A new study has shown that doomscrolling before bed with your phone just an inch from your face could be dangerous – and not for the reason you might think.
Most of us now know that staring into that rectangle of blue light at night can disrupt our sleep patterns, not to mention cause us to stay up far later than we intended, leading to fatigue the next day.
However, there’s now another, far more disgusting reason to quit your late night phone habit, as they devices are actually a festering hotbed of potentially deadly bacteria.
A survey of 575 adults conducted by MattressNextDay found that 74 per cent of respondents sleep with their phones by their head or underneath their pillow, according to the Daily Mail.
And it turns out that these phones, left nestled beside you as you sleep, could be harbouring harmful bacteria usually found in cockroach droppings, according to the experts.
The pathogen, called pseudomonas aeruginosa, is a bacteria most commonly found in these creepers’ poop, which can cause life-threatening sepsis in vulnerable people.
Exposure to the bacteria can also lead to eye infections, skin rashes, pus-filled pimples, diarrhoea, headaches, and other unpleasant conditions, according to the NHS. Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria is also notorious for its antibacterial resistance which makes infections even harder to treat.
What’s more- the warmth and humidity you find in a typical bed is the perfect place for these grim bacteria to thrive and flourish.
Previous studies have found that mobile phones carry 10 times more bacteria than a toilet seat, and you’d presumably not want to lie in bed with a toilet seat right beside your face.
Smartphone screens were found to harbour mould, yeast and bacteria in tests carried out by a firm who provide insurance cover for electronic gadgets.
Insurance2go swabbed three handsets – the iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel – to test for aerobic bacteria that are potentially harmful to humans, and to check which areas of the phones were worst affected. They also tested a computer mouse, keyboard and toilet seat.
Phone screens were found to have up to 50 times more colony forming units than the keyboard and mouse, and more than 10 times the toilet seat.
Martin Seeley, sleep expert and CEO of MattressNextDay, says: “Remember, your bed should be a sanctuary for rest, not a petri dish for potentially harmful bacteria.”
However, experts say that there are some simple measures you can take to reduce the risk of infection.
Regularly cleaning your phone with alcohol wipes or a UV steriliser device will wipe out any bacteria which may be living on your devices.
Mr Seeley explains: “By implementing these simple hygiene practices, we can all sleep a little sounder knowing we’re not sharing our beds with cockroach-related bacteria.”
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