It’s extremely common these days to use your laptop on your lap, as your sitting on the couch at home, commuting to work, or sitting around with your friends. However, something that people have not considered enough is the radiation concerns from using a laptop on your lap, or even your stomach.
You see when laptops were first invented, they were in fact quite large. They were typically larger and heavier than many desktop computers today, and were therefore almost always used on a table or desk.
Almost always, as a technology progresses, it naturally becomes lighter, smaller, and more compact, and this is what happened with laptops.
Since they are so small and light, they allow us to use them in comfortable places like our sofa, a beanbag at the local coffee shop, on a plane or bus, or just about anywhere else.
This is where the concern comes in. If you’ve read very many articles here on EMF Academy, then you know that one of the best ways to reduce your exposure to EMF radiation is to gain distance from it. As we put distance between us and a source of radiation, we’re exponentially safer.
So, when we use radiation-emitting technology like a cellphone, tablet, or in this case, laptop, having it directly against our body poses the greatest risks.
In the complete guide, we’re going to cover in depth why laptop radiation is dangerous, why you should be concerned, and how to protect yourself from EMF radiation when using a laptop on your lap or stomach.
Let’s start with talking a little bit about how laptops emit EMF radiation, and why it’s dangerous.
Laptop Radiation – A Quick Guide
I want to spend a little bit of time talking about how laptops emit EMF radiation, and why you should be concerned about it. I think this is super crucial to understanding why you shouldn’t use a laptop on your stomach, or on your lap without proper protection.
However, I’m not going to go into crazy detail, because I already have a complete guide to laptop radiation that you can check out if you want to learn everything there is to know.
Types of Laptop Radiation
It’s important to remember that “EMF Radiation” is actually three types of radiation:
- Magnetic
- Electric
- Radio Frequency
Laptops, like many smart electronics, actually emit all three (assuming they are connected to WiFi or have Bluetooth enabled.
Let’s talk briefly about each one in terms of the radiation concerns from your laptop.
Magnetic Radiation
Just about all electronics emit magnetic radiation, so it is one of the most common and pervasive types of EMF radiation. If you have a quality EMF meter like my favorite the Trifield TF2 you’ll notice that many of the electronics in your home emit this kind of radiation.
Like I’ve talked about before though, with the inverse square law of physics, as we double our distance from a source of magnetic radiation, we quarter our exposure to it.
This is why using a laptop on your lap or on your stomach can be so truly dangerous. We are not taking advantage of the protective abilities that distance provides. Having a source of magnetic radiation directly against your body maximizes the harm it can do in a short amount of time.
Magnetic Field Radiation
Magnetic radiation is extremely common is just about all electronics, and is not unique to laptops. If you have a quality EMF meter like my favorite the Trifield TF2, you’ll notice that many electronics emit a fair amount of magnetic field radiation.
The radiation falls off fairly quickly as you gain distance from the device emitting it though. This is typically referred to as the inverse square law of physics, which essentially states that as we double our distance from a source of radiation, we quarter our exposure to it. So we gain exponential protection as we move away from an EMF radiation source.
This is why the radiation from something like a laptop can be concerning, because we keep it so close to our bodies, increasing the amount of exposure.
When it comes to magnetic radiation from a laptop, most of it comes from the LCD monitor, and the motherboard (or logic board on a mac).
I’ve talked about it before, but the Long Island Power Authority published a study that showed the magnetic radiation output from a bunch of home electronics emitted at different distance.
For LCD monitors, the LIPA found that they emitted the following:
- 1 Inch Away = 25 to 500 mG
- 1 Foot Away = 0.4 to 20 mG
- 3 Feet Away = <0.1 to 1.5 mG
For perspective, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends you limit your exposure to between .5 mG (milligauss) and 2.5 mG. So you can see that when it comes to laptops, especially with magnetic field radiation, the margins of safety are really small. This is especially true if you are using the laptop directly against your body, instead of on a desk.
Don’t worry, we’ll talk about ways that you can use a laptop on your lap or stomach safely down below.
Radio Frequency Radiation
This is the type of radiation we often think of when we think of EMF radiation. It is what harms us when using a cellphone, or from WiFi, or from a smart meter, and many other electronics.
It is essentially the wireless transmission of data over radio waves. However this type of EMF radiation has been shown to be harmful, especially when in close proximity over a long period of time.
When it comes to a laptop, it usually comes from WiFi, and Bluetooth.
Again, I don’t want to take up too much of this article, because I talk about this extensively in other articles.
However the important thing to know when we’re talking about protecting your body when using a laptop on your lap or stomach is that, like magnetic radiation, RF falls off quickly over distance.
I measured the EMFs from a friends
So once again, using a device like this directly against your body dramatically increases the amount of radiation you will be absorbing.
Bluetooth Radiation
Finally we have RF radiation from Buetooth. This is something your probably familiar with. Bluetooth is just a specific frequency and technology that allows devices to wirelessly connect.
If you don’t have any Bluetooth devices connected, this won’t be much of radiation concerned. If you want to learn tons more about the dangers of Bluetooth you can check out my guide on it here.
Alright, now that we’ve talked about the types of EMF radiation that laptops emit, let’s talk about why it’s dangerous and why it matters.
Side Effects of Radiation From Laptop Use On Stomach Or Lap
If you’ve checked out the Knowledge section of EMF Academy, you’re probably pretty familiar with the dangers of EMF radiation.
So in this section, I’m going to talk specifically about some of the specific dangers of frequently using a laptop on your lap or on your stomach.
