Chances are that when you get a new watch, you are going to want to wear it everywhere. After all, what reason is there not to show the watch off? Some people might be worried about misplacing their watch when they take it off before bed, so they may consider wearing the watch to sleep with them. Other people might be more interested in smart watches and the convenience they offer, opting to wear these to bed so that they can be checked at a moment’s notice in the morning.
Despite the reasons there are for people choosing to wear their watches to bed, there is still some skepticism on whether or not it is really okay to go sleeping with watch on. The truth is that whether or not it is good for you (or the watch) depends heavily on the type of watch you are wearing and how you are sleeping.
Is it Dangerous?
There are some concerns surrounding the safety of wearing smart watches and similar watches that are designed to be like miniature phones to bed because of the miniscule amounts of radiation that they give off. There is some truth to these rumors. Some smart watch companies do use tritium illumination to brighten the watches so that they can be used in complete darkness, and tritium has been linked to very small amounts of radiation.
However, the amount of radiation that this material gives off is such a minute amount that it isn’t anything to be particularly concerned about. There is no risk of it causing severe long-term adverse effects because you chose to wear the watch for an extra eight hours during the night versus simply wearing it in the daytime. If you are particularly concerned about radiation exposure, then choosing to take the watch off before you go to bed is perfectly fine as well.
The exact studies of how this material affects your health in the long term are still underway, as using this material in watches is a relatively recent tradition so it is not exactly known how minute the radiation is or how that will affect the cells in your body over time. As a whole, smart watches typically have more of this material than your standard digital watches, and most analog watches don’t have this material at all unless their watch faces are designed to light up at night.
In short, there is truth to the rumor that smart watches can produce radiation, but the amount of radiation is such a small amount that it is not worth fretting about for most people.
Does it Damage the Watch?
Sleeping with your watch on is something that many people are in the habit of doing, but if you have spent a fair amount of money on an expensive high-end watch, you may be worried about damaging it. Typically, the watches that are more costly and have better materials in them are less likely to be damaged by wearing them to bed. These watches receive their damage through physical force rather than being in a less-than-optimal position for the night. Assuming that your watch is made from high-quality materials, the most that would happen is that you would have a red mark on your arm from where the watch was, but beyond that, it shouldn’t damage the watch.
As a rule of thumb, if your watch is fragile enough that it could be damaged from wearing it to sleep, then it is a watch that shouldn’t be worn particularly often in the first place. Because most watches are designed to be worn throughout the waking day, every day, they are meant to be somewhat resilient to natural movement, wear and tear, and the like. Most decent watches can hold up to a night of sleep easily. When all is said and done, if people exercise with their watches on and wear them into the shower, then they should be able to hold up to a night’s worth of sleep.
Are There Benefits to Sleeping with a Watch on?
There are absolutely benefits to choosing to sleep with a watch on, regardless of the type of watch that you choose to wear. For some people who have smart watches, it can be helpful for tracking sleep and measuring the amount of deep sleep that they have gotten. For people who are taking a nap or need to be awake at a certain hour, keeping a watch on can allow for quick and easy access to checking the time through a simple flick of the wrist. Plenty of people find that wearing a watch to bed is even comfortable, and once they get into the habit of it, it can be difficult to get out of the habit because they get used to the feeling of it.
Wearing most watches to bed is something that you are not going to have to worry about, both for the sake of your watch and the sake of your health.
