Go for a Fresh Start With a Device Reboot

Smartphones, tablets, laptops and computers are more reliable and stable than ever before. Most of us take this for granted and we leave our devices turned on 24/7.
However, that doesn’t mean you should never “reboot” your device (i.e., turn the device right off and restart it). In fact, a regular reboot can be helpful.
Many programs and apps have “memory leaks” (i.e. they grab and use memory as they operate, but then don’t release it for other programs when they are done). While memory leaks may slow a device down (by limiting the memory the device can use for operating programs or apps), you may not be aware that memory leaks have occurred are there as they usually won’t crash an application and will very rarely crash or lockup a device. The longer you leave your devices powered on, the more likely there is memory that is unavailable for allocation due to memory leaks. Memory leaks may also decrease battery life.
How does a reboot help? On a rebooted device all memory is freshly allocated – there is no memory tied up with a memory leak. Thankfully, most devices reboot fairly quickly today. Try to remember to reboot your devices every few days or at least once a week. Do it on a schedule (e.g., when you go to bed, when you sit down for dinner; etc.). You will likely find they operate a bit faster, and you might have better battery life. And if you leave your device off overnight – you are saving energy and you won’t get interruptions!