Is Your Laptop Making You Sick?
Many people use their laptop with it resting on their knees. Of course, why not! It’s designed for that. Yet an article by Joseph Mercola, MD, may put a stop to that practice: “Warning: Why You Should Avoid Using Your Laptop as Recommended”
Dr. Mercola measured EMF exposures from his laptop and makes a strong case for keeping a distance between the laptop and the body. He also says it’s better to use this style of computer when powered by battery rather than while plugged in. In fact, it’s his practice to use a separate keyboard for additional safety.
Dr. Mercola’s site provides the “story at a glance” summary below, but the full article is valuable.
- Use caution with any laptop use, especially if you’re a pregnant woman, and if you choose to use it on your lap, only do so with a lap pad or cushion that is about one foot thick
- You may be able to lessen EMF exposure during laptop use by using an external keyboard (as even typing on your laptop may expose you to high EMFs) and only using it while it’s battery-powered, not while plugged in, as the power supply from a laptop induces strong electric current densities
- Separate research has also shown that laptops may be harmful to sperm, with samples exposed to a wireless internet-connected laptop showing a significant decrease in sperm motility and an increase in sperm DNA fragmentation
- Researchers concluded your lap is an “improper site” for use of a laptop computer, and suggested the devices be renamed so as not to “induce customers towards an improper use”
- Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) produced by five commonly used laptops of different brands were found to be “considerably higher” than the values recommended by two recent guidelines for computer monitors magnetic field emissions
- New research shows spending long hours with a laptop on your lap — the use for which it is intended — is likely harmful
