33% Of People Don't Shut Down Their Computer At Night - Here's Why They Should

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 92% of U.S. households have a computer. Beyond that, most people replace their computers after three to eight years (via HP). If your desktop PC or laptop needs a replacement, you will probably experience overheating and poor performance issues. However, just because your computer is slow, it doesn't mean that you need to replace it — you could find the cause of the problem and fix it. Sometimes it can be because your operating system needs an update or you have too many programs running in the background, especially if you're using Windows.

Then again, even if you fix all the issues that are causing your computer to slow down, its longevity will depend on how you take care of it. For instance, keeping your computer in an environment where it's not exposed to excess dust, humidity, or high temperatures can make it last longer. What's more, cleaning your computer at least once every six months can make a big difference. But what about shutting down your computer? How many people power off their computers every night? We did a poll to find out.

In a SlashGear survey, we asked 590 U.S. respondents if they shut down their desktop PC or laptop at night — 66.61% answered "Yes." On the other hand, 33.39% of the respondents said that they don't shut down their computers at night. However, most computers are programmed to automatically go to sleep even if you don't shut them down — unless you disable that feature. According to ENERGY STAR, the energy savings accrued when you shut down your computer are negligible compared to when you put it in sleep mode.

But even if you don't save a lot of power if you shut down your computer at night, you should consider doing it since it will make your computer last longer. Another reason why you should turn off your computer every night is to improve its performance. More succinctly, switching off your computer will force the programs running in the background to shut down. If the computer is in sleep mode, those programs that are taking up a lot of space in your RAM will resume when it wakes up. In addition to that, shutting down and rebooting your computer is crucial if you want to update the software.