With the increase in the demand and production of smartwatches, the concerns of users regarding this product also shot up.
Several rumors regarding the adverse health impacts of this product started circulating all across the web to a point where it became hard to guess what was true and what was merely a rumor.
Wearing smartwatches that can cause cancer is another significant piece of news about smartwatches that have stayed on the online and offline portals for quite some time. Sadly, many people are still unsure if this is a fact or a rumor.
But don’t fret; I have been in your shoes once, which enabled me to come up with a guide that will answer all your concerns regarding the impacts of wearing smartwatches on health.
So, keep reading if you don’t want to miss out on the important stuff.
What Kind of Rays Do Smartwatches Emit?
Before moving towards the main part, i.e., does wearing a smartwatch cause cancer, let me first talk about the type of rays or radiation emitted by smartwatches.
The rays emitted by smartwatches, cellphones, and these devices are microwaves. These are also electromagnetic waves like X-rays, radio waves, etc., but what makes them different from the lot is their position on the energy spectrum.
You will find the microwaves towards the downside of the energy spectrum and completely inclining on the opposite side as other harmful rays like X-rays.
Unlike a single energy photon from an X-ray that can knock away an electron from an atom, thus breaking the chemical bond, the photon from a microwave won’t ever be able to do that. That’s how simple a microwave photon is.
Does Wearing Smartwatch Cause Cancer?
Now that you know about the type of rays emitted from smartwatches, let’s move to the main question under consideration here, i.e., does wearing a smartwatch cause cancer?
Well, if microwaves were the causing agent of cancer, no one would be able to save themselves from the cancerous cells.
Microwaves are emitted from most daily use devices, including cell phones, Wi-Fi, Oven, etc. So, if they were even a little health hazardous for you, no one in their right mind could rely on these devices daily.
Just because you see or hear the word radiation for microwaves doesn’t make them lethal. Radiation’s simple and classic meaning is the ability to move across and through space. So, there is nothing too cancerous about smartwatches that you should worry about.
Is It Harmful to Wear A Smartwatch All the Time?
As discussed above, smartwatches are not harmful or lethal, and the rays they emit are completely safe. But like all other devices, whether a smartwatch can pose harm or not largely depends on how you use it. With this in mind, though the rays they emit aren’t something you need to worry about, these watches still have some health risks and other problems.
In 2015, the New York Times published an article regarding the health hazards caused by smartwatches. This was the beginning of the misconception that smartwatches have something to do with cancer.
The article talked about the claim of IARC from 2011, where they talked about the carcinogenic impact of smartwatches on humans.
As per the claim, since smartwatches resemble cell phones in many aspects, the risks posed by both these devices are similar. The fact that both these devices emit the same rays makes them equally harmful and lethal to humans.
But there is nothing worth believing in this claim. To add to the misleading nature of this article, it came with a footnote saying that nothing in the article is inspired by true evidence, and no research and evidence exists to back this claim yet.
Along with this, research was later published, saying that “there is no evidence from studies of cells, animals, or humans that radiofrequency energy can cause cancer.”
Another thing you should remember here is that the rays and radiations emitted by smartwatches are low in energy and frequency compared to smartphones. So, there is nothing about these rays you need to worry about.
What Health Risks Are Associated With Smartwatches?
Though it’s pretty clear now that smartwatches have nothing carcinogenic about it, you can’t still be sure that this gadget or device doesn’t come with other health risks.
Like other electronic devices emitting rays, smartwatches can also pose certain risks to your health. Some common things you will notice if you keep on wearing your smartwatch for a long time include headaches, nausea, sleep disruption, and mood swings.
According to a report regarding the health problems caused by smartwatches released a few years back, many people have suffered from nausea and headaches from wearing their smartwatches for a long time.
Similarly, a wide fraction of people out there struggles to maintain a constant sleeping regime while putting on their watches.
As per research evidence, the EMF rays emitted by smartwatches and other such devices are a leading cause of headaches and nausea.
Owing to this, you would often see experts and medical professionals recommending you put your devices like mobile phones and smartwatches to airplane mode when you are not using them.
Is It Safe To Sleep With a Smartwatch On?
Yes, there is nothing wrong and harmful with wearing your smartwatch to your sleeping bed. But it is advised not to keep the watch on for an extended amount of time and take it off every few hours so your skin can breathe.
Similarly, if you don’t put off your watch every few hours, this could provide a hostile environment for bacterial growth on your skin.
Additionally, wearing your smartwatch to bed could help you track your sleeping schedule, and you can pinpoint the loopholes in your sleeping cycle to fix them later on.
Are Heart Rate Sensors Harmful?
As far as heart rate sensors are concerned, you need to be careful with them. I am not saying that because these sensors emit some kind of harmful and health-hazardous rays. In the words of a medical professional,
“When patients are nervous or anxious, sometimes they … look at their watch to get an answer, and that gets them more anxious, which then increases the adrenaline in the body and the heart rate goes up even higher.”
That’s it! Hopefully, this guide has cleared all your misconceptions regarding the harmful effects of smartwatches and their carcinogenic nature. Though it’s best not to keep your watch on all the time, there is nothing too health-related you need to worry about here.
