The effects of WIFI on cognitive function
(This article was originally published in 2009!)
...On how WIFI Can Turn Your Brain to Mush
I’d like to share the amazing experience I had recently in realizing first-hand the detrimental effects of WIFI (wireless internet and wireless office devices).
For several weeks* I had been feeling extremely unmotivated about work.
Symptoms included feeling unclear, unable to think, complete lethargy, verging on what I would classify as mild depression.
I had been putting it down to all sorts of factors (I need a break… it’s Christmas…maybe I’m low in iron…the weather’s really muggy) even starting to contemplate maybe I was losing enthusiasm for my work and needed a complete job change! I even went to have my bloods checked just to see if something was really going on, and also booked a Journey process with a friend to see what ’emotional’ stuff might be making me feel depressed.
Then one night I was sitting in my office, trying to summon up some enthusiasm to do some work, and I remembered an email I had received from a friend about a DVD he was showing on the effects of wireless appliances. And I thought to myself, “well, I have a wireless router in my office, what if I were to switch it off?” ‘No, I’ll wait until I’ve seen the DVD’ I thought, and then immediately thought again, “no, why not just try it”?
So, I turned the router off, and also unplugged the wireless keyboard and mouse. I kid you not when I say I felt better within 60 seconds. SIXTY SECONDS!*
However, the truth was I felt better*. Within that time my head felt clearer, and it was like the air around me in the room cleared too. (Of course this makes perfect sense now that I understand about the ‘EM Smog’ that wireless devices immerse us in).
Initially I thought I must be imagining the change, although I had not had any great expectations of results. And if I had had any expectations, I certainly didn’t think the effect would be so quick!
I was feeling so much better I was able to do my evening Qi Gong practice which I had slowly been losing enthusiasm for too over a number of days. It was as if I was a new person.
WIRELESS FACTS
(Stats taken from the BBC Panorama Documentary below)
So then I sat down to watch the DVD and boy are the facts interesting:
- France has just passed a law stopping the advertising of cell phones to children
- In Sweden EMF sensitivity (Electro-magnetic radiation) is recognized as a disability and the government will paint your house with anti-radiation paint if you need it.
- If only one person in school in Sweden complains of the negative effects of EMF radiation from WIFI, it will be turned off and investigated.
- Switzerland, Italy, Russia, China and other countries have exposure limits THOUSANDS of times lower than in other countries such as the UK.
- In Salzburg (Austria) the government advises against WIFI in schools altogether.
The reality is we are living in what has now been called an ‘EM smog’. Whilst many people do not consciously notice the effects of this, ‘Electro-Hypersensitives’ do. This EM smog fills the air around us, penetrating every cell and affecting the functioning of our mind and body. Cell phones and WIFI have a similar frequency to microwaves, and we all know what happens if you end up inside one of them. And I’ve heard that having a WIFI router in your home is the equivalent of having a cell phone tower in your living room! Really?
Despite all the evidence of the harmful effects of radiation, the WHO (The World Health Organization, not the band) have stated that “there are no known adverse health effects from low level, long term exposure”. However, research has indicated that radio frequency radiation can cause changes in cognitive function (yes, I can definitely vouch for that), molecular changes in the cells, chromosome damage, decrease in short-term memory and cancer induction.
The bizarre thing is that ICNIRP, the international regulatory body that sets the limits for safe radiation, does not recognize the biological effects of radiation. Instead it bases exposure limits on a THERMAL effect: in other words, the radiation has to be so strong it has to heat your organs up before it is recognized as a problem! For goodness sake! (And there we are back at the microwave analogy again – remember all the poodles who didn’t fare too well when microwaves first came out?).
People may continue to dispute that cellphones and WIFI are harmful, but this morning I got up like a new person and spent all day in my office for the first time in 8 weeks. I got work done which I had been procrastinating on for ages. Even small tasks had felt overwhelming.
