Technology advisor at TMB Tech, Akin Ibitoye, has warned Nigerians against the health and psychological implications of sleeping with mobile devices besides their beds or under their pillows.
He warned when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Monday.
According to him, sleeping with phones beside one’s bed or under the pillow leads to sleep disruptions and potential explosions triggered by overheating lithium-ion batteries.
“Do not sleep with your gadget under your pillow. When you sleep with your devices under your pillow, it actually affects you. You don’t know,” Ibitoye cautioned.
Addressing those who claim they need their phones nearby for work or emergencies, he said, “Unless it’s absolutely tied to your work, you can do without your phone.”
Ibitoye also warned of physical hazards such as overheating and potential fire risks. He cited past incidents involving phone batteries that exploded due to heat buildup, especially when left under pillows or bedcovers.
“These batteries, lithium-ion batteries, you notice they don’t allow them on aeroplanes for good reasons. This tiny marvel of technology can explode at any time. If you keep your phone under your pillow, your phone gets heated up,” he said.
He argued that an internal biological clock that regulates sleep-wake cycles and other physiological processes over a 24-hour period, influenced by light and other environmental cues, the physical presence of a mobile phone in the bedroom can reduce sleep quality, increase irritability, and in extreme cases, pose safety hazards.
“These gadgets disrupt our circadian rhythm. That’s how, when it’s dark, your body gets the signal it needs to sleep. When you don’t get enough sleep, there are quite a number of things that even medical practitioners have said could result negatively back to your body,” he explained.
“We spoke about doomscrolling, where you just want to check Instagram for about five minutes, but you end up spending two hours,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to return to using alarm clocks instead of relying on their phones to wake up.
“Before mobile phones, we had alarm clocks. The alarm clock would only sound when the time is right,” he noted, adding that phones attract unnecessary distractions at night with pop-ups and vibrations.
On the subject of radiation, Ibitoye said that even when a phone appears off, it can still send and receive signals.
“These electromagnetic devices being so close actually affect the electrical signals in our brain,” he explained, urging frequent phone users to opt for wired or wireless earphones and keep phones away from their heads.
For those living in tight spaces or unable to switch off their phones, Ibitoye advised using aeroplane mode at night.
“If you cannot afford to switch it off, put it in aeroplane mode. No call will come in, no SMS, no notification, but your alarm will still go off.”
He referenced a viral video of a woman whose phone exploded while she was making a call.
“Sleeping with your phone or your tablet under your pillow is actually a huge risk that you do not want to take.
“As ubiquitous as technology is, it can be harmful to our bodies with extended usage,” he said.
