Is Your Cell Phone Messing with Your Skin?

Those of you who own smartphones likely know and love the convenience of having access to a multitude of functions at your fingertips.

From connecting with friends and family via phone calls to browsing the World Wide Web, to reading your favorite eBooks and more, having a smartphone certainly has its benefits.

In fact, we have them with us for about 16 hours a day, and we check them about 150 times per day!

But one thing many consumers don’t realize is just how capable these handy devices are of wreaking havoc on our skin, and I want to tell you why!

This is true of any phone, but especially true with smartphones, because of the touchscreen.

Think about it; we handle these things each and every day. After answering phone calls, opening the door, pressing the elevator button, eating our meals.

With all of the action our phones see, it is not surprising that they are, yes, dirty and oily – two things you do not wish your skin to be.

So, it is essential to give your phone the cleaning it so rightly deserve.

My favorite quick fix for cleaning my phone is to have a sanitizer wipe handy.

Buy the kind that is gentle enough for your hands, but still has good disinfecting abilities and make sure it is damp and not wet when you go to wipe down your cell phone case.

I have a pretty heavy-duty cell phone case, so my actual phone is shielded from most of the icky stuff.

I have found a little liquid hand sanitizer and a paper towel to work well for cleaning my case as well!

If you sleep with your cell phone by your bed, odds are you know how hard it can be to "unplug" from the world, so to speak.

From the dinging of emails, to the temptation to browse Pinterest one last time, it can be all too tempting to check our notifications “just one last time” before hitting the hay.

Little did we know that simply looking at our devices can make it more difficult to fall asleep.

Yup!

Some studies have proven that artificial light can suppress the release of melatonin , making it more difficult to fall asleep.

This artificial light is not unique to our cell phones, however; computer screens have this effect as well.

My recommendations?

Know when you will be going to sleep and “go off the grid” a little before then.

I like to do my skincare regimen before bedtime, so I set my phone down for the night before that.

I also find that using an actual alarm clock helps me, as it takes away the temptation to browse my phone when using that as my alarm system.

If you find that cell phone notifications are keeping you awake, there are also actions you can take!

This can include: keeping your phone in another room, setting your phone to silent, or politely asking friends and family to only contact you after a certain hour in case of emergencies.

The bottom line is: if your phone is disrupting your sleep, take action!

In the short term, lack of sleep can cause dark circles around your eyes, puffiness, dull complexion and more.

In the long term, it can actually cause you to age faster.

So put your cell phone away, and start enjoying clearer, healthier, happier skin!