What Is EMF Radiation? A Comprehensive Guide to EMF and EMF Protection.
You may have heard of terms like EMF (electromagnetic fields), EMR (electromagnetic radiation), and cell phone and WiFi radiation in the news before. You may also have heard that long-term exposure to EMF is a huge health risk. But what exactly is EMF radiation? And how is it a risk to your health and wellbeing?
In this post, we’ll explore EMF and its health effects in-depth, and also look at what science has to say about this.
What is EMF?
An electromagnetic field, or generally referred to as EMF, is a scientific term that describes a field of energy generated by electricity flowing in a current. No doubt you’re already familiar with electricity as it’s the most common energy source in modern homes.
When electricity flows from point A to point B, it generates a new magnetic force that accompanies electricity in its journey. This force is similar to the force between two refrigerator magnets. You know how two magnets attract or repel each other when you bring them in close proximity? This ability to attract or repel another magnet is called a magnetic field.
Now you have a magnetic field accompanied by electricity. And if you combine these two forces, you get an electromagnetic field, which is the same kind of energy that your cell phone uses to communicate with the network tower.
It’s not only cell phones. Anything that uses electricity to operate — be it household appliances, electronic gadgets, network towers, power lines, or anything else — generates EMF.
Understanding the Electromagnetic Spectrum
Many people seem to think that EMF came after we invented light bulbs and power grids. But that’s not true at all. Human-made EMF is what came after electricity. Therein lies the distinction. EMF is a natural phenomenon that occurs where electricity-like energy is present.
Take the sun for example — it’s a natural EMF source that has been around for billions of years.
If you remember your 8th-grade physics class, you had a lesson on the electromagnetic spectrum. It ranks different types of electromagnetic radiation according to their frequency or wavelength.
You’ve got:
· ELF (extremely low frequency), that power lines and the electrical wiring in your home generate.
· RF (radio frequency), which your cell phone, laptop, Bluetooth devices, and WiFi router use.
· Microwaves, as used by your microwave oven.
· Visible light from the sun and light bulbs.
· Ultraviolet, again from the sun.
· And finally, X-rays and gamma rays.
These EMFs are divided into two sections — ionizing and non-ionizing.
Ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays come under the ionizing category because they operate on an extremely high frequency. These rays are so powerful that if you expose your body to them for even a short time, they can burn your skin and cause significant internal damage. This is also why X-ray technicians wear a lead jacket and move further away from the machine before pressing the button. We’ll talk about radiation shielding in the later sections of this post.
All other radiation types come under the non-ionizing category of the EM spectrum. When you hear someone say EMF in the news or the internet, they’re referring to the non-ionizing type most of the time. And that’s what we’re talking about in this post as well. These EMFs operate on lower frequencies which means that they’re significantly weaker than ionizing radiation and don’t do as much visible damage.
Now, if you look at the electromagnetic spectrum from afar, the difference seems simple. Ionizing radiation, harmful; non-ionizing radiation, not so harmful. And this is also what tech companies tell you when selling their product.
But, if you dive deeper into the subject, you’ll find that that’s an oversimplification of the facts. And non-ionizing EMF is not nearly as safe as what the tech industry portrays it to be.
Why is EMF Unsafe for Your Health?
Thousands of high-quality, peer-reviewed scientific studies link EMF exposure to health effects, ranging from cancer and infertility to sleep disruption and blood-brain barrier leakage.
Before the light bulb and electrical grid’s invention, humans only dealt with earth’s natural EMF sources like the earth’s magnetic field, sun, and lightning strikes. And we have evolved to deal with these EMFs efficiently.
Lightning strikes are not long-lasting, you can deal with the sun’s radiation with sunscreen and shade, and the earth’s magnetic field is so weak– and all life on earth has spent billions of years evolving alongside it– that it doesn't do any damage to your body.
Fun fact: evolution has shaped our bodies to actually benefit from the earth’s magnetic field. You can access that benefit through grounding.
Human-made EMF, on the other hand, is present in a dense amount in our environment. And there’s isn’t much you can do to reduce it. Also, since it’s relatively new on the evolutionary scale– it was essentially non-existent until the late 19th century and was still orders of magnitude lower than it is today when our parents were children– our bodies haven’t built adequate defenses against it. This is why we’re vulnerable to its health risks.
According to the BioInitiative Report, a wide range of adverse health effects can occur in a matter of minutes when we’re exposed to EMF from cell towers, cell phones, WiFi, and smart meters.
The Solution
The health risks of EMF are beyond debate, and there are tons of EMF sources that aren’t in your control. But that doesn’t mean you have to give up technology and live someplace with no electricity. What you need to do is to focus on solutions that will reduce your EMF exposure and make technology a bit safer for you to use.
But I want to make it clear that these solutions take effort. And you must be willing to make it because a little effort on your end makes a big difference.
The Best EMF Protection
We need tech; it’s a significant part of our lives. And tech needs EMF to operate, which means completely eliminating EMF is out of the question. So instead of focusing on that, you should focus on lowering your EMF exposure from the sources you can control like cell phones, laptops, smart meters, and WiFi routers.
Doing this is free. You won’t have to spend a single penny to reduce your EMF exposure to a level where it’s safer for you to use your gadgets. You just have to minimize your tech use and maximize your distance from EMF sources.
