5 Dangerous Side-Effects While Sleeping With Smartphones

These days a life without a smartphone seems impossible. It has created a world of constant involvement for each of us .We all admit to the fact that we use our smartphones throughout the day from early in the morning till bedtime to ingest information.

This revolutionary device has substituted many traditional alternatives such as night watches, alarm clocks, calendars, flashlights, nightstand books, etc. Hence, most of us leave our smartphones to charge at night, right beside us on bed, for ease of accessibility. A time even when we donot accept to stay away from it. But this is not advisable for many reasons.


Reasons not to sleep with your smartphones on the bed

Substantially less sleep

Studies show that our constant need and ability to stay connected creates stresses of its own. These studies provide evidence to show that the radiation smartphones emit affects the quality of our sleep.

Let?s read through the various reasons why smartphones could adversely affect our quality of sleep.

Smartphones emit a certain type of ?Blue Light?, which is known to significantly affect the production and effectiveness of the sleep inducing human hormone called Melatonin.
This may be because blue light emits wavelengths similar to daylight, which can make our bodies think its daytime, at any time.
Much like standard light bulbs or fluorescent strips, mobile LED lights too aggravates the production of sleep producing Melatonin and stimulates the pigments called melanopsin within the cells in the retina, passing on signals to the brain.
Even a pulse of light lasting for as less as 0.12 seconds could delay the body clock and trigger the body into an alert mode thereby affecting the relaxation needed for Sleep.
Better yet, keep your smartphone in another room while you slumber. Radiations interfere with our body?s ability to repair itself from any damage suffered throughout the day.
Increase in irritability and stress

Anything that disrupts the quality of our sleep impacts our attentiveness and irritability in the short and long term. In fact, sleeping with smartphones is especially bad for kids and teenagers who typically need more sleep than adults, (and who statistically sleep with their phones close to their heads more than adults). It can cause mood and personality changes, ADHD-like symptoms, and depression in kids.

Chances of a fatal fire

A teen in Texas woke up, choking with the burning smell. Her Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone was on fire, which was tucked beneath her pillow. The culprit was the non-Samsung phone battery, the phone?s manual made it very clear that using of incompatible phone battery and chargers can be risky. Therefore, the moral of the story is better to stick with phone accessories from the original manufacturer and never keep your phone under your pillow or thick materials.

The health risks of cell phones

There?s been no research that verifies cell phone use source cancer; in fact, the relations to any kind of health risk aren?t yet clear. In general, cell phones are said to emit such small doses of electromagnetic radiation?which is also emitted from X-rays and microwaves and can lead to tumour growth. Still, the World Health Organization warned in 2011 that usage may be possibly carcinogenic to humans, especially in children, whose scalps and skulls are thinner than adults?, and more vulnerable to radiation emitted by smartphones. So if you?re at all worried about the possible cancer risk, try to text instead of call, hold the phone away from your ear, or use an earpiece or the speakerphone setting as much as possible?and definitely don?t sleep with the phone next to your head.

A sabotaged Sex life

A loved one is definitely more cuddly and sexy than a smartphone. Nevertheless the current wave of cell phone obsession has severely affected the sexual elements of a relationship. A recent survey reveals that a whopping 72% Americans keep their cell phones within 5 feet of their bed and keep checking for any updates, even in the midst of a Sexual Intercourse.

Some mandatory Precautions to be taken

Most experts around the globe have repeatedly highlighted the importance of constraining ourselves for over-usage of smartphones, especially during bed-time. Not only does the practice help in better sleep quality but also keeps the body away from radiations, at least during the night time.

Limit the number of calls you make before sleep.
Limit the length of your calls soon before bed time.
Use hands-free devices (wired cell phone headsets or wireless ones like Bluetooth) , in case a bed time call is absolutely unavoidable.
If you are not using a hands-free device, put the cell on ?speaker phone? or hold the phone away from your ear.
If you have a habit of listening to music or playing games on the mobile phone during leisurely night time, put your phone on ?airplane mode? when possible. Airplane mode means email, Internet, and phone can?t be used, but you can listen to music or play games on the phone.
Prefer messaging, instead of talking, before going to sleep.
Go over these guidelines with your children and limit their cell phone use during sleep time.
No doubt, the matter of sleeping with our smartphones is part of a larger issue we face as a society by being engaged to all our devices 24/7. But, productive sleep in particular is important in helping our bodies recover from the stresses of the day. Being concerned and checking our phones before and during sleep, along with the fact that phones emit radiation, means that attaining a state of deep sleep is difficult. Henceforth, little by little, we should make a conscious effort to limit the negative effects of sleeping close to our phones every night.