Many charge their smartphones next to them in bed. However, this can quickly become dangerous for the smartphone and owner.
Before going to bed, type around on your smartphone and then just put it on the bed next to you. Many mobile phone users probably have this routine. However, it is precisely this behavior that harbors dangers – and not just because of the radiation. Because if you connect your smartphone to the charging cable in bed, you risk more than just a technical defect. “No device should be charged under such circumstances because heat can build up. This can lead to critical conditions up to and including a fire,” says Jürgen Ripperger from the Association for Electrical Engineering (VDE) to TECHBOOK.
Overheating harms smartphones
Only those who use their mobile phone properly will benefit from the device for a long time. “The functionality of my mobile phone can be impaired if there are large temperature differences, such as overheating. This can damage the product and lead to premature aging,” Ripperger explains. In particular, the performance of the battery can suffer and thus shorten the service life and only allow limited use. The operating instructions for the mobile phones tell you how to use your smartphone properly.
“Many mobile phones recognize the rise in temperature and switch off prematurely. However, the full charging capacity is not achieved as a result,” says Ripperger. If the customer doesn’t use the device the way the manufacturer recommends, there is a risk that the cell phone will no longer work as it should. “A series of mistakes can be dangerous,” explains Jürgen Ripperger.
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Police warn against smartphones in bed
In recent years, the New York police have repeatedly warned of the dangers of users charging their smartphones in bed. Especially if the smartphone is under a pillow or the duvet, the increased heat can have serious consequences. The images of burned and scorched cell phones in bed should enlighten all users. The police warned, among other things, on the Twitter news service that cell phones could even explode and seriously injure the sleeping person.
“It always has to be clarified exactly what the causes were,” comments Jürgen Ripperger. It can be assumed that the mobile phone was not handled properly in such cases. However, errors on the part of the manufacturer can also be the cause in individual cases.
The smartphone as a sleeping partner
According to a study by the University of Koblenz-Landau from 2016, every fourth young person has their mobile phone under their pillow. Other studies and surveys come to similar conclusions. However, the smartphone is not suitable as a sleeping partner because it can cause health problems such as sleep disorders.
Even before going to sleep, reaching for the cell phone should be taboo or at least severely restricted. As American researchers found out, the quality of sleep decreases if you look at your mobile phone before you go to sleep. On the one hand, this is due to the light of the device and its effect on our eyes. On the other hand, it is generally more difficult for us to switch off because our brain is signaled that we can be reached at any time and are on the alert, so to speak. And to be honest: we can at least declare our bed a mobile-free zone.