5 Tips to Keep Your Cell Phone from Killing You: Save a Little Energy and, Oh Yes, Your Brain

By Susan Seliger

Will your cell phone really do you in? The evidence is not all in. The well-respected Swedish National Institute for Working Life reported (in the largest study on the issue) that they may cause brain tumors. But the Dutch Health Council reviewed international research and found no such links as did a study published in the British Medical Journal.

Still….brain tumors?!? Why mess around? Especially for phone calls that consist largely of shouting, “Can you hear me now?”

So here are 5 things you can do right now that definitely won’t hurt you and might just keep that little brainpan of yours safe from killer cell-phone radiation (no promises regarding the Loch Ness monster and space aliens).

1. Put your phone on speaker – and keep it away from that cute little ear (because the earbone (am I getting too clinical here?) as you know, if you had any singing ability, is connected to the brainbone.) But make sure you go outside because the rest of us do not want to listen to your lame excuses for why you’re running late.

2. Use the Bluetooth earpieces – that’s even safer than speaker phone. Who cares if people think you’re talking to yourself as you walk along the street – if they think you’re crazy, maybe they’ll keep their distance.

3. Make fewer calls and keep them short – so you can save energy, too. Maybe then you’ll only have tiny tumors.

4. Text instead – and practice doing it at full arm’s length. Holding your arms out in front of you while texting is a neat isometric exercise and will build muscles at the same time – all right, very little muscles, but still…

5. Check your phone’s SAR Rating — Next time you buy a phone (if you last that long – just kidding) choose one with a low SAR rating. Honestly I do not know what that means – OK, Specific Absorption Rate. But really can manufacturers actually measure how much radiation your body will absorb? Do they know how thick (or thin) your skin is? Anyway, all you need to know is BUY LOW.

Which, in the current economy, is not a bad philosophy for the rest of your life as well.

FOR MORE INFO TO SAVE YOUR LITTLE BRAIN:

* Check CNet for a list of the 10 phones with the lowest SAR rating.

* University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute – on the potential dangers

* And if you want some more tips, check out The Consumerist which may or may not have some serious advice – I leave that up to you.

Illustration credit:

mooreslore.corante.com/…/computer_interfaces/