You will certainly have heard at a certain point in time that men who carry their mobile phones in their pockets for long hours may become sterile or that using mobile devices for long periods of time may cause insomnia, anxiety, depression or pain in the back.

But what is actually the truth? Are these statements true or just myths? As it usually happens, some of them are true and some have not been scientifically proved so they only contribute to create a completely unjustified social alarm.

We have selected some of the most widespread beliefs on the negative effects caused by the use of tablets or smartphones and we will proceed now to explain if these statements are justified or don't have sense at all.

• Using screens for long periods of time may damage your eyes: it is one of the most widespread beliefs and this time it's true. The screens of our mobile devices radiate light waves. Some of them have no negative impact at all but some can cause real damage to our eyes. Prolonged exposure to these waves (48-72 hours without break) at a distance of 30 cm can damage the light-sensitive cells in our retina and lead to eyesight loss. Therefore, we strongly recommend not exceeding this exposure time as well as applying screen filters.

• Men that carry mobile phones in their pockets may experience a loss of fertility: this statement became widely widespread as a result of a study that established a link between men's infertility and the fact of using mobile phones for more than one hour on a daily basis.
  It is nevertheles important to say that the scientific community has not considered this study valid since the obtained data and the way in which it was carried out are not realiable. Right now there is no evidence that supports this hypothesis. In other words, it is not scientifically proved that using mobile phones has a negative impact on fertility. (On the other hand, we are not saying that you have to spend hours and hours using your phone).

• Using mobile devices may cause insomnia: Are you one of those who takes a last look at WhatsApp, checks emails or the latest news on Twitter and Facebook before going to bed? If that's your case, you may have problems when trying to get to sleep The explanation is quite simple: our eyes are responsible for getting all that is going on around us and transmitting the moment that we are living to our brain. When the night comes and light decreases, our eyes inform our brain about this and our level of melatonin (hormone that helps us to sleep) begins to rise. If our eyes, however, see that there is still light around, the process is modified. That is why we can experience difficulties to get to sleep that could end up in insomnia.

• Radiation exposure can cause serious illnesses: another myth that is widely widespread but it's nothing more than that: a myth. Some people believe that using electronic devices means to expose yourself to electromagnetic radiation that in the medium or long term may cause cancer. Experts state that, in average, 4 watts per kilogram of body weight can be harmful to our health. The radiation amount that we get is nevertheless 50 times lower so there is no evidence that using movile devices on a daily basis may cause the illness.

We recommend, however, not using your smartphone or tablet excessively. As we always say: technology helps but doesn't replace reality. Don't forget! Life is the best technology