What You Need to Know About EMF Protection

Most people are already aware that spending too much time with our devices is bad news… from blue light health issues to social media addiction. But it doesn’t stop there. Mobile devices – as well as all sorts of electronic technology and the Wi-Fi enabling them – create something called EMF… and it’s really serious.

So much so that EMF protection needs to be included in your overall health and wellness goals.

What does EMF mean? EMF stands for electromagnetic field. I know, it sounds like an old episode of Star Trek. But it’s not some outdated sci-fi plot line. It’s a real thing, and it’s harming your health.

In this article, I’m going to take this invisible scientific phenomenon and break it down into easy-to-understand morsels. And I won’t leave you with all the bad news. Together, we are going to discover the many EMF protection steps you can take to keep you and your family safe.

What Is EMF?

Everybody’s first question is always: what is EMF?

An electromagnetic field, sometimes called radiation, is physical, even though our eyes cannot see it and our ears cannot hear it. It occurs when an electric field and a magnetic field are perpendicular to each other.

EMF is created from electrically charged objects – like the sun, like you, like your cell phone.

EMF frequencies are on a spectrum.

• On the left side, you have long waves with short frequencies. An example would be an electrical outlet.
• On the right side, you have short waves with high frequency. An example would be an x-ray.

Types Of EMF

EMF can be boiled down to two main types: natural and human-made.

Natural EMF

Think about the phenomenon of a compass always pointing north. This is due to magnetic fields all around us. Thunderstorms produce electric charges. The sun produces EMFs and so do our bodies. These are considered to be “low intensity” EMFs.

Human-Made EMF

“Artificial” electromagnetic fields include electricity in power sockets, TV antennas, radio, cell phones, infrared saunas, Wi-Fi, x-rays, and microwaves – anything that wasn’t already around in nature before humans showed up. These are considered more intense, and they’re what we will focus on with our EMF protection steps.

Why Does EMF Cause Issues?

Your body is an electromagnetic system. Think about it. When somebody is flatlining, what do doctors do? They shock the heart! Our nervous system, mitochondria, and liver enzymes are electric too – and doctors can trace magnetic fields that run from your heart to your brain.

Since electromagnetic fields affect any object that’s charged, humans are affected too. EMF enters, circulates, and interferes with our own energy.

This means our electrical systems – say nerves, for example – are getting disrupted by EMF constantly.

 

And keep this in mind: when we compare our body’s natural EMFs to human-made EMFs, our bodies are extremely weak. That’s why we are so susceptible to damage from those more aggressive human-made EMFs.

Now combine this information with the fact that we are in the wireless tech age: 95% of Americans own a cellphone and about 77% own a smartphone. 80% have computers, about half own a tablet, and 20% have an e-reader.

This isn’t including wireless printers and baby monitors and on and on the list goes.

Sure, throughout history humans have always been exposed to electromagnetic fields, but our technology is exposing us to EMF like we haven’t experienced before. And it comes with consequences. The need for EMF protection is at an all-time high.

Health Problems Associated With EMF

When we are exposed to chronic levels of even low frequency EMF, we can start experiencing health problems like the following:

• Insomnia
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Brain Fog
• Dizziness/Vertigo
• Frequent Illness
• Adrenal Fatigue
• Hormone Imbalance
• Lowered libido
• Nausea
• Inflammation
• Infertility/lowered sperm quality
• Cancer (or increased risk of cancer)

Don’t think you need to be on your smartphone at all hours of the day for EMF to have an effect. One study in rats exposed them to an “active” cell phone for only 1 hour each day. They repeated this process for 4 weeks. Not only did their oxidative stress go up, but their sperm motility also decreased.

EMF Affects Children More

While all people can be harmed by EMF, there’s one group in desperate need of more EMF protection: kids. And here’s why.

Children actually absorb more of the EMF radiation than adults.

• Their skin is thinner
• Their bones are thinner
• Their tissues have more water

Think about our cultural habits. We give babies and toddlers cell phones to keep their attention while we get things done. We give older kids tablets or phones to play video games, read books, and watch TV. In fact, kids between the ages of 8 and 12 are spending approximately six hours a day consuming media. (For teens, it’s 9 hours a day!)

The Effects of EMF on Pregnancy

It should come as no surprise that negative effects of EMF would also result in issues during pregnancy. The need for EMP protection is high during this time.

Studies on animals have directly shown that EMF can harm the growth of the baby’s:

• Kidneys
• Bones
• Vascular system
• (And possibly) Nerve cells

As the unborn baby grows, exposure increases. Why? Proximity. It’s now pushing on the belly and getting closer to any EMF his or her mother is near.

