For many of us, our bedtime routine includes charging our devices so that they are ready to power us through the next day. But another way our phones become convenient at night is that they double as alarm clocks. In order to ensure the phone is waking us up, we may find it helpful to keep our devices next to us in bed, or even under our pillows.
But some experts warn against storing your phone beneath your pillow while you sleep — and their reasons are more alarming than you might think.
According to one expert, there have been instances where sleeping with a phone under a pillow has “melted a hole through the bed.” Here’s why this habit should be avoided.
Lithium-ion Batteries are Sensitive to Heat
Your phone is made with a lithium-ion battery that is sensitive to time and that, over time, produces more heat. If this heat isn’t dispersed effectively, expert @IdkSterling explains, that heat is retained within the device.
When you charge your phone for short bursts of time, it doesn’t create enough heat to have an impact on your phone. Some experts recommend removing your phone case so that your phone’s battery is even cooler when you charge it, but either way, normal charging habits should cause your battery to heat up much.
Although it is incredibly rare, there have been instances in which phones stored under pillows have accumulated so much heat that they’ve combusted and started fires. Again, this risk isn’t great and has become far less common with updated phone models. But the underlying lesson is that heat plus a smartphone battery do not mix. It’s smart to avoid charging or storing your device in extreme temperatures.
A better practice is to only charge your phone in room temperature and to opt for short bursts of charging that keep your battery within the sweet zone of between 30 and 80 percent charged.