1. Male Infertility
A while back I wrote up the definitive guide on the relationship between male fertility and EMF radiation. So if you want to really dive deep on this subject I’d encourage you to check that out. I go deep on the various studies that have been completed on this topic, as well as talk about ways to protect yourself.
This is one of the largest concerns though, is the potential danger to both male and female fertility from an extended period of close proximity radiation exposure from using a laptop on your lap.
A study by fertility and sterility tested the effect that laptops connected to WiFi had on sperm. They found that:
“Donor sperm samples exposed 4 hours to a wireless internet-connected laptop showed a significant decrease in progressive sperm motility and an increase in sperm DNA fragmentation.
They also just flat out concluded that:
“We speculate that keeping a laptop connected wirelessly to the internet on the lap near the testes may result in decreased male fertility. “
So one of the most direct issues with exposing your lap to EMF radiation from a laptop is the danger to fertility. If a wirelessly connected laptop can have this kind of effect on male sperm, imagine how the radiation is affecting other organs of the body.
2. Pregnancy Risks
The next thing we need to talk about really has more to do with using a laptop on your belly, especially if you are pregnant. It is not that uncommon to use your laptop late at night, on your stomach. Maybe you’re in bed watching Youtube, maybe you’re working on a project, it’s totally convenient to just rest it on your chest or stomach.
People do the same thing with their phones and with their tablets, which we won’t get into in this article.
I don’t want to bog this article down with too many studies, but I’ll link some right below here. Safe to say that there does seem to be a scientific correlation between laptop use on lap and belly, and an increase in miscarriages.
I’ll talk about this more down below. But I just have to mention here that one of the absolute best EMF protection products on the market period, are blankets. They just simply work. Most of them, like my absolute favorite from Defendershield, can not only be used to protect the belly or the
They are soft cotton or bamboo on the outside, and inside they are usually made out of a silver thread that blocks nearly 100% of EMF radiation.
They are comfortable and simple to use.
3. Heat From Laptops
This is something that I think people are (or should be) familiar with. The bottom of laptops can actually get extremely hot, and we don’t often notice it right away. Not only is this heat bad for our skin, but it can be bad for our organs as well.
Multiple studies have found common what is called “toasted skin syndrome.” This is when your skin essentially gets toasted. Over a period of time, it can lead to permanent discoloration of the skin. This is something that can be fairly common when frequently using a laptop on your lap or stomach without some sort of protection.
Stick around because down below I’ll talk about how you can protect your lap from laptop radiation AND the heat from laptops super easy.
4. DNA Fragmentation
Another
A study at Columbia University found a direct correlation between regular WiFi connected laptop use, and harmful changes to DNA structure.
5. General EMF Radiation Exposure
Finally, we have to think about just the general dangers of increased exposure to EMF radiation. We know from countless studies that the damage from EMF radiation is cumulative, not usually acute.
So anywhere in our lives that we can reduce our exposure is going to go a long way in protecting our bodies. Using a laptop right against your body is just not a good idea without proper precautions.
Speaking of which…
7 Ways to Protect Against Laptop Radiation
1. Reduce Your Use
This one I know sounds silly, but its the absolute best way to reduce your radiation exposure from anything. Try to find ways to be more effective when you’re on your laptop, so that your time with the device is diminished.
It can be so easy to let time slip by as you browse Facebook or Youtube, so try setting a simple timer to remind you to get off after a while.
2. Get Protection
If you’ve read my Laptop Radiation guide, then you probably know that I think laptop radiation shields are a fantastic product, and not used nearly as often enough.
They are essentially just like a lap desk that you set your laptop on, and they block nearly 100% of EMF radiation and heat from getting to your body. They are simple to use, keep your laptop stable, and are small enough to fit in your backpack or briefcase.
My favorite one by far is this one from Defendershield, but I actually wrote a complete guide to laptop radiation shields that you can check out if you want to learn more about how they work, and which ones are best.
When it comes to protecting your stomach from laptop radiation, there is no better product then an EMF protection blanket.
They work just like you would think. The outside is made of cotton or bamboo, and the inside from a fabric that blocks up to 100% of EMF radiation. This product also does work for your lap, and is just in general super convenient. I always have a few of these around the house. My wife and I are sort of in the habit of just always using one if we need to be on our phone, laptop, or tablet.
My favorite is this one, but you can check out my full guide to anti-radiation blankets if you want to learn more.
3. Turn off WiFi When You Aren’t Using It
This is a good tip for any wireless technology. If you don’t need the internet while you’re using it, just turn your WiFi off.
You may have noticed that in some of the studies I cited above, it mentioned that laptops were tested with WiFi enabled, and that is because they are so much more dangerous. When the WiFi is on, you’re also exposing yourself to RF radiation as the packets of data are sent back and forth between your laptop and the router.
If you’re in your home office, or somewhere where it is accessible, use an ethernet cable instead of WiFi. This will allow you to still be connected to the internet, but with dramatically lower radiation exposure.
Final Thoughts
Using a laptop on your lap or stomach is clearly not a health or safe thing to do, I hope this article has convinced you of that.
It can be easy to get lazy about simple ways we can protect ourselves from EMF radiation. However if you just follow some of my simple tips above, you’ll be healthier, and feel better.
I hope that if you found this article helpful, you’ll look around my site a bit and see what else you can learn! I would also absolutely love and appreciate it if you could share this article with your friends and family.
Yours In Health,
