Don’t make this mistake while charging your phone at night, it could explode or harm your health

Mobile phones have become an integral part of our modern lives. From scrolling while eating to even taking them along to the loo, we’re literally living with them. And this one’s a sure shot shot that many of us even sleep with it next to us. But did you know this one habit can put you in a life threatening situation?

In a recent Instagram post, popular tech influencer @therajivmakhni, warned users about a common yet risky charging mistake that could overheat or even make phones explode!

Tech influencer Rajiv Makhni, who has over 2 million followers on Instagram, stated how many of us charge our phones overnight and put them under the pillow or blanket. Makhni added how this habit can be life threatening and even make the phone explode.

When a phone charges, it naturally generates heat, most of it while the battery fills up. Placing it under a pillow, blanket, or soft mattress traps that heat, causing the temperature to rise by as much as 10–12°C. This increases the risk of fire and explosion in the device.
While this is one part of the story, there are other things that, because of this one habit, can directly impact your health.

Apart from the danger of overheating and explosion, sleeping next to your phone can silently affect your health. Some factors that can be influenced by keeping the phone near may include:

Phones nearby can disrupt sleep and alertness
Even if the phone is silent, the mere presence of a device has been shown to affect sleep. NIH study-review highlights that keeping the mobile near the pillow is positively associated with poor sleep quality.
The disturbances and the irresistible urge to use the mobile phone can additionally lead to blue light exposure. NIH-backed studies addressing sleep quality found that about 1 in 5 reported poorer sleep quality after blue‑light exposure.

These findings suggest that keeping your phone too close at night can disrupt natural sleep rhythms, delay sleep onset, and reduce overall sleep quality, ultimately affecting alertness, concentration, and wellbeing the next day.

While there are no specific studies that confirm whether emf exposure from smartphones can be harmful, there is some evidence that supports this point. An NIH-backed study shows that 15 minutes of RF-EMF exposure exerted quantifiable effects on subtle energy levels of endocrine glands, nervous system, liver, kidney, spleen, and immune system of healthy teenagers. Another study found that workers exposed to higher levels of EMF had significantly poorer sleep quality and shorter sleep duration compared to less exposed workers.
While these findings don’t directly link smartphone use to health hazards, they highlight how prolonged or close-range EMF exposure could influence sleep patterns and overall physiological balance over time.

- Charge the phone on a flat, hard surface
- Keep the phone away from your head and body
- Use certified chargers and cables
- Unplug once fully charged
- Enable night mode or blue light filter

Keeping your phone close while sleeping may seem convenient, but it carries real risks, from battery overheating and potential fire to sleep disruption, alertness issues, and long-term physiological effects. By following simple safety measures, one can protect both the device and health.