Akin Ibitoye, a technology consultant at TMB Tech, has issued a warning to Nigerians on the widespread practice of sleeping with mobile phones placed under the pillow or beside the bed. While discussing Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Monday, May 5, Ibitoye elaborated on a number of possible risks associated with this habit. These risks reportedly include disruption of sleep patterns as well as a host of health and safety risks for the user.
Dangers to Sleep and Health
Ibitoye noted how closely mobile devices are related to sleep and mental health issues. Quality sleep and mental health can be disrupted simply by the space mobile devices occupy in someone’s life. He added that mobile devices can overheat, becoming an additional danger. Ibitoye warns of these dangers by asserting, “Disruption of sleep, adverse effects on mental health, and mobile devices overheating due to battery and fire risks all exacerbate issues with lithium-ion batteries.” He continues to warn not to “sleep with your gadget under your pillow,” but he adjuncts his remark with the comment, “When you sleep with your devices under your pillows, it actually affects you. You don’t know.” Be careful as to not encourage devices being kept nearby.
Impact on Circadian Rhythm
Ibitoye argues that a thing as simple as keeping a mobile phone in a bedroom can ruin the quality of sleep. Other than the blue light emitted by devices, which Ibitoye mentions disrupts circadian rhythms and sleep patterns, the presence of a smartphone alone is enough to bring overall sleep quality down. This can result in greater levels of frustration alongside allegedly resulting in chronic health concerns. Elaborating further on explaining how these devices activate the brain’s do-sleep signals, he exclaims, “These gadgets disrupt our circadian rhythm. That’s how, when it’s dark, your body gets the signal it needs to sleep.”
“When did not getting enough sleep become a problem? There are quite a number of things, even the medical practitioners have said, that could work negatively for your body’.”
Psychological Strain and Loss of Focus
Ibitoye emphasized the cognitive consequences of smartphone use during nocturnal hours and mentioned doomscrolling as an example. He defined doomscrolling as the compulsive social media activity of scrolling through feeds at late hours. “We spoke about doomscrolling, where you just want to check Instagram for about five minutes, but you end up spending two hours. People are losing time.” Ibitoye recommended the use of non-digital alarm clocks to avoid relying on devices overnight, arguing that smartphones kept close at night act as distractions that can reduce overall sleep quality and wellness.
Fire Risks and Battery Concerns
The technological adviser emphasized the fire dangers and other risks pertaining to physical safety. He remembered particular incidents, specifically citing videos showing the explosion of phones overheating when left beneath pillows or blankets that can trap heat. Ibitoye commented on the nature of the batteries in mobile devices: “These batteries, lithium-ion batteries, you notice they don’t allow them on airplanes for good reasons. This tiny marvel of technology can explode any time. If you keep your phone under your pillow, your phone actually gets heated up.” With this specific practice, he warned strongly in his conclusion, “Sleeping with your phone or your tablet under your pillow is actually a huge risk that you do not want to take.”
Minimizing Exposure
Ibitoye had other suggestions related to how the use of phones can expose people to electromagnetic radiation. Ibitoye has a concern that mobile phones, even if they look switched off, are generating signals that disturb mental functioning. For such activities, he suggested earphone use, whether they are wired or wireless, with ‘audio’ being received on the phone. Furthermore, he recommended as a precautionary measure not to place mobile phones too near the head while sleeping.
Emergency Use Alternative
For users who may wish to have the phone within reach during the night for potential emergencies, Ibitoye offered an account of methods that provide connection but reduce exposure to phone use, beyond which there are no other potential problems. For these users, he recommended switching to airplane mode. He was quoted as stating, “If you cannot afford to switch it off, put it in airplane mode. No call will come in, no SMS, no notification, but your alarm will still go off.” People who want access to posture alerts conservatively can set the phone’s alarm to active while disabling features that could disrupt sleep or pose security risks.
