Urgent Cell Phone Warning for Seniors

Christmas is almost here.

And that means lots of us will be spending time on our smartphones.

We’ll be calling loved ones… taking photos of our Christmas trees… and maybe even shopping online.

While it’s great to have all that technology at our fingertips, there’s a good reason to limit your smart phone use this holiday season.

It turns out that these so-called “smart phones” are making us dumb. 

That’s right, a recent study showed that even the mere presence of these phones can cause our brain power to plummet. 

And for seniors, the risk can be especially serious.  

I’ve often thought the term “smart phone” was rather ironic.  

No need to remember anything anymore…you can just look it up on your phone. 

No need to have a conversation…you can communicate with smiley-face emojis. 

No need to find ways to entertain yourself…you can fill your mind with mind-numbing games like Candy Crush. 

But this recent study takes the cake…because it shows us that you don’t even have to be USING your cell phone for it to impact your brain function.  

In fact, it doesn’t even have to be ON. 

For this experiment, the researchers had about 800 people sit down at computers to take a test that required their full attention. The participants were instructed to put their phones either in their pockets, face down on their desk, or in another room.

All phones were on silent. 

The people who had their cell phones in another room outperformed those whose phone was close by. 

Was it because having the cellphones nearby disrupted their brainwaves? 

No, it’s far simpler than that. 

Basically, the more noticeable the phone, the less available your cognitive capacity. Because you have to ACTIVELY think about not using your phone. 

In other words, simply having your phone close by distracts your brain from what it SHOULD be focusing on.  

And let’s face it – the older you get, the less willing you should be to sacrifice any brain power.  

But being distracted is only part of the problem. From my perspective, these things are keeping us from fully living life because we’re experiencing the world through a 3×6 inch screen instead.  

So my challenge to you is to put your smart phone in a drawer and forget about it for just ONE day.  

It can be tough at first… but by the end of the day, you won’t believe how much better and even RELIEVED you’ll feel.  

And encourage your kids and grandkids to do the same.  

There’s a big, exciting world out there… but you can’t access it through an app store.  

To a brighter day,

Dr. Richard Gerhauser, M.D.