How to Reduce EMF Exposure

Now let’s focus on what we can do about it: EMF protection. There are 3 main ways to reduce exposure. I’m going to run through them quickly. Then our next section will offer practical ways to make EMF protection a reality in your life.

Option #1: Get Rid of It

In an ideal EMF-danger-free world, EMF protection could look like tossing out your smartphone, saying goodbye to Wi-Fi, and going back to pen and paper. But we don’t live in that world. Many of us rely on smartphones, laptops, and other wireless technologies to make our daily lives function. So I fully understand that this option seems absolutely impossible – and for most of us, that’s largely true.

Option #2: Reduce It

Just because you sometimes need to use your smartphone, Wi-Fi, or laptop does not mean you always need them. One of the best EMF protection steps we can take is to reduce the amount of time we have them in our presence. Or, if you cannot necessarily reduce the time, you can increase the distance. A laptop on your lap will cause far more issues than a laptop on a table.

Option #3: Cover It

When you can’t get rid of the source, and can’t reduce your time on the source, you can try EMF shielding. This is when you use EMF protection devices to shield yourself from exposure.

10 Practical Ways to Protect Yourself (and Family) Against EMF

To help you eliminate and reduce your exposure (options #1 and #2 above), I’m here with some practical EMF protection steps. You can start most of them today.

1. Turn Off Wi-Fi At Night

There are many times throughout the day that you need Wi-Fi, but you never need it while you’re sleeping. Turning it off provides EMF protection by greatly reducing this main source for at least 7 or 8 hours a day. If you want, you can use a Super-Feeder like the ETU-63A to automatically turn off your wi-fi when you are sleeping. That’s what we use and it’s nice to know that we’re not being exposed to EMF while we sleep.

2. Keep Your Phone 1 Foot Away

If you keep your phone at least 1 foot away from you at all times, you are significantly lowering your EMF exposure.

Place it on the other side of your desk, and don’t sleep with it right next to your head. In fact, I highly recommend removing your phone from the bedroom entirely when you go to bed at night.

If you use your phone as your alarm clock,  invest in an alarm clock that doesn’t emit tons of blue light while you’re sleeping and get your phone out of your room. It’s better for your health and mentality so that you’re not checking email or social media right before bed or first thing in the morning.  

If you simply can’t remove your phone from your bedside, at least turn it off or on airplane mode while you are sleeping.

3. Use the Speaker Function  

When I’m getting some work done in my home office and somebody calls, I simply put in on speaker and set it at least 1 foot away from my body. I also do this while getting ready in the morning or chopping veggies for dinner. That way I’m not putting it right up to my head.

4. Switch to 3G

We don’t always need that super fast 4G/LTE data connection on our phones or tablets. 3G is often fine for browsing the internet or Facebook. 3G vs. 4G can be an EMF protection difference of about 84%. If you need to stream a YouTube video or do a video chat, just switch to 4G for that time.

5. Find your Smart Meter

Outside your house is most likely a wireless meter that reads how much electricity you are using. It’s a significant EMF source. Figure out what room it’s attached to. If it is near a place where your family spends a lot of time (bedroom vs. a garage, for example) you can ask for a wired meter.

6. Unplug Appliances

When you’re not using something, just unplug it. This includes turning off things like wireless printers too. Not only will you bring down your EMF exposure, but you’ll also bring down your electricity bill.

7. Choose A Baby Monitor with a Wire

Time for baby EMF protection! As we already know, our little ones absorb more EMF, so don’t leave a wireless baby monitor right next to them all night.

Find one that uses a cord, or choose one that is quality enough to set far away. This is a great option as well.

8. Use Downloaded Games and Media

There are lots of phone/tablet games for adults and kids that can be used without internet. Download a few, so you can occupy time while keeping your phone on airplane mode. This is one reason why I download podcast episodes instead of streaming them.

9. Check Out Your Computer Charger

A 3-pronged computer charger is considered “grounded”- which means it does not emit the same amount of EMF like 2-pronged computer chargers will. Buy a new charger or buy a USB “ground cord” for EMF protection.

10. Avoid (or Limit) Bluetooth Technology

Bluetooth uses microwave radiation and while it is convenient, it may also come at a cost. There’s not a lot of research on bluetooth technology and even though some sources say that it’s safe it’s still debatable. The levels that are thought to be safe may not actually be safe at all. To err on the side of caution, we hardwire our devices to avoid using bluetooth (and even Wi-Fi).

Purchasing EMF Shielding Items

After taking these steps to reduce or get rid of EMF exposure, you can also consider EMF protection tools (option #3).

EMF shielding is never going to be as advantageous as avoiding the overbearing human-made electromagnetic fields in the first place, but this is a good option for those who need these devices frequently and want to give their bodies an extra helping hand.

