I confess, I am one of those people that does not turn off their computer at night. I work on my computer a lot during the day, just like most people who work from home on their computers do. I am also a bit of a night owl who likes to work at night when the kids are asleep. And often I will go to bed, just to get back up again during the night if I am hit with sudden inspiration. So, yea, my computer stays on most nights. (Besides, I run my virus scan at night, sheesh.)
Should You Turn Your Computer Off At Night ?
Surprisingly, some experts say that it can actually be better to leave your computer on all night. Really.
The ‘turn it off – leave it on’ issue comes down to how much you use your computer. If you have a job that requires you to be on your computer for more than a couple of hours every day, it may be better for your computer to stay on at night. According to an article on Digital Trends, turning your computer on and off a lot causes more stress than just leaving it on.
However, if you just pop on and off the computer once or twice a day for brief periods of time, it is fine to turn the computer off when you are done.
The author points out that you should probably put your computer in ‘sleep mode’ if you do tend to leave your it on all night (you know – for those midnight moments of creative inspiration that make you get back up out of bed and work again) . The computer will use less energy in sleep mode while still not powering all the way off. On the other hand, using the hibernation mode is not such a good idea as it can cause as much stress as powering on and off does.
So while there are good reasons to give your computer the night off – like saving energy and money on your electric bill- if you are like me and work on your computer at home a lot during the day-time, you may not want to turn your computer off at night after all.
