With the roll out of 5G promising faster internet speeds and smart devices, our increasingly technological world offers us convenience and connection, but does this come with a high price?
We always take an evidence-based approach and aim to provide you with actionable knowledge and tips to help you on your journey to optimal health; in this article we’ll look at how technology may affect your health.
Connectivity
It’s almost impossible to imagine a life before connectivity, but technological advances in this field are relatively recent.
A version of the internet for sending messages was launched in the 1960s, yet it was only as recently as 1991 that the world wide web was launched.
The first mobile phone signals introduced were called 1G, and operated on an analogue signal, followed by the digital 2G in the early 90s and 3G, launched in 2003.
The numbers simply refer to the generation – so 5G is fifth generation. Each new generation allows faster transmission of data than the one before.
The advent of 5G, we are told, will bring us far superior internet connectivity. We will theoretically be able to download a film one hundred times more quickly. It will also allow the messages required by the Internet of Things (IoT), which sounds like something from science fiction but refers to smart objects embedded with computing devices, such as cars, fridges and lights.
What is 5G?
The electromagnetic spectrum contains light, radio waves, x-rays, microwaves and so on.
Electromagnetic waves have different wavelengths. Low band, mid-band and millimetre waves are all found in different segments of the electromagnetic spectrum. Low band waves have longer wavelengths and can travel longer distances.
The shortest wavelengths are the millimetre waves – they literally have wavelengths which can be measured in millimetres. They’re also known as extremely high frequency waves.
Radio frequency wavebands, used to transmit Wi-Fi and 4G signals, are already pretty crowded so the idea is to use millimetre waves, a relatively untapped resource, for some 5G signals.
But as these rays can only travel short distances and they don’t penetrate well through buildings, 5G will need many more transmission devices installed close together – one suggestion is to have them installed on lamp posts. So, a lot more of these waves will be emitted and much closer to our homes.
Are radio frequency waves dangerous?
Radiation simply refers to the emission of energy, and all electromagnetic waves emit radiation, including radio frequency waves. This is termed radio frequency radiation.
We are taught energy cannot be created or destroyed, but can only be transferred or changed from one form to another. As living beings we naturally absorb energy from all around us. Electromagnetic waves are no exception.
We know very little about how we may be affected by the new wavelength frequencies or the planned increase in our exposure to them. However, 5G wavelengths are intended to be used in addition to 4G wavebands, and current 4G technology has been already linked to health effects.
Looking at the evidence
We haven’t been exposed to electromagnetic waves at their current levels, especially the shorter wavelength waves, for long enough to enable studies on their health effects over a lifetime. Safety data on this type of technology tends to assume a far lower exposure, as was historically usual ten or fifteen years ago, than the continuous exposure we have today.
Research is contradictory, with some studies funded by the telecommunications industry, but a body of evidence does exist which raises questions about the safety of radio frequency waves..
- Free radical damage
Electromagnetic radiation can cause cells to produce free radicals, and this is supported by the vast majority of scientific studies. If there are insufficient antioxidants available to neutralise these free radicals, they will damage the body’s cells.
Free radical damage is thought to contribute to cellular ageing, as well as chronic diseases including cancer. This is because free radicals are able to damage a cell’s DNA. It’s thought radio frequency waves are particularly prone to cause oxidative stress and DNA damage in brain cells (1).
The membranes of the body’s cells are known to be sensitive to electromagnetic radiation. Research suggests the production of free radicals by radio frequency waves may change the functioning of cell membranes, which could impair the ability of the cell to keep harmful substances out and allow beneficial ones in. This can adversely affect cell functioning.
One study exposed rats to radio frequency radiation for nine hours a day for two years, and found they developed brain and heart tumours as well as DNA damage to their cells. Other studies have noted a correlation between long term mobile phone use and brain tumours in humans (2).
The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organisation, has classified radio frequency radiation as a possible carcinogen.
- Electromagnetic radiation and bacteria
It’s possible electromagnetic rays may affect bacteria too. Some researchers believe bacteria may communicate with one another by using electromagnetic fields.
It’s been discovered millimetre waves affect many bacteria including E. coli, retarding their growth and altering their sensitivity to various chemicals including antibiotics, which may contribute to antibiotic resistance (3).
- Immune system effects
One study found the activity of certain white blood cells in the immune system of rats was reduced by 50% after only 20 minutes exposure per day to millimetre waves. The effect appeared within two to four hours of exposure and persisted for at least one day (4).
Electromagnetic hypersensitivity syndrome
Many anecdotal reports have been noted of people experiencing symptoms such as headaches, fatigue and even skin rashes when exposed to electromagnetic radiation. This has been called electromagnetic hypersensitivity syndrome (EHS), but little independent research has been carried out on this condition.
Experts disagree on whether EHS is a disease, but it is thought to affect susceptible people in a similar way to multiple chemical sensitivity.
However, some research has noted increases in stress, depression and anxiety, and decreases in sleep quality with exposure to low frequency electromagnetic radiation (5). This is thought to be because of changes in cell membrane function, causing alterations in the levels of brain neurotransmitters.
More questions than answers
All this research raises many questions and is especially worrying as children are now exposed to radio frequency waves from inside the womb and we can only guess the potential effects on their development, which will only become apparent over several generations.
Recently, over 250 scientists and doctors from 41 countries recommended a moratorium on the rollout of 5G until its potential health hazards, as well those of the current 4G technology, have been fully investigated by independent scientists (6).
However in the UK, 5G is already here. The first mobile network switched on 5G at the end of May. At present it’s available in 17 towns and cities with wide increases in coverage planned.
Can you reduce your exposure?
It’s impossible to avoid these radio frequency waves which surround us all, with mobile networks and Wi-Fi in the majority of public places. Some people are already living in fully connected smart homes and cars 24/7.
However you may wish to take sensible steps to reduce your exposure when you can:
- Don’t sleep with your mobile phone in your room. Switch it off at night. Don’t allow your child to sleep with their phone on their pillow.
- If you use your phone as an alarm, switch it to flight mode and leave it outside the bedroom.
- If you can, switch off Wi-Fi overnight.
- Ideally, ban computers from the bedroom or if this isn’t possible, switch them off completely at night – don’t leave them on standby.
- Never carry your mobile in trouser pockets or inside bras. Some studies have shown a link between mobile phone use and poor sperm quality in males, as well as reproductive cycle abnormalities in females (7).
- Avoid smart meters, which rely on electromagnetic radiation. One review of studies concluded sensitive people exhibited symptoms similar to those experienced in EHS such as headaches, insomnia, tinnitus and fatigue after installation of smart meters (8).
- Hesitate before you buy a new 5G phone or connect your home with smart devices. Ask yourself if you’d really benefit from the new technology.
- Make sure you are consuming plenty of plant-based foods containing a good range of antioxidants to neutralise free radicals. It’s best to eat a range of different coloured foods to ensure you’re consuming plenty of diverse antioxidants which all have various roles in the body.
- Treat yourself to a digital detox every now and then.
Summing up
The impact of lifestyle factors on wellbeing is at the heart of our philosophy here at Amchara.
If you are interested in how lifestyle choices can affect your health, a consultation with an Amchara Personalised Health practitioner will take a thorough look at your lifestyle and nutrition and suggest recommendations based on your health history and genetic inheritance, in order to help you achieve your health goals.
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