Welcome to 2018, where no one ever goes anywhere without their cell phone! We check our phones first thing in the morning, carry them with us throughout the day and look at them before we fall asleep at night. This habit isn’t always a bad thing — a smartphone is a great way to stay in touch, keep up with work and take pictures of your amazing experiences. Unfortunately, always keeping your phone with you can also have some negative effects. What is the downside of leaving your cell phone nearby, especially while you sleep?
By Kate Harveston
Reasons You Should Not Leave Your Cell Phone Near You While You Sleep
It Makes It Harder to Sleep
Getting enough sleep is critical, and not enough people do it. According to the CDC, one of every three adults doesn’t get enough sleep. Having your cell phone next to your bed could be making that even worse.
Studies have shown the blue light emitted by cell phone and computer screens makes it harder to sleep by keeping your brain alert and reducing the amount of melatonin your brain produces. That natural hormone helps control your circadian rhythm — without it, your body doesn’t know when to fall asleep and when to wake up.
You can download red-light filter apps for your devices that cut down on the amount of blue light your phone exposes you to in the evening, but it’s a better idea just to keep your phone outside the bedroom.
Reasons You Should Not Leave Your Cell Phone Near You While You Sleep
It Can Damage Your Phone
If you’re like a lot of us, the last thing you do at night before bed is plug in your cell phone and set it on your nightstand or next to your pillow. This practice might seem convenient — that way, your phone is fully charged and ready to start the day as soon as you wake up — but you might be shortening your phone’s battery life by overcharging it.
Industry experts recommend charging your phone when you get home for the night, then shutting it off overnight when you’re not using it. Doing so can help keep your phone battery healthy and extend its life. This will also help you be able to just put it away somewhere where you won’t see it or be tempted to use it before bed.
Leaving your phone on your bed as it charges is also a big no-no, especially if it ends up under your pillow. The heat a charging phone battery generates might not seem like much when it’s sitting on your desk, but in an enclosed environment like under a pillow, it can actually be enough to ignite the bedding and start a dangerous fire. Be safe and charge your phone in a ventilated area to keep the heat from building up and threatening your phone, your home or you.
It Has Other Risks
It’s not totally conclusive yet whether or not cell phones cause cancer, but when it comes right down to it, cell phones haven’t been around long enough for us to discover all the possible side effects these devices could cause. According to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), some studies have suggested long-term cell phone use could put people at increased risk for certain types of cancer.
The danger is due to the radio frequency (RF) energy these devices use to send and receive data. Cell phones emit RF energy anytime they are in use. The CDPH recommends keeping your cell phone away from your head as much as possible, by texting instead of talking or using Bluetooth headsets. They also recommend keeping your phone away from your head while you sleep — even when you’re not talking or texting, your phone emits RF to stay connected to the nearest tower, download updates and keep up with your notifications.
Cell phones might be one of the coolest tools in our arsenals, but they don’t need to come to bed with us every night. If you need an alarm, invest in an attractive-looking alarm clock for your bedside table and leave your phone in the other room. You’ll sleep better, and you may be lowering your risk of cancer or other health conditions at the same time.
Leaving Your Cell Phone Near You
-KH
Kate Harveston is an online journalist who covers everything from health and beauty to culture and politics. Find more of her writing here at Global Glam or here
4 comments
This is good info! I have a habit Of checking my phone too often and need to not have it right next to the bed while I sleep.
I’ve read it’s bad to keep your phone in your pocket all the time, makes sense. Great post!
I am SO terrible at this ! I even bought an alarm clock so I wouldn’t need the alarm on my phone but I still sleep with it right next to my pillow 🙈
A good read, I might need to start using some of these tips