The Smart Guide For Your Smartphone

Tips for a healthy relationship with your smartphone. Privacy, Safety and Happiness

1. Maintain a smart distance from your smart phone.

We love them, yes we do, but think of your Special Digital Friend as something you need to keep at a distance. Literally. Why?  Radiation exposure drops significantly as you move it away from your body. By orders of magnitude. Scientists say that 20 cm, about 8 inches, is as close as you should get. So be super smart with that smartphone. To that end, please do not talk with your phone pressed up against your head. EVER. Even the iPhone manual (have you read yours?) says to keep the phone away from your head. Science have proven that wireless radiation has biological effects, so let’s be safe. WiFi and Blue Tooth off means your phone isn’t working and sending out extra RF radiation

2. Be THAT Person.

Go ahead-use the speaker phone, even when perusing the aisles at Whole Foods :) If it’s a sensitive matter, you can employ a quality air tube headset. Special shielding and the actual tubes keep the EMF away from your head. Remember, arm’s length. 

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3 .Create a Healthy Habit

If you’re like most people, you’re letting that phone take a lot of your precious time. Obsession or (hopefully not) addiction- too much screen time is a major cause of brain fog. Studies show taking breaks and getting out in nature, meditating or learning a new skill can prevent digital demntia and brain fog. We love how these Mindfulness Art Kits insipre us to be creative and relax out minds. There's a Watercolor Kit, a Nature, Kit and an Artist Kit.

Other great mindfulness options are yoga, a forest bath, a beach walk or a adevice-free visit with some you care about.

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4. Better to text?

Ummm, maybe? Using voice command text, you can avoid contact with the device, but there’s those pesky privacy issues. It’s difficult to be arms distance with your finger on the screen. Total radiation is lower because you’re not generating a continuous back and forth signal, but for the ultimate in safe texting: Be Stylus-ish. When texting, use a stylusI love mine, it feels fancy and keeps my fingers 4 inches from the screen. Set the phone on a solid surface or use our CUTEST STAND, whip out one of these and everyone in Starbucks will be instantly intrigued.

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5. Watch your bars.

Doesn't matter if you're going old school Flip or Smartphone Hip- The fewer signal bars your phone is showing, the harder it is trying to connect with a cell tower. The radiation can double in some cases. So be aware. If you’ve only got a bar or two, it’s best to wait until you have clear and full signal. There are signal issues anytime your moving. Best not to use the cellphone.

6. Sleep sweeter.

Please don’t bring your phone to bed with you. Phones in the bedroom bring EMF exposure and blue light. Blue light can keep you awake and mess with your melatonin production. A recent survey showed that 71% of people who own a smartphone, sleep with it!   Here’s something else very sad:  35% of respondents said their first thought in the morning is about their smartphone; 10% said their partner(good answer!) The best practice is to leave your phone in another room and get an analog alarm clock.  And greet the day with thoughts of lovely things. If you feel you MUST have your phone close by, switch to airplane mode before you turn in.

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7. Choose the right case.

Try a cross body with a strap long enough to keep radiation away from your vital organs--at least 8 inches from your lower abs. I love to use a chain or a strap that allows my phone to dangle 8 inches off my wrist. Another idea --a faraday bag. You slip the phone in and poof—no EMF in or out. Our Tech Wellness pick now comes in fabulous vegan leather or black nylon, My husband loves his.

IMPORTANT, Tech Wellness has tested Anti-EMF and radiation filter cases and there is not one that completely blocks the radiation. Many we’ve tested actually magnify the power density levels of EMF. We have not yet found a shielded case we can recommend. The FCC and FTC both have warnings for so called cases with filters or shields.

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8. Focus and Be Fabulous

Did you know that scientific studies show that simply having your phone near you will decrease your productivity?  When your phone is out of site and out of mind you're actually smarter.   It's true! Cognitive function is compromised when your phone is distracting you from the task or delicious moment at hand.

The Solution: Place phone in a bag, drawer or other safe place in another room. Then you can be smart, focused and fabulous.

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9. Protect your privacy.

Stay away from public phone charging stations and public WiFi. Both can be major privacy stealers. Public charging stations can suck your information while your charging up. And public WiFi requires no authentication to establish a network connection. This creates an amazing opportunity for a hacker to get total access to an unsecured smartphone on the same network. Best Travel Bet: Get a VPN or virtual private network. The biggest threat to free WiFi security is the ability for the hacker to position himself between you and the connection point. So instead of talking directly with the hotspot, you're sending your information to the hacker, who then relays it on.

10. Just say no to location services.

Last year, we downloaded a collective 197 BILLION APPS!  (I’m convinced my husband has most of those.) Chances are, of the dozens of apps on your phone, the majority are reaching out on the internet to update themselves, to share your location, to stalk you, etc. Take a minute, go through your settings and turn that permission OFF. You can also turn off the apps quite easily too. Imagine the peace you’ll feel.

11. Who wore it worse?

Please, NEVER store your phone in your bra (yikes), pocket, coat,  shirt, socks, or anywhere in close proximity to your precious body. There are current studies that demonstrate that exposure to the wireless energy your phone is putting out causes lower sperm rates and higher miscarriage rates. So please be careful. If you do need to carry or pocket your device at the very least, choose airplane mode.

12. Be stealth.

Did you know that there’s a very good possibility that when you walk into the room e v e r y o n e knows your name. If you’ve got your BlueTooth enabled, for airdrop or another app, THE NAME OF YOUR PHONE is visible to anyone who’s looking. Turn it off OR Change your phone’s name. We’ve got step by step to stealth here.

13. Keep your phones and texts spy free.

It’s easy, fun and stealth with the Signal app that uses end to end encryption. That means messages don’t live on servers, so they are not readable to eavesdroppers. Guess what lots of tech savvy people all over the world are using? Signal, an encrypted communications app for Android and iOS. You’ll have to get your tribe on board of course, because you can only text and call people who are also using Signal. It’s great for family texts, great for business, and I’m really enjoying it because it’s pretty too!

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14. Beat the blues.

Digital Blue light can cause eyesight issues and can interrupt your body’s natural wakefulness and sleep cycle. Scientists have shown that blue light exposure in the evening hours disrupts circadian rhythms and can actually effect metabolism. So, use protective computer glasses or orange glasses in the evening and nighttime hours. For optimal melatonin production, the National Sleep Foundation Recommends powering down all devices 2 hours before bed.

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15. You're the boss of your phone

When it comes to wireless energy exposure, your privacy and how much you use your phone, remember it is not the boss of you. If you’re distracted by notifications, turn them off. Try unplugging certain times of the day and begin to feel that power. A phone free dinner, a no-phone zone in your home, maybe even no to certain apps or games. We have fun screen savers to download here,  #techwellness tribe ladies.

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