We’ve all worked late nights, but that’s just
the reality of modern business - our technology allows us to be productive
whenever we have the opportunity to be. However, our physiology doesn’t always
agree with our work habits - or the tools we use. One example: the influence
that staring at a screen late into the night has on our ability to achieve
restful sleep.
Fortunately, devices are now made with certain
settings that can temper this influence. We’ll give you a few tips on how to
adjust these settings.
Your computer, as well as any other device you
use with a screen, lets out a variety of types of light. One of these lights,
blue light, actually reduces your production of melatonin - the hormone that
the brain’s pineal gland creates based upon the amount of light a person is
exposed to. As the pineal gland creates more melatonin the less light you are
exposed to, there are effects like the prevalence of seasonal affective
disorder during the short, dark days of winter.
This leads our devices to cause a
complication, as the blue light they emit can fool our brains. Normally, when
the sun sets, melatonin levels should naturally rise - encouraging our bodies
to rest. However, the blue light from our devices keep our brains stimulated,
throwing off our sleep patterns and preventing us from getting the restful
sleep we need.
To counter this, developers have worked to
create solutions that reduce the impact of blue light.
Both Windows and Android refer to their blue
light filters as “Night Light.” What Night light allows a user to do is to set
scheduled periods where their devices filter out the blue light, allowing their
melatonin to rise as it should, making it easier for them to go to sleep. Doing
so is pretty simple.
In Windows
10, you’ll need to first access your Settings,
and from there, access System and
then Display. You will be presented
with numerous options for the Night Light capability, including the means to
adjust the temperature of the light your monitor gives out, set custom hours
for Night Light to turn on, or set it to activate and deactivate based on the
rising and setting of the sun for your location.
In Android,
start by accessing your Notifications
Menu and entering your Settings by pressing the Gear icon. There, you’ll find Display.
On this page, you can activate Night Light via the toggle switch, while
pressing on the name brings you to more granular options, like - again - the
ability to schedule the blue light filter to activate between certain hours, or
between sunrise and sunset.
Have you had trouble getting to sleep after
using your technology, and if so, what other methods have you used to encourage
sleep? Counting sheep? Wearing socks to bed? Share your most effective
strategies in the comments!