Yes, you can bring your phone to a tanning bed, however, it is not advisable. While bringing your phone to a tanning bed may not cause any damage or negative effect on the phone, but long-term exposure of your phone to heat or UV radiation from the tanning bed can cause your screen, battery, and other electronics inside the device to malfunction.
The temperatures inside a tanning bed can be very warm, and this can damage certain components of your device permanently. Howbeit, you can still choose to bring your phone to a tanning bed only if you have a brand new phone.
Take your time to go through online reviews to find reliable phones that are not transmitting any signal which could potentially endanger you while tanning. These reviews will help you in deciding if you should take your phone to a tanning bed or not.
If your cell phone can emit such a signal, then consider getting a case to cover the cell phone rather than placing it near your body. In addition, consider keeping your phone away from the tanning bed as much as possible, or better still, as far as possible from the UV rays.
Always remember that these rays can cause damage to the screen and battery of your phone and this can in turn cause serious harm to the skin. Do not also place your phone on the table while in the tanning bed; rather keep it away from the table or wherever you are going to be using the tanning bed.
Side Effects of Using a Phone in a Tanning Bed
There are indeed possible side effects and hazards that come with bringing your phone into a tanning bed. These side effects include;
Table of Content
- Distractions
- Damaged Touch Screen
- Battery Leaks or Catches Fire
- Complete Shut Down
- Data Loss and Corruption
- Battery Loses its Charge
- Stop using your phone, or put it in airplane mode
- Make sure it is a new phone
- Play with ‘Accessibility’ settings
- Keep your eyes protected
- Don’t charge your phone close to the tanning bed
- Follow the Tanning Consultant’s Advice
Distractions
While you can decide to bring your phone with you to a tanning bed, note that a good number of tanning salons in the United States recommend you don’t bring your phone with you. When you are using your phone or texting in a tanning bed, you are distracted from why you are at the salon in the first place, and it will make you keep your eyes open.
According to experts, indoor tanning beds can expose you to as much UV light as being outside in the sunlight. Aside from being very dangerous to the skin, it can also cause severe damage to your eyelids and internal structures.
Damaged Touch Screen
Always remember that your phone is made of metal and glass, and both materials are known to absorb heat very quickly and can reach very high hot temperatures.
Owing to that, if your phone is exposed to the warm temperature of a tanning bed, the glass touch screen can quickly overheat and start to malfunction. Note that this can cause numerous issues such as small glitches, freezing features, or even total malfunction if the phone isn’t well protected.
Battery Leaks or Catches Fire
Although this is very rare, it still very possible for your phone’s battery to start to leak if you expose it to the UV rays of a tanning bed for so long. Note that if it doesn’t cool down, there is a possibility that the phone or battery can even catch fire, causing more damage than it’s worth.
Complete Shut Down
When a mobile phone reaches temperatures over 95 degrees, it will start to shut down. Some phones, like the iPhone, feature built-in sensors that will let you know if your phone is overheating. If you see the warning message, you should take your phone away from the heat source before it shuts itself down.
Data Loss and Corruption
This is another side effect to consider when bringing your phone to a tanning bed. Have in mind that the high temperature and heat can cause internal damage beyond repair. Note that being exposed to excessive heat can cause several issues like data loss, motherboard failure, and even internal corruption of your files.
Battery Loses its Charge
Even for a very short time, note that exposing your phone to heat can cause the battery to lose its charge very quickly. Also note that if you expose your phone to a very high warm temperature for a longer period, it puts more strain on the battery. If you are not careful, the battery can start to lose its ability to charge.
Safety Tips for Using a Phone in a Tanning Bed
If you intend on bringing your phone to a tanning bed, there are certain precautions and safety tips you need to consider to ensure you protect both you and your mobile phone. These tips include;
Stop using your phone, or put it in airplane mode
Aside from the fact that external temperature can cause a phone to overheat, also note that playing games or making lots of calls will also cause your phone to work harder and generate more heat.
When this heat combines with the warm temperatures from the tanning bed, it can lead to overheating. To ensure that your phone cools down, put it in airplane mode and stop using processor-intensive apps like games — or better yet, stop using it altogether during the 10-20 minutes duration of your tan.
Make sure it is a new phone
Note that you can still choose to bring your phone in a tanning bed as long as it is a brand new phone with a brand new charger. Also, make sure that the cell phone does not transmit any signal that could in any way endanger you while using a tanning bed.
If your cell phone can emit such a signal, consider getting a case or covering the cell phone rather than placing it near your body. Note that this will protect the phone from any radiation which might pose a danger while tanning.
Play with ‘Accessibility’ settings
When looking to bring your phone to a tanning bed, have it in mind there are some Accessibility settings you may want to experiment with, such as Color Tint and other visual tweaks, coupled with the option to have text read to you.
Also, note that you can dictate messages using your voice and leveraging personal assistants like Siri or Google Assistant. However, ensure to wait for your tan to finish before double-checking what’s transcribed on the screen before you hit “Send.”
Keep your eyes protected
You will definitely need to keep your eyes open when using your mobile phone in a tanning bed. Although your eyes may appear fine initially, you could end up with permanent damage to them over time.
Exposure to UV rays can also accelerate the formation of wrinkles around your eyes. Owing to that, it is imperative you keep your eyes protected. There are numerous FDA-compliant options for eye protection that allow your tanners to text, take a break from claustrophobic feelings, or even nap.
Don’t charge your phone close to the tanning bed
You need to understand that charging your phone can cause it to heat up. Therefore, if you leave your phone in a warm environment like a Tanning salon or close to the tanning table while it’s charging, the heat from the tanning bed will add to the normal heat that’s a side-effect of the electricity transfer to your phone’s battery. This can cause the phone to heat up far more than it normally would.
Follow the Tanning Consultant’s Advice
It is always important to follow the instructions of the staff of the tanning studio. Always remember that these experts know the ins and outs of indoor tanning, and they can always offer you helpful tidbits.