Attention Moms: Our homes, schools, and day-to-day lives are filled with invisible forces that may be impacting our families more than we realize. I’m talking about Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs) – the energy waves emitted by electronic devices like cell phones, Wi-Fi routers, and even baby monitors. You’ve likely heard about EMFs before, but do you know what they’re really doing to your family?
This isn’t about fear – it’s about awareness. The truth is, EMFs are everywhere. And while exposure is inevitable, there are steps we can take to mitigate our risk from their impact. Understanding their effects on our health, especially on our children’s developing bodies and brains, is critical. Let’s take a moment to break this down, so you can make the best decisions for your family.
What Are EMFs, and Why Should You Care?
EMFs are energy waves that surround all electronic devices. Overall, EMFs are nothing new. There are two types of EMFs: natural (like the sun’s radiation) and man-made (like the radiation from your cell phone or microwave). While natural EMFs are essential to life, the man-made EMFs we’re exposed to every day are raising serious concerns – especially for developing children, who are far more vulnerable than adults. And in recent years, our technology has been growing at an incredible rate. Studies on the effects of EMFs can’t keep up with the rapid changes, so it’s important to take precautions now to protect ourselves and our families at every stage.
Babies: Vulnerable Before Birth
What We Can Do About In Utero EMF Exposure
Watch the location of your electronic devices. Avoid placing laptops or phones near or on your abdomen, and turn your Wi-Fi router off at night to reduce exposure while you sleep.
Children: Tiny Bodies, Big Risk
Toddlers grow fast, but their thin skulls and developing brains make them especially vulnerable to the effects of EMFs. The constant presence of electronics like baby monitors, tablets, and Wi-Fi in the home could be contributing to sleep problems, attention deficits, and developmental delays.
Children’s bodies are uniquely vulnerable to EMFs. One reason is their open DNA, which means their cells are still rapidly growing and developing. This makes them more accessible to disruptions from external sources, such as radiation. They also have a higher percentage of soft tissue compared to adults, thinner skulls, and more fluid in their brains. Because of this, radiation can penetrate deeper and more extensively. Studies show that children can absorb over 10 times more radiation than adults because of their smaller size and developing bodies.
What We Can Do About Children’s EMF Exposure
Keep electronics out of their bedrooms, delay giving them access to phones and tablets, or avoid letting them use these devices for long periods. When using devices, teach them to keep the phone or tablet on the table or out in front of them, not directly in contact with their bodies.
Teens: Always Connected
Our teens are glued to their devices. From smartphones to gaming consoles, their exposure to EMFs is nearly constant. And with schools increasingly relying on Wi-Fi, they’re exposed even during the school day. But did you know that this could be affecting their focus, mood, and even their sleep?
Studies have linked excessive screen time with headaches, fatigue, anxiety, and behavioral problems in adolescents. And there isn’t just one reason for this – it’s all connected. Screen time, especially before bed, can cause sleep disruptions because both blue light and EMF exposure suppress the body’s production of melatonin. Poor sleep can lead to – and worsen – mental health troubles, focus, and mood. Not to mention, EMF exposure from using these devices can also lead to trouble with mental health, focus, and mood.
Screen time is addictive. The highly engaging, stimulating content can activate the dopamine reward system in the brain. It creates a dopamine feedback loop much like the one found in the brain of nicotine or cocaine users. Teens are especially at risk for screen time addiction because many are entering the world of social media, where feedback such as shares and likes trigger the brain’s reward center.
What We Can Do To Reduce Teen EMF Exposure
Encourage screen breaks and have teenagers turn off devices at night. Set limits on social media time, or try to delay social media in young teens. Reducing their exposure today could protect their health as they approach adulthood.
Reducing EMF Exposure for Your Family
Eliminating EMFs entirely isn’t realistic. Wi-Fi and 5g connectivity are everywhere, not just in the home. However, we can take action to reduce exposure for our families. Here’s how:
Turning Off Wi-Fi at Night
Wi-Fi is a constant source of EMF radiation. Unplugging it while you sleep is an easy way to reduce exposure. It also helps reinforce screen time limits by cutting off the connection to Wi-Fi devices after a certain time, keeping everyone accountable.
Create Device-Free Zones
This is a difficult change to implement, but many experts recommend keeping devices out of bedrooms, especially your children’s. This helps minimize exposure during sleep when their bodies need that rest to repair. Start small by setting a designated time for devices to be out of the bedroom, such as one hour before bedtime, then move that time up until screen-free bedrooms become the norm. Parents, this might sound tough, but maybe we should be implementing this for ourselves as well.
Ditch the Wi-Fi
Whenever possible, make the switch to wired devices and limit the number of wireless technologies in the home. Trade the wireless earbuds for the good old-fashioned corded ones, lose the smartwatch, and choose traditional appliances over “smart” appliances. After all, do we really need a screen on our refrigerators? Some EMF-conscious families are making the switch away from Wi-Fi altogether and opting for ethernet connection when available.
Limit Screen Time
Encourage your kids and teenagers to spend time outdoors, get involved in sports or clubs, or pursue some new hobbies and interests. Not only will this reduce EMF exposure, but it’s great for their overall mental and physical health.
Use EMF Protection
Products like Aires Tech’s Lifetune devices can help protect us from the harmful effects of EMFs by transforming these frequencies into a form compatible with our bodies. Their wearable devices provide an extra layer of protection wherever you go. They can also attach directly to phones, tablets, or other wireless devices, so it’s one less thing to worry about. Just take a look at what their devices do to improve your brain’s neuron activity, improving it from the chaotic to a normal, healthy operating brain. Just wow!
It’s Never Too Late to Take Action
EMFs aren’t going away, but they’re nothing to be afraid of. By taking a few simple steps, you can protect your family from unnecessary exposure. Encouraging a healthy relationship with technology early on will have a lasting impact on your family’s health.
Ready to make your home a safer, healthier place? Start with small, manageable steps such as setting screen time limits, unplugging the Wi-Fi at night, and incorporate EMF protection into your wellness toolbox!
