Having a smartphone is pretty much a necessity in modern life, but it’s not with its problems. Namely  battery life and the fact that you have to take a charger out with you pretty much every time you go out because it’s inevitably going to run out of battery when you need it the most. That’s just the way it goes unfortunately.

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It turns out that this may be down to a charging habit that I’m sure probably 98% of us do on the regular though. The website ‘Battery University’ – which you’ve probably got to trust with a name like that – has deduced that leaving your phone charging when it’s at 100% battery actively damages the battery:

Li-ion does not need to be fully charged as is the case with lead acid, nor is it desirable to do so. In fact, it is better not to fully charge because a high voltage stresses the battery.

The battery receives “trickle charges” to maintain the battery when it’s fully charged. This keeps the battery in a high-stress, high-tension state that wears down the chemistry within it and will cause it to not function correctly in the long term.

So there you go: if you plug your phone in to charge whilst your asleep overnight – pretty much everyone in the world – then that’s probably why the battery drains so quickly after you’ve had it for a while. Damn, I guess it’s best just to always keep it plugged in when you’re not out and about. Fantastic news and surely something that every single one of us is going to do now that we know about it. Not.

For more phone charging, check out how you can now charge one with a plant. Seriously.