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Study: Light-Emitting Screens Before Bedtime Disrupt Sleep

Posted by Soulskill on from the why-you're-tired-all-the-time dept.

jfruh writes: Tablets and e-readers are more convenient in many ways than paper books, but many people have complained that the physical experience of using them isn't as good. And now we have some specific quantification of this fact: a study has shown that people who read text on a tablet before bed don't sleep as well as those who read a traditional book (abstract).

9 of 179 comments (clear)

  1. At a guess . . . by mmell · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The amount of light entering the eye and stimulating the optic nerve is higher for the tablet. More light == more wakefulness. We're wired that way.

    1. Re:At a guess . . . by ProzacPatient · · Score: 4, Informative

      Since most reading you'll do is black text on a white background I always go into accessibility settings and invert the screen so it will be white text on a black background which will emit significantly less light than the former.

    2. Re:At a guess . . . by Cinnamon+Beige · · Score: 4, Informative

      I went and poked around medical journal databases. MedlinePlus has little, though it confirms the dosage recommendations, while a bit of work via PubMed located this study which I think may be the correct citation. Its PubMed listing seems to indicate that it's not the sole possibility, though, as do its references.

  2. I had this problem, then I got f.lux. by pushing-robot · · Score: 5, Informative

    Just get f.lux.

    --
    How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
    1. Re:I had this problem, then I got f.lux. by disambiguated · · Score: 4, Informative

      when things are dark, and you need more light, it dims things.

      Exactly the opposite: when things are dark, your pupils dilate and you need less light. Do you turn your smartphone brightness down in bright sunlight?

      But brightness isn't the point -- color temperature is. I haven't read the documentation; the software is too simple and easy for that, but the homepage describes what it does. Flux lowers the color temperature at night, which interferes less with sleep. I also find it much more pleasant.

    2. Re:I had this problem, then I got f.lux. by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Informative

      Or for Android, since the summary implies mobile devices, there's Twilight.

      Or for Unix, since this is slashdot you fucking savage, Redshift.

      On Unix, sadly, only Adobe Flash player detects color corrections and plays your video in proper color. Neither Google nor Mozilla have figured this out for flash video, either. Also, Flash player is the only video player which properly suppresses the screensaver on Linux. What year is it?

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  3. Just get f.lux! by Radak · · Score: 4, Informative

    I use f.lux on my MacBook and it's great (also available for Windows and Linux, but I haven't tried those versions). It adjusts the colour temperature of the screen, using your location and the time of day, to match the colour temperature of the natural light of that time of day. I have noticed a significant difference in the quality of my sleep since I started using it. Plus, whenever I happen to get up during the night and want use the computer for something, I'm not blinded by the screen.

  4. E-Reader does work for some technical stuff ... by perpenso · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I understand what you are getting at. I'll use an iPad Retina or laptop during the day to check technical books, reference manuals and other documentation.

    However when reading at night its generally a more traditional book (history, sci fi, etc) on a Kindle PaperWhite, in my opinion, its equivalent to a paper book but more convenient. I feel it is a better experience even when compared to the lightest color tablets. Certainly it will vary from one technical field to another but I've had surprisingly good results when reading programming and software development books on the PaperWhite, not as good as a higher resolution color tablet but better than I expected and acceptable with respect to the illustrations and diagrams and such. Then again I haven't tried something like the latest edition of Foley and van Dam (a computer graphics text).

    I see the refresh you speak of but its less than turning a paper page of a real book. As for the time you believe you are saving, maybe the faster refresh of a color tablet is not a win once you consider the sleep disruption and also the lowered productivity that results?

  5. In Other News... by Kuroji · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Related studies have found that the main reason light-emitting screens keep people from sleeping is because they don't ever fucking shut them off and the next thing they know it's 5:36 in the bloody morning!