We are all guilty of making our mobile phones our best friends, and even though they may seem our constant companion, they are actually extremely bad for our health.
Did you know that some of our biggest health risks are associated with excessive use of mobile phones?
6 Health Hazards Risks Posed by Your Smart Phone
1. Spread Germ Based Diseases
Through the day, you keep your mobile phone at various places, including your work desk, your table top, public transport seat, your car seat, washroom space and various other places. All these surfaces are breeding grounds for germs that your mobile phone will directly pick up. When you use the phone and place it along your ears, the germs get access to your skin, spreading disease and putting you at risk. Sometimes, the germs can also get into your skin and cause further health risks.
Tip: Carry a small hand towel to wipe off your mobile phone each time you place it on a surface. You can also use dry wipes to keep your device clean.
2. Increase Your Risk Of Cancer
Your mobile phone will emit radiation that varies in its impact based on how long you use the phone, how close you keep it to your body and how close or far you are based from the base station. Various studies have been conducted and are still being conducted to find out the possible link between mobile phone use and cancer. Even though there is no clear evidence yet to rule in favour or against the same, it is true that using your mobile phone can lead to a possible carcinogenic effect on humans and increase your risk of cancer.
Tip: Try and limit your mobile phone use to as much as required, mainly for placing and receiving calls. Use your computer to log on to your social media channels.
3. Damage Your Vision
When you constantly focus on a small and bright screen, it has a direct negative impact on your vision. Checking mails, texting, accessing your social media channels can all add a lot of stress to your eyes, causing dry eye syndrome as well as affecting your vision power. As you have to hold the device at a close distance, your eyes will constantly have to shift between focusing on text and images, adding to more stress and causing more damage.
Tip: Reduce your screens brightness and make sure you hold the device at a proper distance.
4. Cause Various Sleep Disorders
Looking at your screen for long hours at a stretch at the end of the day and closer to your bedtime can have an adverse effect on your sleep. In fact, not only does it mean that you end up reducing your sleep time, as you get more engrossed in your virtual life, but even when you do sleep, the quality of the sleep that you get will be poor. As a result, your body will not get the required amount of rest it needs on a daily basis. Over time, lack of proper sleep can lead to a host of other serious health issues.
Tip: Plan a time when you will access your mobile phone for social media and other use. Try and stick to the time limit and reduce it as much as you can, especially towards the end of the day.
5. Increase Your Risk Of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition in which you start feeling a type of tingling or numbing feeling in your hand, wrists and fingers. It is often also characterized with inflammation. Carpal tunnel syndrome affects more women than men as in most cases, the area of the carpal tunnel is relatively smaller in women than in men. Typing on your mobile phone for a long time can cause stress on your fingers and wrist, and put you at risk.
Tip: Avoid repetitive use of mobile phone for typing and scrolling, and make sure to stretch your wrists and fingers at regular intervals.
6. Reduced Hearing
Almost all of us have our headphones glued in most of the times, often at very high volumes. The radiation from your mobile phone can actually reduce your hearing capabilities, and eventually make you go deaf.
Tip: If you do like listening to music or need your audio on for longer hours, do so at reduced volumes.
Next time you pick up your mobile phone to simply while away some time, think again.
