with the rise of digital media.

Excessive duration of gaming, TV, or social media has been found to increase several concerns:

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Figure 25-4 Representative recording of a young boy playing computer games in which neck and shoulder tension and breathing rate increased and stayed high for the duration of the game. Gaming often induces hypervigilance, hyperreactivity, and rapid shallow breathing while playing. (Source: Erik Peper, Adam Burke, and Eliot Peper)

We are not alone in these observations, as reflected in the book Glow Kids by addictions specialist Nicholas Kardaras. The book describes a generation of kids who are forming intense dependencies on the glowing screens of smartphones, gaming devices, tablets, and computers. Kardaras reviews neurological effects ranging from addictive behaviors to psychosis. Recent research from the Veterans Administration reported that video games were as effective as morphine in treating pain.

Risk of ADHD. Just as too little stimulation reduces neural growth and development, excessive stimulation also reduces neural growth and development. Researcher Dimitri Christakis and colleagues published a study in 2018 describing the effects of overstimulation by media. This team found a close association between excessive stimulation and symptoms commonly associated with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

Prediabetes. Excessive sitting is clearly associated with an increased risk of diabetes. Among American teens, one in five is now prediabetic. Among young adults in the United States, one of every four is prediabetic. These young people have high blood pressure, increased abdominal fat, and insulin resistance, all symptoms of elevated risk of heart disease. Gaming and digital media use contribute to these issues, but are not the sole cause. Another major influence is the generally inactive lifestyle of modern urban life. Commercial interests also have a major impact on these problems via the marketing of fast food, sugar, and other high-carb foods.

Our mission, if we choose to accept it … We cannot ask children to have voluntary control, since their response patterns are activated by the evolutionary traps that have allowed our species to survive. Thus, it is up to us to promote lifestyle strategies that optimize our children’s health. If you have young children, now is the time to shape lifelong habits by emphasizing nonscreen activities and role-modeling to reduce screen-time behaviors. This means spending time together that is totally free of digital media.

After gaming, include a cooldown period. Since gaming tends to promote excessive stimulation, and a sense of hypervigilance, afterward it’s helpful to include an opportunity to unwind. (Hypervigilance is managed by the sympathetic nervous system, the same system that implements fight or flight.) This could mean five minutes of free weights, of push-ups and pull-ups, or simply taking the dog for a walk.

Dining together. To maintain and deepen your relationship with your kids: (1) don’t use your phone or other devices during meal times; (2) be truly present with your child; (3) converse with them, encourage them to share what they did during the day, and share your own world with them as well. Talk about things that interest you both, on subjects that they care about.

Investing your time. As much as possible, do activities with your child, and when possible, include their friends in these activities. At times this will be more work for you than if your child were playing video games, watching TV, or hanging out on social media. However, your investment now in creating enriched experiences and emotional memories will provide the foundation for their future health and growth.

Being physically active. When feasible, encourage your child to balance time spent gaming with physical activity such as skateboarding, riding their bike, running, martial arts, baseball, basketball, or gymnastics. (We no longer encourage soccer because of the known risk of concussion when players do headers.) Take your kid to the gym once a week, or swimming—whatever you and they like to do. When running errands, create as many opportunities as possible to walk (exercise in disguise), parking at the farthest end of the lot, and taking the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator.

Stim (stimulation). Build enrichment into your child’s life and expose them to multisensory experiences and opportunities for learning—traveling together; exploring new places; going to science centers, museums, and art studios; going hiking together, to the beach, and visiting national parks. At some point your child will shift toward their peer group, but if there is a favorite aunt or uncle, a godparent, or a friend of the family who can socialize with them periodically, so much the better. Trading visits or overnights with the families of your child’s friends may be another option, if you know their parents have similar values.

Building skills. We want our kids to develop useful skill sets, to have the opportunity to create as well as consume. Share your own skills with your child, especially if that’s a gift they clearly have as well. Whatever you enjoy doing, do it with them—that could mean animal care, doing chef duty together, learning a musical instrument, conversing in another language, working on the car together, teaching them chess, making art, or any type of craft. If your kids are young, this means reading to them and having them read to you. (A fond memory as a fifth-grader was being read to each afternoon for a full hour by our lovely teacher, who chose everything from Charlotte’s Web to The Iliad, while everyone in the class rested, listening with rapt attention.)

Making sense of cultural issues. In the United States, we have moved from country life to urban living in less than a hundred years. Physical activity was always an aspect of country lifestyle and of farm work. Food grown without chemicals was a given until recently. However, with the mass migrations to American cities that began during World War II, more than seventy-five years ago, the social structures are not yet fully in place that would make this transition from farm life to urban lifestyle a success. If we want to live successfully in an urban environment, we need to recreate communities that include key aspects of the lifestyle that enabled our ancestors to survive and eventually thrive.

Learning by imitation. As parents we need to role-model healthy behavior, set boundaries for our kids, and offer them enriching environments. Children are hardwired to learn and grow—our role is to provide a range of emotionally satisfying options so they can have quality of life, living on a human scale, interacting with their friends and their family without digital distractions. This means

  • role-modeling smart use of smartphones
  • having digital-free time at home
  • allowing your child to become “bored” periodically, giving them the opportunity to become creative
  • creating social opportunities to play and engage with friends without digital media
  • providing opportunities to be in nature

An emerging perspective. A surprising number of the leaders and software engineers in Silicon Valley who have been instrumental in the development of social media do not allow their own children to have smartphones or tablets. Many send their kids to Waldorf schools. (Silicon Valley now has the highest concentration of Waldorf schools in the United States.) The Waldorf approach encourages creativity, crafts, simplicity, and an emphasis on the natural world. The use of digital devices is discouraged at home, and devices are not used in school as part of the teaching curriculum.

Children are predisposed, genetically, to be curious and to explore, which is how they learn. This innate drive allows them to grow and mature, which they can do naturally when they are having new experiences, when they are outside in a natural environment, and when they are playing with friends.

However, in the United States, because of our concern about safety, our kids tend to stay in the house once they get home from school. Confined to the house, the child quickly becomes bored, and the only options left to fill their time and their curiosity are video games, television, or social media. The solution is both obvious and extremely challenging. The obvious piece is that we need to respect the evolutionary background of our kids. They need novelty, they need to use their curiosity, they need to explore nature. This is both easy and difficult, particularly in the inner city.

This brings to mind the work in Iceland, where an extensive alcohol problem developed among teens. The state instituted a countrywide program of midnight basketball and other ways for young people to become more active, and their misbehavior was remarkably reduced.

An animal study on the effects of stimulation makes this clear. Rats housed in a boring environment, when offered a choice between water and opiates, quickly became addicted. Another group of rats was housed in a rich environment with lots of toys and equipment, room to be active, and other rats to interact with. When the second group was offered a choice between opiates and water, they were satisfied with water and did not become addicted.

The digital world is also highly addictive and incorporates a number of evolutionary traps. However, with skillful use, our devices can function as extraordinarily useful tools. Ultimately it takes a family, a community, a village to raise a child. We need to invest time and insight to support the health and development of our children—in the midst of our busy lives—to create the foundation for lifelong health.