Think of these EMF shielding products like taking supplements to support a healthy diet. You can’t eat junk food and expect your vitamin D pill to cure all. Same for EMF protection devices.

Here’s a rundown of some of the most popular options.

EMF Protection Devices

Products like the Defender Pad can be purchased to use between a laptop and your lap. You can also find options that you can put on your phone to limit the EMF while speaking with it up to your face.  

EMF Shielding Fabric

For those who are ultrasensitive to the effects of EMF, or for those who know they are constantly surrounded by human-made EMF sources, there are EMF shielding fabric options. This is available in anything from hats and pants to sheets you can place along your wall to block things like Smart Meters.

You can also get covers that go across a pregnant belly for EMF protection. This is what Erica used during all of her pregnancies. She even used an EMF protecting band over her belly when we traveled to reduce radiation exposure in the airport. Anytime you’re pregnant and using an EMF emitting device, using an EMF shielding fabric is highly beneficial and helps to protect the baby.

EMF Protection Jewelry

There are different items – particularly orgonite that are believed to harmonize all that EMF energy to minimize its effect on your body. Now some companies are even marketing these products in custom-designed phone cases.

EMF Protection Filters

Dirty electricity in the home is a big source of EMF. We just built a new house and even though we made special requests for the electrical work to avoid as much electropollution as possible, we still had pockets of exposure.

EMF filters are one device that we used to reduce our exposure to electropollution. We used Stetzerizer filters and an EMF detector to determine where the back pockets of EMF were an reduce the exposure with the filter.

Grounding for EMP Protection

Grounding is another step often recommend for EMP protection.

When you think of grounding, think of the literal ground. The idea is touching the ground can help reduce all the charge you have built up through EMF exposure.

There are grounding sleep mats that can help you ground when you sleep. But an easy step for everyone is to simply take a walk outside barefoot. You can also find grounding shoes that allow you to soak up some of those same benefits when it’s too cold to go without shoes.

Should You Get an EMF Detector?

Some people accept that EMFs are part of their life, take EMF protection steps, and call it good enough. Other people really want to know how much intensity EMF sources are giving off in their homes. For the latter, an EMF detector may be an option.

Using an EMF detector sometimes gets a bad rap because they are often used for hunting paranormal activity. But what they’re really designed to do is make sure your house is well under the safe limits of EMF.

EMF meters will search for:

• Magnetic fields
• Electric fields
• Radio frequencies
• Voltage spikes of harmonic frequencies

There are different levels of EMF detector quality.

• Best: Professional building biologists or an expert in EMF can come to your home with their professional EMF meters. If you are deeply worried that EMF may be negatively affecting your health, this may be an investment to consider for EMF protection
• Good: You can also find a less-professional EMF meter on sites like Amazon that will not give you the most accurate results, but may give you an idea if there is higher EMF in one room vs. another

Will an EMF detector app really work?

You may notice an EMF detector app on your phone’s app store. There’s not a lot of well-documented research showing if these work or not, but we know typically only high dollar professional EMF detector options get the most genuine results. So the EMF app? Likely not.

3 Common EMF Protection Questions Answered

Before we completely jump off the topic of EMF protection, let me answer a few common questions:

Is Living Near Powerlines a Problem?

Powerlines are a source of EMF, but they are considerably lower frequency than something like Wi-Fi. Powerlines have about 50 – 60 Hz, where your mobile phone has 1.9 – 2.2 GHz and Wi-Fi can have up to 5.8 GHz.

It has been hotly debated whether living near power lines actually causes harm. One study linked leukemia in Swedish children with records of nearby high voltage power lines. But other studies have shown childhood leukemia was not affected.

If you are living near power lines and feel concerned, you could opt for an EMF detector service. But moving may be your only option to change that exposure. The “good” news: starting with Wi-Fi and cell phones for EMF protection may be more helpful anyway since they can be more powerful.

Is Bluetooth Bad for You?

We address this in #10 above. The radiation from Bluetooth specifically has not been investigated nearly enough. But without a doubt, they produce radiation as well. If you are trying to limit EMF, using a Bluetooth device may not be your best bet.

Is There a Low EMF Hair Dryer?

There is a low EMF hair dryer – quite a few in fact! Many brands will label their products as “low-EMF.” This is an easy product to switch out!

Is There a Low EMF Infrared Sauna?

Absolutely – and choosing a low EMF infrared sauna is the only true way to absorb the many benefits of this health tool.

Making EMF Protection a Priority

EMF may be a reality in each of our days – but EMF protection can be just as much of a reality. Our health is worth taking these steps to limit our exposure.

What steps have you taken to reduce EMF in your home? Have you noticed any differences – like sleeping better or having fewer headaches? Any EMF protection tips you are going to start today? Share your experience in the comments below!

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