So I encourage you to consider the effects of EMF radiation if you cannot find the cause of your symptoms, and in particular to check your wireless devices. (And by the way, to check the ‘available wireless networks’ on your computer – you could be sitting in a soup of WIFI waves from the local cafe, business or neighbours too). Yes, my office now looks like spagetti junction with all the wires back in place, but boy it’s worth it.
You may also like to check out the following links:
New laws cracking down on children’s use of mobile phones are to be introduced in France amid growing fears that they may cause cancer and other diseases:
Cell Phones: just like Cigarettes ? (special video for teenagers) 6mn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jIOo6T1s2g
BBC Panorama – WIFI a warning signal (30mn)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1754102982255927281
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/panorama/6674675.stm
What your cell phone provider isn’t telling you (Dr Nick Begich) 30mn
http://www.consciousmedianetwork.com/members/nbegich.htm
Foot Notes
* Note from above re length of effects:
Although I say several weeks, actually, afterwards, once my mind was clearer, I saw that this had been going on for much longer than 8 weeks. Infact, I had not been feeling great for a while, infact for over a year.
Six months previously I had been feeling extraordinarily and unusually tired and not sleeping well (which was unusual for me as I normally sleep well). I had even gone to see a naturopath and was contemplating supplements for adrenal fatigue. The interesting thing is, which I realized after my mind cleared, was that during that time I had re-arranged my bed furniture and my headboard was now next to the wall of my office, which meant my head was closer to the WIFI router.
Then, when I tracked back even further, when I asked myself “When was the last time I felt well?” the answer that came back was about 14 months ago, that was when I noticed myself going down hill. And then I asked myself, “And when did I get WIFI?” – I couldn’t remember exactly, I knew it was within the previous 2 years. So I looked it up (fortunately, I had printed out my WIFI password and the piece of paper was dated) and it was 14 months previous. It’s always easy to understand things in retrospect, and now that I look back, it seems pretty clear to me that as soon as that router was switched on, it started to have a negative effect on my body.
* Note from above re body responding in 60 seconds
This to me shows met yet again the amazing and natural self-healing abilities of the body. When we give it what it needs, it automatically heals. INSTANTLY. I have noticed this in Mickel Therapy – when you do what is right for your body, it will respond IMMEDIATELY. It is amazing and beautiful to watch and witness. Our main problem is that if we put ourselves (ie, our body) in situations which are adverse to the it’s natural functioning, it puts it into a constant state of stress, which means its using all its energy and effot to try and get back into a state of balance, which means it can’t fulfil its normal functions properly.
This is akin to saying the immune system is being put into a constant state of overload or red alert, which over-taxes its ability to do its job with normal ease. So we need to make sure that we are giving our body what it needs to function well. I hope that makes sense!
* Note from above re feeling better
One of the problems about not feeling well is that it’s often not until we feel better that we realize how unwellwe were actually feeling before. Unfortunately we acclimatize ourselves to not feeling well and then without realizing it come to think that’s normal! This is actually true for many things in life. What we get used to, we think is normal, and then we forget what normal actually is.
So it wasn’t until my head cleared, my energy picked up and I felt so much more uplifted that I realized how bad I had actually been feeling.
SYMPTOMS FROM WIFI EXPOSURE
These are the symptoms that I now realize I was experiencing as a result of WIFI exposure. I am sure there may be many others, this is just my list!
- Feeling low
- Unable to concentrate or think clearly
- Unable to get on with work tasks
- Negative thinking, depressive thoughts
- Not sleeping well
- Feeling extraordinary tiredness
- Not feeling well at home, especially in the office (where the router was) and feeling better as soon as I went out
- De-motivated
SYMPTOMS OF IMPROVEMENT
These are the differences I am noticing now:
- Feeling lighter and clearer in my head
- Feeling ‘uplifted’ emotionally and mentally
- Feeling happier
- The ‘air’ in my office feels clearer
- Feeling motivated
