Has this ever happened to you?
The alarm clock rings, you get ready to go to work, you face your workday, you go home or to the gym, you prepare dinner and you go to bed.
So far so good.
You are tired and very sleepy. It is logical, you have worked hard and got up early.
You get into bed, but you are unable to fall asleep .
You go round and round, pick up your mobile and watch what is happening on your social networks.
The dream does not finish arriving, so you turn on the television or the laptop to see if with a series you finally close your eyes.
After a while, you fall asleep. You don’t remember what time.
When you wake up, you feel like you haven’t slept at all and you’re even more tired than the day before .
Doesn’t that sound familiar to you?
There are several reasons why many nights we can repeat this situation in a loop.
For example, the influence that natural light, the screens of mobiles, laptops, etc., have on us.
The worst thing of all, is that we are not aware of the problems that can cause us to be glued to these gadgets that already belong to our day to day.
At Más y Mejor we always tell you that rest is essential to be more productive .
So today we have opened the doors of the blog to Ramón García , an optometrist for 25 years and able to perfectly combine the digital world, in all its aspects, and his professional experience.
In this post, Ramón will explain to you what the relationship between LED screens and lights is and have a restful sleep . Also, it is going to give you a lot of advice to help you sleep faster and better every day.
Let’s start! ?
Why is it harder to fall asleep fast and well with each passing year?
On October 21, 1879 Thomas Edison invented the tungsten light bulb, and from that date the world changed.
Life habits were changed because there was no longer a direct dependence on the sun to carry out activities that required good lighting.
And thanks to this discovery, the days lengthened and as a consequence, the majority of the population began to sleep fewer hours.
However, one of the good things about the tungsten bulb was that its light spectrum was very similar to that of fire and for that reason it hardly emitted blue light (later you will understand the importance of this).
It can be said that during that time of Edison bulb prevalence, the vast majority of people had no trouble falling asleep quickly because of lighting.
And so time went by until a few years ago LED screens and lights massively burst into our lives.
Table of Contents [ hide ]
- Did you know that digital displays and white light LED lighting prevent us from sleeping fast and increase the risk of multiple health problems?
- What is the relationship between sight and blue light with sleeping fast and well?
- Differences between sunlight and light emitted by LED screens and lamps
- Video with Vision Hacks and techniques to sleep fast and well
- What to do to sleep fast and well if we use digital screens and LED lighting?
- Discover 7 simple and effective Vision Hacks to sleep fast and well even if you spend many hours in front of screens and LED lights
- What to do to sleep well if you use computer screens and mobiles?
- VISION HACK Nº1 to fall asleep fast. Regulates the color temperature of your computer at source and according to the time of day
- Option 1. The best software to sleep fast and well if you use laptops or “All in one” Windows or Mac
- Option 2. Native blue light filters for better sleep on Windows and Apple computers
- Option 3 Blue light filters for external monitors
- VISION HACK Nº2 to sleep well. Regulates the color temperature of the tablet and / or smartphone to sleep faster and better
- Blue light filters for better sleep for iPhone and iPad
- Blue light filters for fast sleep for Android phones and tablets
- VISION HACK Nº3 to sleep well. Reduce the light intensity of the screens and avoid using electronic devices with LED screens for an hour or two before bed.
- What are the ideal LED lamps and bulbs for a fast and good sleep?
- VISION HACK Nº4 to sleep fast and well. Use lamps or bulbs adjustable in color temperature
- VISION HACK Nº5 to sleep better. At dusk it uses color temperature lighting of less than 4000K and at night 3000K or less
- VISION HACK Nº6. To read books at night use an ebook reader with adjustable lighting and warm light
- VISION HACK Nº7. Take a few minutes to meditate before bed and you will sleep better
- MINI COURSE INVITATION + 2 FREE GUIDES: Discover 5 quick and effective Vision Hacks to avoid digital fatigue
- VISION HACK Nº1 to fall asleep fast. Regulates the color temperature of your computer at source and according to the time of day
Did you know that digital displays and white light LED lighting prevent us from sleeping fast and increase the risk of multiple health problems?
With the arrival of LED lighting, the problems of sleeping fast and well multiplied .
And not only do they cause difficulties to fall asleep but it has also been discovered that they had other very negative effects on our health.
Possibly you will be surprised by the number of serious problems caused by the blue light emitted by most lamps and LED bulbs.
Here is a list of the main ones:
- Sleep problems since instead of falling asleep quickly , sleep takes longer to arrive and is also of poorer quality.
- A the sleep bad bad brain recovery occurs (during sleep and brain cleaning regeneration is performed).
