EMF radiation is difficult to escape. Between cell phones, wifi, and wearable technologies, it’s all around us. I’ve researched and written a lot about how to protect yourself and your family from these health hazards.
But let’s be honest. You can diligently use your wifi router guard, but what about the wifi from your neighbors? Or when you’re at the local coffee shop that has wifi? You can use the most effective laptop radiation shield on the market but what about when you’re at work using your computer in your office?
And this doesn’t even cover the 5G signals and cell phone radiation around you all the time as soon as you leave your house.
Enter EMF protection clothing. Regardless of what’s going around you, you can attenuate the radiation before it gets to your body.
This article serves as a guide to understanding radiation protection clothes – from beginning to end. If you’re looking for a recommendation on a specific category of clothings, we’ll link to those as well.
So without further ado, let’s dig in!
| Clothing Type | Full Guide Article |
|---|---|
| Underwear | EMF Protection Underwear |
| Beanies and Hats | EMF Protection Beanies and Hats |
| T-Shirts | EMF Protection T-Shirts (and a Hoodie) |
| Maternity Clothing | EMF Protection Maternity Clothing |
| Blanket | Best EMF Protection Blanket |
| Shoes | EMF Protection Shoes |
What is EMF Protection Clothing?
Let’s start with a quick review of EMFs and why you want to protect yourself from them.
EMFs or electromagnetic field radiation is created by electronic devices.
Electric Fields
All matter is made of particles. The flow of particles is called electric current.
An electric circuit is a pathway through which electric current flows and wires provide that pathway.
Voltage is the pressure used to push the electron particles through the wire.
An electric field is produced by the voltage and the higher the voltage, the greater the electric field strength. Voltage is measured in volts per meter (V/m).
Magnetic Fields
Magnetic fields are produced by electric current. The greater the electric current, the greater the magnetic field.
Magnetic field is measured in microteslas (µT).
Electric fields + magnetic fields = electromagnetic fields.
Categories of EMFs
The electric and magnetic forces in EMFs are caused by electromagnetic radiation.
There are two categories of EMFs.
Higher frequency
These EMFs are on the ionizing radiation part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
These damage cells and DNA directly.
Examples include:
- X-rays
- Gamma rays
It’s essential to protect yourself from higher frequency EMF and avoid them altogether when possible.
Low-mid frequency
These EMFs are on the non-ionizing radiation part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Further, this range includes:
- Extremely low frequency EMFs (ELF) and
- Radiofrequency EMFs (RF)
ELF EMFs have frequencies of up to 300 cycles/second, or hertz (Hz).
RF EMF range from 3 kilohertz (3KHz or 3,000Hz) to 300 gigahertz (300 GHz or 300 billion Hz). RF radiation is measured in watts per meter squared (W/m²).
Examples of ELF EMFs include:
- power lines
- electrical wiring
- electrical appliances, such as shavers, hair dryers and electric blankets
Examples of RF EMFs include:
- wireless telecommunications devices, such as mobile phones, smart meters, tablets, laptops (U.S. cellular phone frequency range is 1.8 to 2.2 Ghz)
- AM/FM radios,
- radar,
- satellite stations,
- MRI devices,
- microwave ovens,
- cordless phones,
- televisions,
- computer screens
- wifi (U.S. wifi frequencies include 5, 5.3, and 5.8 GHz).
So getting back to the question: what is EMF shielding clothing?
Simply, it’s wearable materials that block (or attenuate) the electromagnetic field radiation from that part of your body to protect it.
I have written extensively about the harmful effects of radiation so I won’t go into full detail here. But suffice it to say, the effects have been studied.
Some common concerns related to exposure, particularly long-term or frequent exposure (looking at you wifi) of non-ionizing radiation include:
- Cancer
- Reproductive health
- Cognitive and memory
- Special concerns for children
- Cardiovascular disease
I will look at each of these health concerns (and why it’s so important to protect your body) in more detail further down. But first let’s look at the common categories of EMF protection clothing.
