The Worst Places to Keep Your Phone
Phone Home
Many of us have a tough time not being hopelessly attached to our phones these days. With the wealth of compelling apps, emails, texts, and news updates about the chaotic state of various parts of the world, it's seemingly inevitable that our phones find themselves in some ill-advised places because it's increasingly hard not to remain plugged in.
There are higher-risk places to keep your phone though, and we'll now take a closer look at the worst possible places you can keep your phone. By taking note of these, you mayb be able to help improve your quality of sleep, prevent added stress on your hip bones, and more.
Under Your Pillow
You're not alone if you regularly sleep with your phone under your pillow. Maybe you've fallen into the detrimental habit of getting into passionate texting conversations, high-stakes email threads, etc. at an hour when you'd be much better off setting your phone to "Do Not Disturb" and breaking out a book for a calming nighttime routine and a better night's sleep.
The National Library of Medicine reports sleeping with your phone under your pillow and using it before bed can disrupt the release of sleep-inducing melatonin and your overall circadian rhythm. Mobile phones also send and receive signals through radiofrequency electromagnetic fields.
It's been well documented that these signals can pass through the skull, reaching the brain, which can pose potential dangers for your health and well-being, according to the Environmental Health Trust. Some studies have even provided findings that exposure to these signals results in a decrease in your total amount of REM sleep (rapid eye movement sleep), which is crucial for maintaining your physical and mental health.
In Your Bra
Not only have some studies gone on to suggest that keeping your phone in your bra could be linked to the development of breast cancer due to exposure to radiations and vibrations from your phone, but your phone can also end up getting pretty dirty. You don't want that accumulated bacteria rubbing up against your skin.
Related: 14 Things in Your Bedroom You Should Get Rid of Immediately
Plugged In Longer Than It Needs To Be
Sure, there's enough stress caused by finding that your phone is knocking on the door of fully depleted battery mode, but once you've actually managed to get your phone charged back up to 100%, unplug it.
PC.Mag reports that leaving your phone plugged in after it's been fully charged can cause damage to its battery. You don't want to deal with the ongoing hassle that can be a phone with a testy battery that never seems to charge up fast enough or fully.
Related: Power Up: 8 Tips and Tricks To Maximize Your Cellphone’s Battery Life
In Your Glove Compartment
Exposing your phone to extreme temperatures is one of the worst possible things you can do. So, it's to be expected that stowing your phone away in your glove compartment during the colder winter months or hotter summer days can wreak havoc on the state of your phone.
Time reports that when your phone's exposed to excessive heat, you can end up with data loss and/or corruption as a result of battery leakage. Then, with the colder temperatures your phone can end up suffering display issues, significantly diminished battery life, and if it's truly dipped for extreme cold, a shattered screen.
For more smart tips, sign up for our free newsletters.
In Your Bathroom
Merely making sure to keep your phone on a counter or set at least a few feet away from the toilet helps significantly reduce its exposure to nasty bacteria and viruses that can dirty the atmosphere whenever the toilet is flushed.
A study that was published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology states, “the detection of bacteria and viruses falling out onto surfaces in bathrooms after flushing indicated that they remain airborne long enough to settle on surfaces throughout the bathroom.” So, if you can summon the willpower, experiment with not bringing your phone into the bathroom.
Related: 16 Things You Should Never Do in the Shower
On Your Hip
Research has gone onto suggest that storing your phone in your hip pocket can potentially account for weakening your hip bones. You live long enough and life will naturally exercise stress on your bones, joints, muscles, etc. Give your hips the added chance of being in healthy shape for that much longer by finding another place to store your phone.
This article was originally published on Cheapism
More From Cheapism
Like Cheapism's content? Be sure to follow us.
