Ahh.. finally, you can get to rest after a long day of working, cleaning your house, talking with clients, and taking care of your children. You’re already comfortable lying on your luxurious mattress and about to doze off to dreamland when a big question popped into your mind. Wait, did I charge my phone?
You checked on your phone, and the battery’s only 12%, so you get up and charge it. Phew! That was close! Lucky, you remembered charging it!
But are you truly fortunate? Waking up to a smartphone with a full battery is truly one of life’s greatest pleasures. However, it’s been noted that charging your phone while you sleep is one of the worst ways to charge your phone. Why is this so? Read on to find out!
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The Biggest Reasons You Shouldn’t Charge Your Phone While Sleeping
When it comes to charging your phones at night, there are mixed claims. Some say it’s okay. However, plenty of experts claim it should be avoided. Here are their reasons why:
It kills your battery.
First things first, we have good news for you. There’s no such thing as overcharging when it comes to our phone’s battery. That’s because these phones already have built-in protection chips that prevent the phone from taking more charge than it can accommodate. That’s great, right?
Despite debunking the overcharging myth, you still shouldn’t charge your phone because it can negatively affect your charger’s performance.
You see, there’s one thing we call the trickle charge. When your phone is hooked to your charger all night long, the charger will keep charging your phone to its 100% every time it falls just a bit below the full charge when it naturally loses charge on its own.
This phenomenon causes your phone to have a high ambient temperature, which reduces its capacity over time.
It poses a fire risk.
This is most especially true if you often place your charging phone under your pillow while sleeping.
As the Fire Department in New Hampshire stated, a plugged phone produces heat even if it’s not in use. When the phone is under your pillow, the heat it produces gets trapped and has a risk of lighting up and causing a fire.
Phone-related fire cases are relatively rare, but we can’t discount that they can potentially start a fire. Even though these aren’t common, there are already recorded charger-related fire cases in different parts of the world, so would you still risk playing with fire?
It’s costing you.
Your mother might have already warned you about unplugging all devices or turning off the lights when not in use. According to her, it’s the best way to save money on electricity.
While you may think that your mother is overreacting, there’s some truth to her claims. There’s what we call vampire energy or the energy that our devices consume when plugged in even though they’re not in use.
This amount of energy is seemingly insignificant, but it can be potential monthly savings for you when you add them up. If you don’t care much about your electricity costs, then maybe you would be fazed by this—a new phone price.
As mentioned, charging your phone overnight can reduce your battery’s capacity. Over time, the battery’s performance will continue to decline up to the point when it will no longer stop working. When this time comes, you would have no other choice but to shell out money for a new phone.
That’s one unnecessary and unexpected expense that you can avoid by not charging your phone while you’re sleeping.
It can disrupt your sleep.
When you charge your phone at night, you’ll most likely place it at your bedside or under your pillow. Aside from the fact that doing so may potentially cause a fire, having your phone near, will also increase your chances of using it to put yourself asleep.
This is a big no-no since the blue lights on your phone may delay your sleep or prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep.
Should We Charge Our Phones While Sleeping?
Based on all the reasons cited, the verdict is in. We should avoid charging our phones while we’re sleeping as much as possible. Not only is it disastrous to our smartphones, but it’s also dangerous for us and our sleep quality as well.
