In these modern times, smartphones are at the heart of our society. They allow us to quickly connect with others, organize our lives, create notes, make reminders and create lists. Even our work seems easier with so many productive applications to help us. With all their entertainment options, like books to read, news to digest, videos to watch, games to play, we’ll never be bored again.
In fact, smartphones are so useful that it’s getting harder and harder to keep them away. We could have been too dependent on smartphones to the point where the side effects outweigh the benefits. A disturbed sleep schedule is one of the many side effects due to what’s called blue light. Blue light is emitted from your phone screen.
Activate night light mode
Yes, smartphone screens can be harmful to your eyes due to the constant flow of this blue light. You do not believe me? Treat yourself and follow the steps below:
- Access your phone settings
- Go to the display
- Tap the night light settings
- Light the pilot
You will immediately notice a difference in your eye strain. You can also drag the top pull-up bar and press the “Night Light” shortcut.
Adjusting the parameters of the blue light mode
If you press the “Planning” tab at the top, you can set the automatic blue light programming to:
- No: Blue light mode only lights up when you press it manually.
- Lights up at a personalized time: You can choose the time when the blue light mode will turn on and off automatically. Useful when you have an eccentric work schedule or night shifts.
- Lights from sunset to sunrise: Since this is what the average human schedule looks like, it is probably best to choose this mode to help you get a stable sleep schedule.
At the bottom you can find an intensity slider which you can freely adjust. This option is used to achieve a perfect balance between eye comfort and readability. Android display screens have different features; some might find the default intensity too dark or too bright.
If you followed these steps, you will notice that your screen has an amber color, feels softer and softer for your eyes. Course you can try Bluelight glasses like these, but who wants to wear glasses when you can just adjust a few parameters?
What is blue light?
Let’s start with the absolute basics. Light is electromagnetic radiation that can be detected by your eyes through photons. Photons are created as released energy when an atom or a molecule falls to a lower energy state. In a typical LED light, a photon is created simply by giving direct current to the diodes.
Blue light on Android 10 screen
Photons move, reflect, refract, are absorbed before finally reaching your eyes. Your retina only accepts electromagnetic radiation that has a wavelength between 700 nm (nanometers) and 400 nm.
The variation within the wavelength represents different spectrum colors, the longest wavelength being brown (dark red) and the shortest wavelength being lavender.
The wavelength of blue light is between 380 nm and 500 nm, the shortest wavelength of visible light, which means that blue light has the most energy. On the color side, the blue light begins in the shade of cyan (very light blue) with lavender (light purple). Most Android screens prefer to have a slight blue tint to make the image sharper, thus using more blue light.
What are the effects of blue light
Now, before painting everything you own in red and declaring a crusade on the color blue, it’s a good idea to remind us that the degree of harm or benefit always lies in its quantity and timing. Here are the positive and negative points.
Advantages of Blue Light on Android 10
According to studiesexposure to blue light in the morning and at midday can stimulate alertness, help you focus better, improve cognitive function and maintain your mood. This is why, in most offices, fluorescent fixtures are much more preferred than normal white lamps. Indeed, fluorescent lamps emit more blue lights than normal lamps.
In addition, lights that emit more blue light are just brighter than a typical lamp. As a result, fewer lamps are needed to properly light a room, which increases profitability. It is particularly important in areas with high light intensity such as laboratories, lounges and billboards.
Disadvantages of Blue Light on Android 10
Since blue light has the highest energy density, it is therefore the brightest of all, our eyes that process this information also require extra effort to digest it. Think of the dumbbells, the heavier they are, the more effort it takes to lift them. Blue light is the heaviest dumbbell that exists, although it is dimmed to a tiny scale.
Eye fatigue
Therefore, blue light puts more pressure on your eyes. You blink more to lubricate your eyes, your eyes feel tired faster, suddenly looking at other things than the screen is more relaxing.
Sleep patterns
There is something called the circadian rhythm. It is the important internal functioning of your body that dictates how your body should act. Basically, the brain obtains information about the day and night through the sunlight and your eyes. The brain creates a hormone called melatonin to help you fall asleep at night.
Your brain also adjusts other things such as bowel movements, maximum reaction time and alertness, as well as maximum muscle strength based on the time perceived by the brain.
Conclusion
Prolonged exposure to blue light (which is almost as strong as sunlight) at night inhibits the creation of melatonin so that you don’t feel sleepy. As a result, the circadian rhythm of sleep has been postponed, disrupting it. Each day you will sleep more and more later until it turns completely.
The brain perceives night and day, so you will feel constantly tired. Even sleeping will not relieve you of this fatigue. You cannot sleep more than 4 hours at a time. So adjust these Bluelight parameters!