Artificial Light and Sleep: How to Improve Your Sleep
The Impact of Modern Life on Sleep
Contemporary lifestyles are increasingly characterized by delayed bedtimes, reduced sleep duration, and diminished sleep quality. This trend is largely attributable to the proliferation of electronic devices and their associated bright displays.
The Role of Electronic Devices
The widespread availability of electronic distractions significantly contributes to sleep disturbances. The emitted light from screens can interfere with the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle.
Addressing this issue is crucial for both physical and mental well-being. Prioritizing sleep is an investment in overall health.
Consequences of Sleep Deprivation
Insufficient or poor-quality sleep can have a range of negative effects. These include reduced cognitive function and a diminished sense of happiness.
Taking proactive steps to improve sleep habits is therefore essential. It’s time to reclaim restful nights for a healthier, more fulfilling life.
Prioritizing sleep is a vital component of a healthy lifestyle.
- Reduce screen time before bed.
- Create a relaxing bedtime routine.
- Ensure a dark and quiet sleep environment.
The Detrimental Effects of Bright Light on Sleep
Many contemporary lifestyle choices deviate from the conditions under which humans evolved over hundreds of millennia. A significant portion of the population now leads a largely sedentary existence, contrasting with our bodies’ inherent need for movement. Similarly, caloric intake often exceeds metabolic demands. Correspondingly, we have embraced technology providing constant access to bright light, frequently extending our exposure well into the evening through screens and devices—a practice demonstrably harmful to both sleep quality and overall health.
The assertion that late-night exposure to artificial light from gadgets and screens negatively impacts sleep and well-being is strongly supported by scientific evidence accumulated since the 1980s. Over the past three decades, research has consistently shown that, alongside insufficient physical activity and overconsumption of food, prolonged exposure to bright light late in the day overstimulates the brain, hindering the natural sleep process.
Dr. Charles Czeisler, at Harvard Medical School, confirmed in the early 1980s a long-held hypothesis regarding daylight and the circadian rhythm: bright light exposure is a key regulator of the body’s internal clock. Subsequent investigations, conducted by Dr. Czeisler and others, revealed that light exposure not only governs the internal clock but also influences the release of crucial hormones, including serotonin and melatonin.
Morning exposure to bright light enhances serotonin production, promoting alertness and positive mood. Conversely, dim light in the evening stimulates melatonin production, facilitating both sleep onset and maintenance. Furthermore, studies have indicated a correlation between prolonged artificial light exposure and an increased risk of certain cancers, specifically those influenced by hormones regulated by light.
The Role of Blue Light
Research in the 2000s highlighted the particularly disruptive effect of blue-frequency light on sleep. While the impact of blue light on biological rhythms was initially observed in organisms as early as the 1950s, its detrimental effects in humans became increasingly apparent with the widespread adoption of devices emitting this type of light late at night.
Essentially, optimal health and happiness are linked to experiencing bright, blue-white light during the morning and afternoon, transitioning to dimmer, warmer light in the evening, and complete darkness during sleep.
What practical steps can be taken to mitigate these effects? Instead of feeling daunted by the prospect of reducing evening light exposure, consider implementing simple, achievable changes to minimize your exposure and improve your sleep.
- Prioritize reducing screen time in the hours leading up to bedtime.
- Utilize blue light filters on devices or wear blue-light-blocking glasses.
- Opt for warmer-toned lighting in the evening.
- Ensure your bedroom is as dark as possible during sleep.
These adjustments can significantly contribute to a more restful and restorative sleep experience.
Addressing Late-Night Light Exposure
Let's be upfront: the advice and strategies detailed below may not immediately appeal to everyone. It’s akin to a doctor recommending more exercise – sound advice, certainly, but not always enthusiastically embraced.
Enjoying video games late at night or indulging in a Netflix binge is undeniably pleasurable. Having a vast library of books accessible on a tablet or e-reader, available for reading long after sunset, represents a remarkable technological achievement. However, considering the widespread issue of poor sleep and its detrimental consequences, we encourage you to implement even a few of these suggestions to improve your sleep quality.
