When I’m watching movies and TV shows, there’s a trope that never fails to get me sweating. Despite the stress it gives me, it’s not a horror movie trope, or at least it’s not limited to horror movies.
Most recently I saw it in an episode of Better Call Saul. It’s the moment where a person is using a laptop at home, often in bed or on a couch. They put their laptop either directly on the mattress or cushion, or sometimes propped up on a pillow. Knowing how laptop cooling works, the sight always makes me cringe.
Laptops have to push heat out of themselves to stay cool, and the vents for that process are typically on the sides and bottom of the laptop. If you set your laptop on anything soft and heat-retaining, like a blanket or pillow, you’re hampering your laptop’s ability to do that cooling. That blocked cooling is what I’m thinking about when I see these scenes in movies, and it makes me grimace knowing the laptop’s lifespan is likely being shortened.
Yes, I know: “It’s just a movie.” Still, if this happens casually in the background of movies that’s an indication it’s an accepted and normal sight. If you want to maximize how long your laptop lasts, though, you’ll want to avoid placing it on surfaces like that.
You can use your laptop in bed without such risks if you just grab a laptop stand. In fact, these stands for beds can feel a lot more luxurious than a pillow. If you’re going to use your laptop in bed, why not get enough surface to hold your coffee, phone, or notebook in front of you, too?
Laptop bed stands generally come in two forms: cushioned and legged. The cushioned ones, like this LapGear stand, are meant to be placed directly on your lap, with the cushions keeping your legs comfortable and the flat surface allowing ventilation. The legged ones, like this Klear unit, stand arching over your lap and also often double as a riser for your laptop at your actual desk.
LapGear Home Office Lap Desk
$31 $35 Save $4
The LapGear offers a comfortable solution to working with your laptop anywhere you can find a place to sit down.
It doesn’t really matter which way you go. Honestly, I’ve often used a binder I happen to have on hand, just to give my laptop a little more opportunity to vent.
