Smartphones radiation triggers memory loss in teenagers – Study
Smartphone radiation could be destroying the memory performance of a new generation of adolescents, a troubling new study has warned.
Cumulative exposure to mobile devices over the course of a year negatively affects the figural memory of adolescents, scientists found.
Figural memory is mainly located in the right hemisphere of the brain and refers to our ability to make sense of objects including images, patterns and shapes.
Youngsters who hold their phone next to their right ear are the most affected by exposure to radiation.
However, sending text messages, playing mobile games, and browsing the internet may also have negative effects, albeit not as pronounced, the study showed.
Researchers from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) studied nearly 700 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 in Switzerland. They looked at the link between their daily exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) and their memory performance.
The effects of RF-EMF were more pronounced in adolescents using the mobile phone on the right side of the head, the study revealed.
‘This may suggest that indeed RF-EMF absorbed by the brain is responsible for the observed associations’, said Martin Röösli, Head of Environmental Exposures and Health at Swiss TPH.
Other aspects of wireless communication use, such as sending texts, playing games or browsing the Internet will also cause marginal RF-EMF exposure.
However, these were not associated with the negative development of memory.
‘Changes in figural memory score were negatively correlated with cordless phone calls and, in tendency, with the duration of mobile phone calls and the cumulative RF-EMF brain dose’, researchers found. Dr Röösli emphasised that further research is needed to rule out the influence of other factors.
‘For instance, the study results could have been affected by puberty, which affects both mobile phone use and the participant’s cognitive and behavioural state.’
The potential effect of RF-EMF exposure to the brain is a relatively new field of scientific inquiry, according to the paper published in Environmental Health Perspectives.
‘It is not yet clear how RF-EMF could potentially affect brain processes or how relevant our findings are in the long-term’, said Dr Röösli.
Here are some simple way to reduce the amount of radiation you are exposed to:
- Use your cell phone on speakerphone or use a headset to avoid close contact with your ears and head.
- Headsets also release a small amount of radiation, so only wear them when you’re on a call.
- Use text messages instead of talking on the phone when possible.
- Do not carry your cell phone in your pocket, bar or on your belt. Keep it in a bag, backpack or briefcase.
- Sleep with your phone several feet from the bed, not in the bed or on a nearby nightstand.
- Keep your phone off or on airplane mode when it is not in use.