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posted by janrinok on Thursday August 06 2015, @11:23PM   Printer-friendly
from the wear-dark-glasses dept.

Experts have spoken, studies have been conducted, the results are in: screen time at night is bad for our sleep. The blue wavelengths of light from LED screens like those in our phones, laptops and tablets mess with our circadian rhythm by suppressing the body's release of melatonin, the hormone our body secretes as it gets dark in order to calm us and prepare us for sleep.

When we stare at these blue-lit screens at night time, our bodies don't release the needed amount of melatonin, but release cortisol -- the stress hormone -- instead, which keeps us awake. Neurologists who conducted studies on people who were exposed to blue-heavy lights before bedtime found that those people took far longer to fall asleep than those who were exposed to warmer light or light more evenly distributed across the color spectrum.
...
[An] app [f.lux] for your desktop or laptop computer adjusts the color temperature of your monitor throughout the day to best mimic what type of light your eyes should be exposed to at those times. During daylight hours, the light is more blue-toned and similar to the bright daylight you would be exposed to outside, but as day turns to night, the monitor slowly goes warmer to match the indoor lights around you.

The article also mentions two other apps, Oyster and Twilight. Have any Soylentils used apps like these?


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  • (Score: 2) by kbahey on Friday August 07 2015, @12:32AM

    by kbahey (1147) on Friday August 07 2015, @12:32AM (#219344) Homepage

    I tried Red Shift for a few weeks (on Linux). Did not find it to make any positive difference regarding sleep patterns. I found out that it makes reading harder (less contrast) when the sun is below the horizon.

    What I did find makes a difference is go off caffeine completely. No tea, and no coffee. Only decaffeinated Swiss Water process coffee. Made a world of difference.

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  • (Score: 2) by opinionated_science on Friday August 07 2015, @01:42AM

    by opinionated_science (4031) on Friday August 07 2015, @01:42AM (#219359)

    check the calibration ( and that it is set for right region). Depending on your monitor or other apps trying to change the screen, the effect may not be implemented.

    I used it for the first time in 2013 and I really couldn't believe how quickly I'd start feeling like sleep at 9pm (say).