Change these device settings so you can sleep better



The light from your phone and computer screen could be one of the things keeping you up at night – here is how to make your devices easier on the eyes.

The light from your phone and computer screen could be impacting your sleep. It emits blue light, and experts say it could be interfering with our eyes and even our sleep! Here’s how to adjust your devices for better rest.

Dr. Raj Dasgupta is a sleep expert who says blue light is an essential cue to the human body. It occurs naturally from the sun, tells us when to wake up and when to sleep.

“You want lots of exposure during the morning and you want limited exposure at night,” said Dasgupta.

The problem is, the more we look at our phones, the more confusing it is for our brain.

“So what happens is at night when a lot of us are going to be on these devices, lots of blue light, and it prevents the release of … Melatonin. “It’s just another thing contributing to us not getting the sleep we want,” explained Dasgupta.

There are several ways you can limit your exposure to blue light.

There are glasses from a company named Felix Gray. They are designed to reduce eye stress by filtering out blue light. They cost about $100 dollars. The company recently introduced sunglasses that perform a similar function.

There are also some important settings you can change on your devices to make the screen emit less blue light when it’s getting close to bedtime.

iPhone

Go into Settings, then Display and Brightness and look for Night Shift. This will make your display appear warmer and less blue. You can have it turn on during scheduled times or follow sunrise and sunset.

Android

Go into Settings under Display and look for Blue Light Filter.

You can also change similar settings on Windows 10Mac Computers and even your tablet.

“What is the bigger picture beyond blue light? It’s technology, and if you want to actually get good sleep,  you need to put the technology away,” explained Dasgupta.

Dr. Raj recommends no phone or screens 2 hours before bedtime. A dream for sleep, but a potential tech nightmare for those of us dependent on these devices.

And, if blue light is bad, red light might be better. If you have some of those smart, color changing light bulbs in your home, you can try setting them to a warm, red light before bedtime. This could help signal to your body that it’s time to sleep.