How to sleep better by reducing blue light exposure

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Throughout the day, many of us are constantly accompanied by a computer of some kind: a desktop at work, a laptop or tablet at home, and a smartphone throughout the day. We’re more connected and entertained than ever before, but staring at a screen all day disrupts our circadian rhythms and makes it harder to get to sleep on time. Thankfully, there are easy steps you can take to sleep better, without going cold turkey on electronics before bed.

A lot of it is down to blue light. For whatever reason, blue light emitted by a computer screen seems to have a disproportionate effect on sleep patterns compared to light of other colours. That means reducing the amount of blue light emitted by a screen can reduce many of the ill effects of nighttime computer use. By changing the colour temperature of the screen from its typically cold standard (6500K) to something warmer (say, 2300K to 4200K), you can reduce the amount of blue light emitted and reap those benefits.

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One of the most popular solutions for doing this is called f.lux. It’s a free app for PCs and Macs, available online. (It was also briefly available for iOS, but sadly Apple exerted pressure to have it removed.) The app is pretty straight-forward to use: just install it, tell it what kind of lighting you have, and you’re away. It’ll automatically shift the colour temperature of your display to match your lighting between dusk and dawn, gradually becoming warmer to reduce the amount of blue light emitted.

SEE ALSO: ‘How to Stop PPI Calls and Texts’

Some monitors have a similar function. For example, BenQ monitors have a Low Blue Light mode which also adjusts colour temperature, and doesn’t require an app to be installed. This feature should become more common in monitors in the future, as the benefits of this colour shifting is better understood.

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You can also use the app Twilight on Android to adjust your smartphone or tablet’s colour temperature. The app, available for free in the Play Store, lets you choose a suitable warmer colour temperature to be triggered at sundown, between certain times, or engaged all the time. Twilight also allows you to dim the screen past its normal lowest brightness, which can be great if you need to check your phone in the middle of the night without being blinded.

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All of the apps mentioned above are free and could really help your sleep cycle, so they’re definitely worth trying. Of course, not using a smartphone or tablet at all before bed is best?—?but for many of us, that just isn’t viable.

I hope you find this article helpful. Let me know what you think in the comments below, and feel free to share your own sleep suggestions!