I will also link these out to full reviews of each.
Best EMF Protection Clothing Guides by Category:
- EMF Protection Underwear (Recommended list) – start with the base layer
- EMF Protection Beanies and Hats
- EMF Protection T-Shirts – protect your abdomen!
- EMF Protection Maternity Clothing
- Best EMF Protection Blanket
- EMF Protection Shoes
What Material Can Block EMF?
So how does a pair of boxer briefs, for example, work to block emf radiation? It’s elementary, my dear Watson. That’s a pun about silver being an element. Sorry about that.
Moving along. There are various materials used in shielding radiation. But the most common among high quality shielding clothing is silver.
Silver, along with copper and aluminum, are conductors and are effective at the attenuation of EMF radiation.
Further, silver has the perfect combination of being soft with high electrical conductivity and antimicrobial properties that is works well for clothing radiation shielding purposes.
So other materials like aluminum are effective at shielding EMFs, silver fabric is the optimal material for protective clothing that’s also comfortable.
Does Anti Radiation Clothing Work?
Well, that depends.
If you find a listing for clothing that claims to be anti radiation, do a little digging. Read the packaging or information on the website or Amazon listing.
A general rule of thumb is the higher percentage of conductive metal material (usually silver), the greater the level of attenuation.
I’ve mentioned attenuation a few times. This is a good place to dig into that a bit.
EMF shielding clothing will never completely block EMFs, they will attenuate the EMF field.
We use the term “decibel” to compare electric field intensity. The scale is logarithmic instead of linear and tells us the level of attenuation provided by radiation shielding.
The formula is:
dB = 20 log (field measure 1 / field measure 2)
The conversion looks like this:
Decibels, Attenuation and Transmission
| Decibels (dB) | Attenuation Percentage | Transmission Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 100 |
| 10 | 90 | 10 |
| 20 | 99 | 1 |
| 30 | 99.9 | 0.1 |
| 40 | 99.99 | 0.01 |
| 50 | 99.999 | 0.001 |
This logarithmic scale is very noticeable when you graph the chart:
If you can find the decibel or dB of the clothing, you’ll be able to see the amount of EMF protection you’re getting.
This article links out to researched, high quality sources for different EMF protective clothing – it’s a good place to start.
Does Silver Protect From EMF?
Silver can protect you from EMF.
If we’re talking about clothing, we just reviewed the importance of higher dB and percentage of silver in the shielding fabric itself.
More broadly, silver is effective at electromagnetic shielding. Sheet metals in general, like copper, nickel, brass, and silver are all good at attenuation.
One metal – silver works well for clothing in particular.
What To Look for When Buying EMF Protection Clothing
The clothing you end up purchasing should be comfortable and fit well. If it’s not comfortable, you (or whoever you’re buying for) probably won’t end up wearing it. That’s EMF radiation shielding 0 right there. So first, be willing to wear it.
Next you want to consider the effectiveness or shielding performance of the protection – the entire point of the clothing. We talked about what materials that block/attenuate EMF radiation, how they work, and the importance of the attenuation level.
The highest quality protection will often offer a study of the effectiveness. If they’re offering a product to customers based on their protection levels, they should prove the efficacy. You’ll see independent lab testing on some of these products.
If you don’t see lab testing results, look for dB level (review the chart above) or at the very least, the rule of thumb about silver. The higher the percentage of silver in the product, generally the better EMF protection, or shielding you’ll receive.
One other tip – read the reviews. See what people are saying about the clothing. Often, customers have an EMF meter and will provide a testimonial of the product. I’ve seen one with a man wearing EMF radiation protection boxer briefs with a TriField TF2 meter and showing you the readings. (I’ll share that video in the EMF shielding underwear review).
