Day 131: One thing I learned today…
I am sure you have heard this time and time again. Using screens prior to bed can impact sleep quality due to exposure to blue light. iPhones and other devices now have sleep modes which dim the light and have less blue light exposure. A study was conducted to see the differences in sleep outcomes. These outcomes included duration, latency, efficiency, and wake after sleep using a wrist device. Participants included 167 iPhone users. And three conditions: no phone use within an hour before bed, night shift enabled, night shift disabled.
Outcome of the study showed no differences in sleep outcomes due to Night Shift Mode. Those who resulted in better quality of sleep were those who did not use their phones prior to sleep.
I have blue light blocking glasses as well as night shift installed on my devices. It doesn’t surprise me that these “techniques” do not actually fully support quality sleep. I think they are a good tool if for some reason you *need* to be on a screen close to your bedtime. For example, I took a 12 week course with classes meeting T/TH from 7-8:30pm. For those of you that know me, I like to go to bed EARLY, sometimes before the sun goes down. In this case I tried to use the tools I had access to. Otherwise, I know for myself, it is best to not access screens before bed. I do however find this to be challenging at times.
How about you?
Source: Kara M. Duraccio, Kelsey K. Zaugg, Robyn C. Blackburn, Chad D. Jensen,
Does iPhone night shift mitigate the negative effects of smartphone use on sleep outcomes in emerging adults?
Sleep Health, 2021.
Comments