Your Computer Or iPad Could Be Disrupting Sleep 351
Crash McBang sends in a CNN report on electronics and sleeplessness and asks, "So, what do Slashdotters do to get a good night's rest?" "More than ever, consumer electronics — particularly laptops, smartphones, and Apple's new iPad — are shining bright light into our eyes until just moments before we doze off. Now there's growing concern that these glowing gadgets may actually fool our brains into thinking it's daytime. Exposure can disturb sleep patterns and exacerbate insomnia, some sleep researchers said in interviews. ... Unlike paper books or e-book readers like the Amazon Kindle, which does not emit its own light, the iPad's screen shines light directly into the reader's eyes from a relatively close distance. That makes the iPad and laptops more likely to disrupt sleep patterns than, say, a television sitting across the bedroom or a lamp that illuminates a paper book, both of which shoot far less light straight into the eye, researchers said."
Re:Simple fix (Score:1, Interesting)
To hear tell though, no /. user gets sex with a real person of the opposite sex (something I vehemently deny but no one believes me).
I believe this (Score:5, Interesting)
I've noticed an improvement in my sleep patterns since I set a curfew for the computers, stopping any use of them two or three hours before bedtime.
Well, doh! (Score:3, Interesting)
Yeah, I know. It's primitive and crude to be pressing the off button on a device. It's not that hard. Using a power strip to turn off a bunch of "always on" devices (i.e., everything connected to TV) not only makes it easy to turn turn them off but also saves electricity when you're not using them.
Re:Simple fix (Score:1, Interesting)
Eh it took practice but we eventually learned to sleep holding each other and once we did it was quite nice. Posting as AC to avoid bragging about having had a girlfriend. Though I've since been single for five years, so I guess it's not a huge deal;)
Re:I believe this (Score:3, Interesting)
Absolutely. I have a messed up biological clock. Forgot the proper medical term for it but basically my day/night rhythm isn't a typical 24 hour cycle like most people have but slightly longer. My body likes to think there are 26 hours in a day so to speak.
I've had this since childhood and a good sleeping pattern always has been some kind of personal hell since I still have to live my life in 24 hr cycles whether i'm made for it or not. Society simply demands it ;)
A year or two I got some tests again and one of the docs. advised me to not watch tv or sit behind a computer screen 3 hours prior to sleeping. I have to say it's a definite improvement, a pretty big one actually. I fall asleep faster and sleep deeper/better.
Of course, I can't hold myself to it everyday but it's defenatly something I try to approach. As less comps/tv's before sleep. It simply helps.
Re:I believe this (Score:3, Interesting)
That's actually normal for a human. It becomes problematical when you can't fall asleep at a normal time. I'm like that if I don't get enough sunlight during the day.
If you constantly feel jetlagged by being forced into a 24 hour schedule, you should probably look into this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_sleep_phase_syndrome [wikipedia.org]
And see if it feels similar.
The light from monitors can definitely disrupt your sleep cycle - I fall asleep like a baby whenever I'm out backpacking as soon as the lights go out, but in front of a computer I normally fall asleep at about 2-4AM or so. Been that way since college.
Some real numbers to consider (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm in the process of measuring exactly this effect.
Noontime clear-sky sun measures 9500, blue light through office window with indirect daylight is 250, a desk lamp measures 45, and an LCD TV up close measures 7 uW/cm^2 in the frequency range of the retinal ganglia (480 nm) which is thought to be the part of the eye that senses daily cycles. (Mammalian Eye [wikipedia.org] on Wikipedia.)
So far as I can tell laptops and related devices don't generate an appreciable amount of energy in this range, it's more the artificial indoor lighting.
As an experiment, I've started wearing red-tinted wrap-around sun glasses 2 hours before bedtime. I can still work, read, watch TV and all that, but the glasses mask off the blue frequencies, telling the brain that the sun has gone down.
It had an almost immediate effect. I'm a long-time sufferer of insomnia who has tried everything, but wearing the glasses fixed the problem in the first week.
I'm also a lot more "peppy" during the day, and I wonder if long term exposure to late-night artificial lighting (and low level during the day) is a cause of depression. Depression meds take about 6 weeks to have an effect, so I'm guessing that it would take about 6 weeks for the glasses to have an anti-depressive effect as well. I'm on week 3 with the glasses.
You can get good wrap-around red tinted glasses at a motorcycle shop for $12. WalMart sells an "old grandpa" set for $25 which will go over your existing glasses.
It has to be wrap around so that no light gets in over the edges. You don't want polarized lenses because they will interfere with LCD viewing. You want red tinted and "blue blocker". Oh, and make sure they're comfortable.
If you have to take them off for any reason (such as scratching your nose), you have to remember to close your eyes. It takes a couple of hours of dark before the pineal starts producing melatonin, and I strongly suspect that a short burst of light will reset that internal timer.
If you try this and it has any effect, positive or negative, I'd like to hear about it. Contact me through my homepage (above), I'll collect and post all the anecdotal stories so we can see if there really is an effect. Negative data is important, so if you try it and find no effect, I'd like to hear that as well.
Re:f.lux (Score:4, Interesting)
There's a much simpler solution. Works with or without a computer. It's called a "sleep mask" and does not require USB, batteries or proprietary power connector. There are even versions that will muffle sound (see "Sleep Master Sleep Mask").
I started using a sleep mask in my 30's, when I had a really bad bout of insomnia. It was just the thing. Even if you don't want to sleep all night with one, if you want to take a short nap during the day these will really help out a lot. And naps are fantastic. I don't care if they look goofy. I'm an old married guy so I don't need to try to impress anyone while I sleep.
Sleep is one of the great gifts that we are granted as humans. I squandered so many hours in my twenties and thirties when I could have been sleeping, and then abused coffee and other stimulants to try to cope. Then I'd wonder why I felt strung-out and had jangly nerves. Now, I look forward to sleep with great joy and anticipation. It is high on my list of favorite things to do, for at least eight hours every night. I would give up my latest tech gadget long before I'd part with my flannel sheets, goose-down pillow and chamomile/spearmint tea.
Re:f.lux (Score:4, Interesting)
That's what f.lux [stereopsis.com] is for. It changes the temperature of your screen according to the time (sunrise/sunset). It works under Mac, Linux, Windows ; a real gem.
Bump. Installing F.lux for me was like discovering that I had been secretly poisoned by mercury for the last several years. I simply could not believe how much strain was lifted from my eyes by keeping it on. My ability to sleep has substantially improved, and I get substantially fewer headaches during marathon coding sessions. It has an almost undetectable memory footprint, and you will completely forget it is there. Turning it off is an interesting experience, as it is an instant demo of exactly how penetrating monitor light can be! I recommend it to all of my friends and family. Of course, most people will just have to see for themselves, as I can only speak for myself. In my opinion, however, the function provided is important enough that it's absence as a default feature in OS's seems kind of irresponsible, if not just negligent and a reflection of poor UI research and design.
Re:f.lux (Score:1, Interesting)
that's great, except when you are doing photographic work, you don't want the screens changing temps on you...
Re:f.lux (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:f.lux (Score:3, Interesting)
Oh, they don't completely block out the sound. You can still hear an alarm.
But if you usually get enough sleep, you'll start waking up at the desired time without an alarm. About 15 years ago, I started waking up at 5:38 every morning. I don't know why. No alarm, I'm just suddenly awake. I turn in pretty early, so I'm usually rested. It's probably because I'm getting old.
Re:f.lux (Score:2, Interesting)