Finally, be price conscious. Some of these clothing products can be on the expensive side. Shop around! If two companies are selling beanies, both with 42% silver, both with great reviews, and one is $10 cheaper – go with the option you’re financially comfortable with!
Let’s turn back to some of the specific health concerns and why shielding yourself from EMF exposure is so important.
Cancer
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization works to find causes of cancer. In 2011 the organization pretty famously classified RF EMF radiation as possibly carcinogenic to humans. This was based on the research pointing to an increased risk for glioma, which is a malignant form of brain cancer. Of course, RF or radiofrequency radiation are most closely associated with mobile phones.
Another study in 2017 conducted a meta-analysis, or a study reviewing all the studies, linking cell phones to increased rates of brain tumors. The researchers reviewed 22 studies and found:
“However, for mobile phone use of 10 years or longer (or >1640 h), the overall result of the meta-analysis showed a significant 1.33 times increase in risk.”
Interestingly, they found that higher quality studies showed a trend towards high risk of brain tumor, while lower quality showed a trend towards lower risk.
Finally, in an article published in the Environmental Pollution journal in 2017, the author set out to “resolve the debate about whether non-ionizing radiation (NIR) can cause cancer.” The essential finding was,
“Free radicals can and do cause cancer and non-ionizing radiation can and does increase free-radicals.”
Reproductive health
A lot of research has been conducted specifically around EMFs and male fertility.
A 2006 study looked at the effects of cell phone use and human sperm mobility. The researchers divided male study participants’ semen into two groups. They exposed one group’s specimen to 900 MHz EMR from a cellular phone and did not expose the second group. After analyzing the two groups, they concluded,
“data suggest that EMR emitted by cellular phone influences human sperm motility. In addition to these acute adverse effects of EMR on sperm motility, long- term EMR exposure may lead to behavioral or structural changes of the male germ cell. These effects may be observed later in life, and they are to be investigated more seriously. “
Further, a 2008 study also examined the effects of cell phone use on semen quality. This study divided participants into 4 groups (n=361) based on their everyday levels of cellular phone usage. This study concluded the following:
“Use of cell phones decrease the semen quality in men by decreasing the sperm count, motility, viability, and normal morphology. The decrease in sperm parameters was dependent on the duration of daily exposure to cell phones and independent of the initial semen quality.”
These are just a couple of many studies concluding the potential negative effect of mobile phones (i.e., RF radiation) on sperm quality.
Since men commonly carry a mobile phone in their front pocket, it’s no surprise one topic we will be covering is underwear protection as a means of EMF shielding.
Cognitive and memory
A study published in 2006 reviewed the literature on ELF and cellular phone exposure to the brain as it relates to various measures of performance – cognitive, perceptual, behavioral. The authors found measurable change in brain activity after EMF exposure, which suggests an influence on motor control, sensory perception, cognitive activities, sleep and mood.
A 2018 study looked at microwave RF-EMF emitted by wireless devices specifically on childrens’ neurocognitive functions. They tracked subjects for a year and found decreased memory scores were associated with increased cumulative RF-EMF doses.
Cardiovascular disease
Various studies have pointed to EMF exposure and an association with cardiovascular disease.
This study showed that exposure to RF EMF radiation from cellular phones is associated with increases in resting blood pressure between 5 and 10 mm Hg. They conclude this is likely due to increased vasoconstriction.
A different study took a different approach and looked at the long term effects of EMR on TV station operators. One group was significantly more exposed to EMRs than the other one. The researchers controlled for variation among the two groups and found the EMR exposure was associated with a greater chance of having higher blood pressure and have a poor blood lipid profile.
Wrapping it up
Hopefully this article cleared up a few things about EMF clothing. One, the basics of EMFs and how they’re generated. Next, what EMF protection clothing is and how it works – from boxer briefs to shoes. Finally, some of the specific health concerns associated with EMFs. Check out the recommended EMF shielding clothing categories for full reviews of what’s available to shield you and your loved ones from these dangers.
