The Risks of Texting While Driving

Find out the risks of texting while driving as the research said about the human brain. You should know the facts for you to be aware of the risks of texting while driving. As it is said "Text at your Own Risk". Be informed. Save life.

Texting is the new way to communicate. Recent research from Nielsen indicates that people under age 45 now send and receive three times more text messages than calls on their cell phones. And thanks to hot toys like the iPhone, 75 billion tiny messages a month light up tiny screens across America. We're also texting multitaskers: A recent survey found that 77 percent of respondents said they've texted or sent mobile e-mail while driving; 41 percent while skiing, horseback riding, or biking; 11 percent during a romantic interlude; and 16 percent while at a funeral.

"The human brain isn't equipped to concentrate on two things simultaneously," says neuroscientist Ren� Marois, PhD, associate professor of psychology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. In brain scan studies, Marois found that the prefrontal cortex lights up for a longer time in people performing two mental tasks at the same time. This illustrates how the brain slows down reaction time.

"Despite employing 100 billion neurons to process information at rates as high as 1,000 times a second," Marois says, "the human brain has a crippling inability to do two tasks at once." Small wonder that the American College of Emergency Physicians reports a rise in texting-related emergency room visits. A new British study has found that texting while driving slows reaction time more than being drunk or high. The results can be deadly, as with the California train wreck in September that involved a texting engineer.

Social experts also warn about an eerie disconnect when we're out with our BFFs while texting friends, family, and the office. "There is a certain degree of 'absent presence' associated with the use of mobile phones and other personal media in the presence of others," notes researcher Scott Campbell, PhD, assistant professor of communication studies at the University of Michigan. "People disengage, or pay more attention to the person on the phone than to the people who are physically present."

Source:http://www.oprah.com/health/The-Risks-of-Texting-While-Driving-Multitaskers-Beware

Don't Wear Wireless Headsets As If They Were Jewelry

Earpieces don't emit as much radiation as a phone, but they release some—even after your call ends. Remove the device between conversations.

-Mehmet Oz, MD.

Don't Chat with a Poor Signal

The harder your phone has to work to get reception, the more radiation it emits. This is the reason you should avoid using so-called radiation shields (the shiny stickers that claim to block radiation); they actually force the phone to transmit at a higher power.

-Mehmet Oz, MD.

Stop Talking While Driving

In addition to creating a potentially deadly distraction, using your phone in the car forces your cell signal to jump between wireless towers. Since RF is highest when a connection with a tower is first established, talking while traveling can increase exposure.

-Mehmet Oz, MD.

Limit Children's Use of Cell Phones

Kids have a thinner skull, and their brains are still developing—which may make them more vulnerable to any potential harmful effects of RF radiation.

-Mehmet Oz, MD.

Keep Your Phone Out of Your Pocket

A study published last year in the Journal of Craniofacial Surgery linked cell phone radiation to decreased bone density in the pelvis, and a 2008 study conducted by the Cleveland Clinic found that it lowers fertility in men.

-Mehmet Oz, MD.

Use a Headset or Speakerphone

No reliable data exist on the upper limit of safe talk time, but corded headsets can reduce any potential risk. These emit much less RF energy, and allow you to move the phone away from your body. One study shows that using a headset lowers radiation exposure eightfold.

-Mehmet Oz, MD.

How to Avoid Cell Phone Dangers

This article you should not miss. Research said that radiofrequency (RF) energy increases the risk of brain cell damage leading to tumors.  They found a link of the use of handheld phones to brain tumors, although a much more conclusive evidence s needed. But still the fact remains that Cell phones expose us to radiofrequency (RF) energy.

I got my first wireless handheld in 1990. It was as big and clunky as a brick, but the mobility it offered made it indispensable. There are now more than 270 million cell phone subscribers in America, and on average we spend about 11 hours a month with the gadgets glued to our heads. But as we've become more reliant on cell phones, experts have grown concerned about the health implications of heavy exposure—specifically, the radiation that the devices emit.

Cell phones expose us to a form of electromagnetic radiation called radiofrequency (RF) energy. Scientists have suspected that this radiation might increase the risk of brain cell damage leading to tumors, and in 1995 they found this to be the case in rats. Most studies since then have failed to show a similar correlation in humans, and last December the Danish Cancer Society released results from a 29-year study that found no solid association between increasing cell phone use and brain tumors. Yet just months earlier, an analysis of the most rigorous studies found convincing evidence linking the use of handheld phones to brain tumors, especially in users of a decade or longer.

The medical community is paying attention, and so is the U.S. government. Last fall a Senate hearing on cell phones and health coincided with an international conference on the same subject. While more conclusive evidence is needed before we start clamoring for the return of pay phones, there are some simple ways you and your family can limit exposure to the radiation:

Use a Headset or Speakerphone
Keep Your Phone Out of Your Pocket
Limit Children's Use
Stop Talking While Driving
Don't Chat with a Poor Signal
Don't Wear Wireless Headsets As If They Were Jewelry

-Mehmet Oz, MD.

For detailed information, click here!

Source:http://www.oprah.com/health/Dr-Oz-Explains-Cell-Phone-Dangers-and-How-to-Avoid-Them