If you take away only one thing from this post, let it be this tip. If you implement this in your daily life, you can dramatically reduce your EMF exposure.
Minimize Use
Millions of people are on their gadgets for a huge chunk of their day doing things that make no real change in their lives. Scrolling social media endlessly and mindlessly, binging media content for hours, and keeping devices turned on even when they’re not in use are considered normal behaviors in our society.
And I certainly don’t blame the users of these gadgets for this kind of behavior. Modern tech gadgets and entertainment services are designed in a way to capture your attention for a significant amount of time.
But you CAN break free from their tactics if you wish.
You just have to remind yourself that minimizing your tech use will reduce your EMF exposure exponentially, reducing your risk of developing EMF-induced health problems.
Here are some things that you can do:
· Limit the time you spend on social media and similar apps/websites
· Keep a cap on the number of shows you watch on video platforms
· Turn your phone off when not in use, or at least put it on airplane mode
· Switch off your WiFi router at night or when not in use
· Keep gadgets out of your bedroom
· Stop buying tech gadgets that you don’t need
Maximize Distance
When it comes to EMF protection, distance is your dear friend. This is because the power of EMF reduces exponentially with distance, and the further you are from the EMF source, the safer you’ll be.
Experts say that if you move even an inch away from the EMF source, there’ll be at least a 70% reduction in the strength of EMF coming towards you.
This is also why the iPhone 4 manual says, “When using iPhone near your body for voice calls or for wireless data transmission over a cellular network, keep iPhone at least 15 mm (5/8 inch) away from the body, and only use carrying cases, belt clips, or holders that do not have metal parts and that maintain at least 15 mm (5/8 inch) separation between iPhone and the body.”
Here’s what you can do to maximize your distance from EMF sources:
· Don’t carry your phone in your pocket; use a bag or a belt clip
· Use your laptop on a desk instead of your lap
· Instead of holding your phone to your ear while on calls, use loudspeaker or a wired headset
· Avoid using Bluetooth headsets; instead, use their wired alternatives
· Keep your phone as far away as you can from your bed at night
· Keep your WiFi router at least 5 meters away from the area where you spend the most time. If that’s not an option, hardwire it.
You can also use EMF shielding products that are lab-tested and have verifiable claims.
I also want to underline that EMF shielding products are there to enhance your EMF-reducing efforts. You still have to change your habits when it comes to using EMF-emitting gadgets. So, buying an EMF shielding product won’t exempt you from the rule of minimizing your tech use and maximizing your distance.
The Concept of EMF Shielding
So far, we’ve talked about things that you can do to receive less EMF from its sources. But doing some of the things that help achieve these goals may not be possible for everyone. Keeping your cell phone turned on 24/7, carrying it in your pocket, or using a laptop on your lap — these things can be a necessity for many people. If that’s your case, you need additional help to ensure that your EMF exposure remains as low as possible.
This is where EMF shielding products come into the scene. They make sure that your EMF exposure remains at a level where it’s safer for you to use and carry your gadgets.
The concept of EMF shielding dates back to almost 200 years ago when English scientist Michael Faraday created his first Faraday Cage. This concept is commonly used in power plants or other highly charged environments, Airplanes, microwave ovens, buildings, and even electronic gadgets.
The idea is simple: create a mesh shield of electrically conductive materials like silver and copper and place that shield between the EMF (or electrical) source and the thing you’re trying to protect from its impact. This mesh shield deflects EMF radiation in the opposite direction, keeping whatever’s on the other side safe.
EMF shielding products (like the ones SYB makes and sells) use the same scientific concept to protect your body from your devices’ EMF emissions.
But, be warned that there are many products in the market claiming to neutralize or shield EMF without any scientific explanation or verifiable testing data. So choose wisely.
How to Decipher EMF Shielding Products Claims?
Before buying any EMF shielding product, the first question you need to ask is, “What does this product do?”. I know the answer seems obvious that it protects you from EMF. But “protects from EMF” is a broad term and doesn’t define how.
· Does it shield and deflect EMF?
· Does it neutralize it?
· Or does it claim to repair any damages caused by EMF on your body?
If the answer is yes to any of these questions, you may proceed to ask, how does it do that?
If their answers make sense, then move to the next one. Are there testing data on this product’s efficacy? And, can I reproduce these claims at home?
Once you’re satisfied with all the answers, go ahead and hit the purchase button.
EMF shielding is an unregulated market, due to which many companies get by just saying that their product works. They don’t have any reasonable explanations, and their sales are based on their buyers’ trust in what the manufacturer knows.
And it shouldn’t be that way. You’re spending your hard-earned money, and you have the right to know what you’re buying.
However, feel free to make an exception to this rule if someone you trust, like a close friend or a family member, tells you that a certain product works for them, and you must try it. There are many products in the market that don’t have scientific validity, but they work for their users.
Final Thoughts
You can’t eliminate EMF from your life. Doing that would mean going back to the 1850s, before the invention of the light bulb. And that’s neither convenient nor in human nature.
So, instead of trying to remove EMF from your life, focus on mitigating your exposure to it. And for that, you need to educate yourself on the subject.
Over the next two months, I will be posting many EMF-related posts here on my Medium account. These posts will be informative and will include actionable solutions that you can implement in your life right away and ensure better health and wellbeing.
If you want to be a part of this journey, be sure to follow my page. It’s just a click but a huge step towards a safer, healthier life.
