The Nuance
Is It Bad to Sleep Near Your Smartphone?
Experts disagree over just how worried you should be about smartphone health risks
Every week, the Nuance will go beyond the basics, offering a deep and researched look at the latest science and expert insights on a buzzed-about health topic.
If you’re like the average American, you probably sleep with your smartphone within arm’s reach. A 2015 Bank of America report found that 71 percent of people sleep with or near their phones — and that includes the 13 percent who said they slept with their phones in their beds.
Maybe you’ve wondered whether keeping your phone nearby is a bad idea — perhaps it’s zapping your brain with radio waves or otherwise screwing with your health. It would be comforting if researchers firmly and finally quashed any notions that our devices can cause negative health effects. No such luck.
This past November, the U.S. government’s National Toxicology Program wrapped up a 10-year, $30 million study on the health effects of cellphone radiation exposure. In essence, the government scientists blasted rats with different levels of radiofrequency radiation (RFR) for varying lengths of time and then watched to see what would happen.
