A study by the National Toxicology Program has demonstrated the effects of smartphone radiation on guinea pigs, here’s how to use phones safely
After a series of tests on rats, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) of the United States has released a report on the effects of the massive use of cell phones on the cells of living beings. If for work or leisure we spend many hours in front of a smartphone it’s good to start taking precautions.
We have talked several times about the effects on the human body of radiation from smartphones, and if you want to know what are the most “polluting” phones for humans and how to assess the actual danger of a specific smartphone for human health you can read our specific guides on the subject. This new NTP report, however, goes deeper and gives us a clear report of the effects of a smartphone on a lab rat. This is one of the first ever studies on living beings of this kind and it took more than $30 million and a decade of study to complete.
Cancer caused by smartphone use
The research found that high exposure to a smartphone’s radio waves increased in guinea pigs the development of tumors in the heart, brain and adrenal glands of the animals in the lab. The studies also found that guinea pig moms and their newborns had lower body weights when exposed to high levels of radiation during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Before we throw away our smartphones forever, however, we need to make several considerations. First, the effects on mice are not the same compared to the human body. Secondly, the mice were exposed to much more radiation than the latest generation of phones we use on a daily basis. Despite this, there are some tips that we should adopt to protect ourselves from the radiation of a smartphone.
How to use a smartphone to protect yourself from radiation
First of all, we always try not to keep the phone in our pocket or near our body. Better to carry it in a backpack or purse. If we spend a lot of time on the phone making calls we use headphones or Bluetooth headsets to avoid attaching the smartphone to the head for long periods. It is also very important not to sleep with the phone under the pillow or in the bedside table, again to avoid holding the phone close to the head for a long time and expose the brain to long periods of radio waves. If the signal is weak we avoid staying too long near the smartphone. When the Network is poor the emitted radiation is stronger. Even if you use earphones, take them off when you are not on a call. Bluetooth headsets emit small amounts of radiation. When possible, we put the phone in airplane mode or turn it off. In these two situations the smartphone does not emit radiation.