New Sleep Screen Technology

Do you enjoy lying in bed at night and watching TV, or viewing your phone or other digital device?

Are you having problems sleeping?

We in the sleep business know that blue spectrum light emitted by TV, cell phone and computer screens interferes with sleep. That’s why most sleep experts recommend not viewing the devices just before bedtime. Bright light emitted by digital device screens suppresses production of the hormone melatonin, which tells the brain it’s time to go to sleep, thus interrupting our circadian rhythms, the body’s natural sleep/wake cycle. In other words, the bright blue light tricks our brains into thinking it’s daytime, and that we should remain awake.

Now, technology companies are recognizing and doing something about the blue light problem. In December, Amazon introduced “Blue Shade” for its Fire tablets, while Google rolled out “Night Light” for its Google Play Books. As daylight turns to dark, the features automatically reduce blue light emissions from their device screens to help users sleep better. In January, Apple included a blue light filter called “Night Shift” in its new iOS 9.3 operating system. So far, the new Apple operating system has only been released to software developers, but is expected to be available to consumers soon

F.lux

But you needn’t purchase one of those devices in order to filter blue light. F.lux is a free blue light filter application for all digital devices. It makes your device screen bright in the daytime and softer at night. F. lux can be downloaded from its website https://justgetflux.com/.

Drift

Drift, a small black box manufactured by Saffron, reduces the amount of blue light coming from the TV screen. Retailing for $99, Drift made its debut in December also. It attaches to the TV set via an HDMI cable. The viewer simply sets sleep and wake times, and Drift begins gradually reducing your TV’s blue light emissions an hour before bedtime. The device can also be programmed to make your TV wake you up. To learn more about Drift, go to their website at http://seesaffron.com/drift-tv-box.