Apple warns people should never sleep with their phone under their pillow while it's charging

Tech giant Apple has issued a warning to those of us who sleep with our charging iPhones under our pillows as we sleep - and it's a lot worse than skewing your sleep cycle or reducing your battery life.

Waking up to full charge is an attractive prospect for many, with the risk of missing a WhatsApp or call while your iPhone is hooked up in a separate room is significantly minimised.

So, what's the big deal?

Well, Apple's PSA revealed that taking the far bigger risk of juicing up as you recharge your own batteries could 'result in fire, electric shock, injury, or damage to iPhone or other property'.

Falling asleep with your phone in your hand is no-no if it involves leaving it 'under a blanket, pillow, or your body'.

Apparently, the big problem is airflow as the charger should be in a 'well-ventilated area when in use or charging' to avoid overheating and nix the fire risk.

The main message direct from the tech company is as follows: "Don’t sleep on a device, power adapter, or wireless charger, or place them under a blanket, pillow, or your body, when it’s connected to a power source."

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Instead, it advises: "Keep your iPhone, the power adapter, and any wireless charger in a well-ventilated area when in use or charging."

It concludes: "Take special care if you have a physical condition that affects your ability to detect heat against the body."

But that's not where its advice ends, as the company shared some more safe-charging advice including using the charging cable that comes with your phone and an Apple USB power adapter that can be bought separately.

Lost it? It advises replacing with a 'Made for iPhone' or third-party cable and power adapters that are 'compliant with USB 2.0 or later'.

It should also have 'applicable country regulations and international and regional safety standards'.

Going cheap can mean the charger doesn't 'meet applicable safety standards, and charging with such adapters could pose a risk of death or injury'.

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Charging with your phone 'face up', avoiding 'damaged cables or chargers' and avoiding 'moisture', 'metallic cases and metallic foreign objects touching the charger' is also important to prevent 'fire, electric shock, injury, or damage to iPhone or other property'.

There are a few other reasons science says to keep your phone out of the bedroom other than doing a Wordle at 3.00am.

This includes research showing blue light emitted by the screen inhibits the production of melatonin, the hormone that makes you drowsy which can make it harder to drop off.

Your phone stops your brain switching off, meaning you're wired while trying to fall asleep which results in staying asleep becoming a lot harder.

Advice from Health is to limit screen time overall, make the bedroom a screen-free zone and - if you really need to use it - put it in night-time mode.

Topics: Technology, Apple, iPhone, Health

Amelia Jones