Okay, so in my last post about cell phones I talked about some of the effects on the brain and how it may cause a tumor formation. This time I thought we should take our research southward, straight down to the pocket rocket.
Since most of the population has only been using cell phones and wi-fi heavily for about 10-15 years it’s hard to determine any long-term risks, such as 15-30 year cancer risks. Most studies that supposedly prove that carrying a cell phone in your pocket for hours a day is safe, have been funded by the telecom industry and have very low usage levels that they study.
“Most of the studies performed in the US that conclude no negative effect are funded either directly or indirectly (as with many IEEE studies) by cell phone manufacturers and carriers. Does this prove malfeasance? No, but it should raise a red flag.” – Tim Ferris from his book “the 4-hour body”.
He also performed tests on his own and this is where it gets interesting. He tested his sperm count and found out that they were very low, borderline problematic. To make sure it wasn’t a lab mistake he took the same test over and over again for a period of 12 months and the more tests he took, the lower the results. He then did a study where he wouldn’t keep his phone in the pocket. Instead he strapped it to his arm, kept it in his backpack or on the other side of the room when he was working at home. Since it takes an estimated 64 days for a human to produce sperm, he performed this study for 11 weeks (2 weeks to buffer).
The result of this is pretty interesting.
- Ejaculate volume: 44% increase
- Motile sperm per millilitre: 100% increase
- Motile sperm per ejaculate: 185% increase
But if that wasn’t enough there were more than a handful of studies that showed significant decreases in serum testosterone in rats following even moderate exposure (30 minutes per day, 5 days a week, for 4 weeks)
And that’s just 30 min per day, most of us use our phones for hours per day. Though these examples are directed towards guys, I wouldn’t count on that there’s no health risk for all the ladies out there. I don’t expect people to stop using their cell phones since it has become so damn important in our daily agenda. But things you can do to lower the risks are to keep the phone as far away from you as possible. Keep it at the edge of the table if you’re at a restaurant, carry it in your backpack or why not just strap it to your arm/leg.
Thats all for now people!
Your friend in the wind.
-Baily
Civilization Unplugged 