If you’re like most people, you keep your phone close by while you sleep. But is it safe to sleep next to your phone? Many of us have heard rumors that sleeping with our cell phones could increase the risk of cancer, but are these just baseless fears? In this blog post, we will explore the research on the safety of sleeping with your cell phone and how it affects getting a good night’s sleep.
Cell phones emit radiation, which is why many people worry about sleeping with their device near them at night. However, medical experts agree that the radiation emitted from cell phones is non-ionizing and does not cause DNA damage. This means that there is no scientific evidence to suggest that sleeping next to your phone increases the risk of cancer or other diseases. Major organizations such as The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) have reviewed the evidence and concluded that cell phone use including sleeping with it is safe.
While there isn’t any scientific evidence linking cell phones and cancer, having your phone nearby can still disrupt your sleep. Notifications or stimulating content on our phones can make it harder for us to relax and fall asleep leading to lower quality of sleep and amount slept per night on average by 48 minutes according to one study in PLOS One. Even if we silence our notifications, simply having our phone nearby can make it more difficult for our minds to relax as they may be preoccupied by potential messages or emails waiting for us.
So what should we do if we like keeping our phones near us at night? It may be best for quality sleep purposes if you keep your phone out of your bedroom altogether when going to bed so as not be roused from sleep by notifications or kept awake worrying about what might be waiting for us on our devices in the morning. Some people also like putting their phones into airplane mode or Do Not Disturb mode before going to bed which can help reduce distractions during restful hours. If you do want access to your device overnight in case of an emergency, try placing it on silent or vibrate far away from where you’re sleeping such as across the room or on a separate table away from you while resting peacefully in bed.
In short, there is no scientific evidence linking cell phones with cancer even when placed next us when we are sleeping so there’s no need worry about any health risks there! However, excess exposure to our devices during restful hours can still disrupt both quantity and quality of sleep so try taking steps such as turning off notifications or keeping them at least several feet away from where you’re resting in order get a good night’s rest each night!