Eliminate Light Sources in Your Bedroom
This is a straightforward recommendation. Even if you’re unwilling to curtail late-night entertainment, almost everyone would benefit from a darker, more restful bedroom environment. Begin by addressing the numerous, cumulative sources of light pollution within your sleeping space.
Related: How to Dim the Blinding Glare of Your Gadgets' LED Lights
Controlling external light sources is a traditional, yet crucial, consideration. Blackout shades or curtains effectively block light from street lamps, security lights, and other external sources. Unsure if investing in new window treatments is worthwhile? A six-pack of 99% light-blocking temporary window shades is available for $33. If this proves beneficial, you can then consider more permanent upgrades.
Regardless of external darkness, many bedrooms now contain a multitude of LED lights from televisions, cellphone chargers, and various electronics, easily illuminating the room. These LEDs can be dimmed using inexpensive stickers or electrical tape.
Power Down Your Screens
We understand this is a challenging suggestion. Screens are our primary source of entertainment, and recommending their shutdown hours before bedtime feels restrictive. Nevertheless, the bright blue-white light emitted from televisions, tablets, and smartphones, while entertaining, can also disrupt sleep.
Ideally, treat screen exposure similarly to caffeine intake. Just as you wouldn't consume a cup of coffee at 9 PM expecting to sleep at 10 PM, avoid prolonged screen exposure before bed. Struggling to resist the temptation? Relocate your charging station to the kitchen or home office, keeping devices away from your bedside.
Many are curious about e-readers, particularly given recent reports suggesting they are as detrimental as tablets and smartphones. A 2015 study examined the impact of e-readers on circadian rhythms, with Dr. Czeisler, a pioneer in circadian rhythm research, among the authors.
However, many news outlets failed to note that the e-readers used in the study were light-emitting, resembling tablets more than the e-ink readers most people use. The key takeaway is to avoid reading on devices like iPads or Kindle Fires before bed. Instead, use a standard Kindle or other e-ink reader under conditions similar to reading a physical book.
Adjust Your Screen's Color Temperature
If completely eliminating screen time before bed seems unrealistic, a compromise may be possible.
Related: Reduce Eye Strain and Get Better Sleep by Using f.lux on Your Computer
While any evening light exposure can disrupt our internal clock, blue-spectrum light is particularly problematic. You can mitigate this effect by warming the color temperature of your screens.
We highly recommend f.lux for computers, as it automatically shifts the color temperature to a warmer, redder hue. This isn't ideal for color-sensitive tasks like photo editing, but it significantly reduces blue light exposure. Android users can utilize the Twilight app, which functions similarly to f.lux. f.lux is also available for jailbroken iOS devices, and iOS 9.3 introduces a built-in "Night Shift" mode for color temperature shifting.
These apps allow scheduling, automatically transitioning your screens from blue to red tones each evening.
If your devices lack color-shifting capabilities, consider wearing yellow-tinted glasses to filter out blue-spectrum light. Increased awareness of blue-light exposure has made these glasses affordable and readily available – the current best-selling reading glasses on Amazon, for example, are $18 blue-light filtering glasses.
Warm Your Room's Lighting
A final, traditional solution is to adjust the tone of your room's lighting. This involves replacing full-spectrum bulbs with "warm white" bulbs (labeled as 2700K color temperature).
Avoid bright, blue-white lights like those found in task lighting and fluorescent overhead fixtures. If you frequently spend evenings in a basement rec room with bright fluorescent lights, consider adding floor and table lamps with warm white bulbs to reduce intensity and warmth.
Related: How to Build a Sunrise Alarm Clock on the Cheap
For those considering smart bulbs, we recommend color-changing Hue bulbs for this purpose. They can be set to a crisp blue-white light for alertness in the morning and a warm-white light for relaxation at night. Furthermore, these systems can simulate sunrise, helping to regulate your circadian rhythm.
While foregoing late-night gadget use or television viewing may not be the most appealing prospect, neither is chronic sleep deprivation and its associated health consequences. By adjusting your bedroom environment, modifying your devices, and establishing a screen-free period before bed, you can significantly improve your sleep quality.