Is Sleeping Near Your Cell Phone Bad?

If you don't want to turn off your cell phone at night, at least try to turn off the Internet connection and place it three feet away from your bed since your cell phone affects your sleep.

In the world we live in, cell phone use is essential to daily life. So much so that we never put it down. We take it with us wherever we go and, if we forget it at home, we feel like something is missing. We don’t turn it off at all and we put it on our nightstands before going to sleep. This habit can be detrimental to our health. Would you like to know if sleeping near a cell phone is bad for you? Discover the answer in the following article.

If you’re like the billions of people who sleep with their cell phone next to their bed, you should definitely stop. This is detrimental to your health. In this regard, the radiation that smartphones emit is really dangerous.

Although this radiation is bad during the day, having our cell phone near us when we’re sleeping can lead to nightmares, inability to sleep, and waking up several times at night. The reason? This causes an alteration of certain self-regulating processes, such as your biological clock or circadian rhythms.

The World Health Organization stated that electronic devices in general (not just cell phones) are bad for the body and can increase the chances of developing cancer. They produce toxic effects that many scientists don’t acknowledge.

You should know that cell phones emit ionizing radiation and wavelengths. One study in Australia showed that there’s an important relationship between smartphone use and sterility in men, as well as reduced sperm quality. In both sexes, there was an increase in stress levels.

Although your cell phone is also your alarm clock, you really should turn it off at night. This is because it still communicates by radio transmissions, even when we’re not using it. This means that cell phones are constantly radiating electromagnetic waves into the environment, not just when they’re being used. In this sense, placing it near your head while sleeping is really bad for you.

Where should you leave your cell phone while sleeping?

You can turn it off and leave it in its usual place (on the nightstand), keeping in mind that you must use a different alarm clock. On the other hand, you can leave it on in a distant room, such as the kitchen or living room.

If you don’t feel comfortable turning off your phone in case someone needs to communicate with you during the night due to an emergency, you can at least turn off the Internet or WiFi connections, which are more dangerous than the radio waves. Experts say that your cell phone should be at least three feet away from your body while you’re sleeping.

Another thing you shouldn’t do is leave your cell phone charging overnight under your pillow. Many people have burned their face or hands due to an overload and subsequent fire inside their devices. Most pillows are made of flammable material. This puts us at great risk while we’re sleeping because we’re not aware of what’s happening around us.

Another risk related to leaving a cell phone on the bedside table is that it increases our anxiety levels. We’re constantly alert and expectant of what may happen and we may even wake up in the middle of the night to check our e-mail or social media, etc. All of these habits eventually result in stress, insomnia, poor concentration, cognitive problems, lack of productivity, irritability, nightmares, headaches, etc.

Other “healthier” cell phone habits

• Keep your calls short. If you can’t, switch ears every few minutes.
• Use speakerphone when possible so your phone isn’t near your head.
• Children shouldn’t use cell phones, not even as toys.
• Don’t talk on your smartphone where there’s a weak signal because the device will have to emit more powerful radio waves.
• Don’t carry your cell phone on your body. Men shouldn’t put it in their pants pockets.
• Keep it a few feet away from you at all times.

During the night, we should dedicate ourselves to sleeping, resting, and recharging our batteries. It’s better to leave our cell phones off until the morning (if we can stand the temptation) or until we leave home for work.

This way, we’ll avoid imbalances in our quality of sleep and stress levels. Also, don’t forget that the other appliances you have at home can also be harmful to your health. Try not to have televisions or computers in your bedroom. If you already have them, unplug them before going to bed. Turn off your Wi-Fi router before bed and try not to use your cell phone right before falling asleep.