Sleeping with your phone in bed? Here are some health risk

With the emergence of many social media and other cool stuffs that can be done on one's phone, it has become 'a trend' especially among young people to sleep with their phones next to them. For some it is unintentional as some dose off while using their phones in bed whereas for others it is a deliberate act aimed at having their phone at their beck and call incase of any notification and most times, beneath the pillow seems to be an ideal spot for easy reach when it rings.
Which ever way, sleeping with your phone next to you is not advisable due to its hazardous effects on your health:

Risk of Fire Outbreak

A good number of phone users sleep with their phones beneath their pillow. This is not advisable as mobile phones use electromagnetic radiation in the microwave range (450-3800 MHz) which produces heating effect which in turn could result in explosion of the battery and a possible incidence of fire.

Sleeping with one's phone under the pillow has led to recorded incidences of pillows being set ablaze.

One popular incidence of this is the July 2014 teenager, Ariel Tolfree whose Samsung galaxy S4 got ignited under her pillow and the fire melted the handset and burned the pillow, bedsheet and mattress and she was roused by the smoldering smell.

Reduction in melatonin production

The body has built-in systems that help regulate circadian rhythm, and it relies on external light stimulus (especially blue light) to signal times the body should be awake and times it should be asleep. There are about 30,000+ cells in the eye that sense blue light and these cells signal the brain to turn off melatonin production. Melatonin is necessary for sleep and when it is suppressed at night, (when it should be increasing), it can affect sleep quality.

Blue light with similar wavelength as sunlight (during the brightest hours of the day) impede the production of melatonin resulting in alertness. Hence, sleeping with your phone next to you can prevent you from sleeping well due to the blue light from the screen.

It put your health at risk

A Harvard study showed the connection between light, diabetes and possible obesity. 10 people put on a schedule that gradually shifted the timing of their circadian rhythms were found to have increased sugar levels, (leaving them in a prediabetic state) and levels of leptin, a hormone that leaves you feeling full after a meal.

Also sleeping next to your phone exposes you to harmful radiation which can lead to cancer as affirmed by World health organization: Electronic devices in general are bad for the body because they produce toxic effects that can increase the chances of having cancer.

Furthermore you stand a risk of having headache, muscle pain and other complicated health issues like DNA damage.

In conclusion, It is advisable to switch off your mobile phone before you sleep or place it several centimeters away from you if you don't want to turn it off.