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4 Ways In Which Your Mobile Phone Is Breaking You Down

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2 years ago

July 3, 2022

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Face it, we are all addicted to our smartphones, statistics state that the average American spends well over three hours a day on the phone, but I believe that figure would go higher here in Nigeria.

Most people find themselves glued to their phones even when they eat, sleep and surprisingly when they use the bathrooms.

The Mini computer has changed our lives completely, improved communication, education, eliminates boredom, but with every advantage comes disadvantages and the mobile phone is not left out.

Here are 4 ways your mobile phone is harming your health

1. Your Posture

Turns out that back pain and neck pain can be as a result of using your mobile phone. Peering down at your phone while you text, read or surf the web puts an unnecessary strain on your spine. When standing upright, there is about 10 to 12c pounds of force (Quarter of a bag of Rice) placed on the cervical spine by the average head, and if you just tilt your head 15-degrees it doubles.

This extra stress the spine to lead to accelerated wear and tear on your spine and would be aging faster than your friends without even knowing it.

So, learn to balance your posture next time when using your phone.

2. You are going blind

Turns out that your best friend could be damaging your eyes and high-quality phones like iPhones and Samsung devices are not left out. The LED screens found in most of these devices can harm the retina – the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye (It is advisable for you to buy Phones with Eye Mode)

This may lead to eye problems and even partial blindness if you are addicted to your phone and use it for longer periods in the day and at night just like I do.

The damage starts when the photoreceptors – types of neuron found in the retina that convert light into information – begin to die out due to the prolonged saturation of blue light.

This puts a strain on other parts of the eye, leading to increased levels of inflammation, discomfort, and pain.

Most people especially gamers are at risk of rendering their eyes useless in a not too distant future because they spend more time on their phones with the brightness level beyond 30%.

Beyond 30% is when you start subjecting your eyes to all that intense light that will definitely damage your eyes in time to come.

I normally spend a lot of time on my phone and laptop (it is an inseparable part of my life) and I noticed that after spending long periods viewing my phone or laptop screen my eyesight seem somewhat blurry whenever I look up. This are the signs you should always look out for.

3. It’s making you age faster

Well not literally, but if you keep losing sleep over your phone then you wouldn’t just increase your health risks for long-term health conditions, including cancer, heart diseases, diabetes, and obesity, you would also age faster and look much older than your friends (that’s if they are not insomniacs too).

According to research, the blue-violet light that comes from the smartphone will ultimately wreak havoc on your sleep.

The body’s sleep patterns are influenced in part by the hormone melatonin. The amount of melatonin your body makes and when it makes it is influenced by the light we expose ourselves too late into the evening.

So if you go to bed with your smartphone in hand, chatting away don’t be surprised you find it hard to fall asleep or sleep really late into the night.

Getting quality sleep is so important that without it, a healthy life is not guaranteed. Try dropping your phone an hour before bed and doing something else.

4. It Can Make You Go Deaf

Smartphones have brought music much closer to us and most people like me love to listen to music on their smartphones at any given opportunity. The problem is turning up the volume too high. The loud noises will damage the tiny hairs in the inner ear. Exposing these hairs to loud noises, while damage their ability to pick up sounds vibrations and result in hearing loss over time.

You could also get tinnitus along with the loss of hearing. It is recommended you use quality headphones (not earpiece) and avoid turning up the volume at all costs.