- And this same lack of adequate rest also causes poor muscle recovery (it happens as with the brain because a good rest is needed for a good muscle recovery).
- Metabolic problems (higher blood glucose levels that lead to more risk of diabetes, weight gain, etc …).
- Possible toxic effects on retinal photoreceptor cells (already demonstrated “in vitro” and in animals not yet demonstrated in living human eyes).
- And of course we cannot forget that if you do not sleep well, there will be a sharp drop in productivity the next day due to accumulated fatigue and lack of recovery.
Mind-blowing, right?
But do not worry because today I am going to give you 7 quick and effective keys to sleep fast and well even if you spend many hours in front of digital screens and LED lamps.
And I have named these techniques to sleep well as “Vision Hacks” because surprisingly they are closely related to the meaning of “La Vista”.
So if you spend a lot of time with LED screens and lights, keep reading and don’t forget to add this guide article to your favorites if you want to know what to do to sleep well.
Warning: The use of “Vision Hacks” can be highly addictive since you will sleep better, increase your productivity and your eyes will feel more relaxed and happy from the first day.
What is the relationship between sight and blue light with sleeping fast and well?
It is very likely that you are wondering what an optometrist like me is talking about techniques to fall asleep quickly and what is its relationship with the blue light emitted by screens and led lamps.
Well look … our eyes, in addition to being the protagonists of the meaning of “La Vista”, also fulfill an important and quite unknown function that is to regulate our biological clock by means of the so-called circadian rhythms .
And this of the circadian rhythms that may sound esoteric to you is a 100% scientific concept on which a great deal of research is being carried out by multiple international teams and among them prestigious Spanish scientists.
The basic explanation is simple:
- The ganglion cells that from the retina of our eyes are stimulated by light and depending on the amount and type of light they receive, transfer the signal to the brain whether it is day or night.
- If the light stimulation exceeds a certain threshold (blue light is the one that activates them the most) they send the warning to the brain that we are daylight and this supposes that the production of melatonin, which is the hormone responsible for sleep, is inhibited .
- On the contrary, when the light we receive is of low or no intensity and / or if it has little blue light, the brain will give the order to start producing melatonin and that our body is preparing to sleep fast and well .
- The main problem is that a large part of the light emitted by the screens and the LED lights has a very high blue light peak that causes an inhibition of the production of melatonin and completely disrupts our biological clock if we expose ourselves to such lighting to a improper time.
Differences between sunlight and light emitted by LED screens and lamps
Although they look similar there are big differences between sunlight and LED source lights. These are the most important:
- White light LED lighting from both screens and LED lamps and bulbs has a very different visible spectrum from sunlight with blue light predominating with a very large peak in the highest energy area (less than 460nm) as you can see in the image below.
- And it is this peak of blue light completely alters our biological clock (circadian rhythms) and inhibits the production of melatonin (among other things) and triggers very negative reactions for our health apart from the problems in falling asleep.
The image is very clarifying. True?
Well, if we saw an image of sunlight at sunset you could see that the differences are much more pronounced since the area of blue light in the case of the sun is greatly reduced to almost disappear.
Video with Vision Hacks and techniques to sleep fast and well
If you do not want to tire your eyes and prefer to see a video summary of the article on how to sleep better if you spend many hours in front of screens and LED lighting, hit the play …
What to do to sleep fast and well if we use digital screens and LED lighting?
Today’s technology creates problems, but it also gives us the possibility to find fantastic solutions to fall asleep quickly .
The objective is to take advantage of technological advances to reduce or eliminate the peak of blue light emitted by LED screens and lamps by modifying the color temperature of the light emitted by LED screens and lamps at source using simple and effective “Vision hacks”.
These “Vision hacks” will allow you to easily adjust the light your eyes receive depending on the time of day.
No more excuses on what to do to sleep well!
Discover 7 simple and effective Vision Hacks to sleep fast and well even if you spend many hours in front of screens and LED lights
I am sure you are looking forward to the 7 Vision hacks that will make you sleep better .
I am going to divide them into two different groups:
- “Vision hacks” to sleep better if you use computer, tablet and / or mobile screens.
- Vision hacks for lighting at home and at work to fall asleep quickly.
Let’s go there … ?
What to do to sleep well if you use computer screens and mobiles?
Let me give you three troubling facts before I get started with the techniques to sleep fast and well :
- The average hours of use of digital screens each day in the western world far exceed 6 daily and adding the time you spend in front of computer screens, tablets and mobiles can be much more.
- This means that we spend an average of more than 100 days a year in front of screens.
- And to top it off in Spain we have the dubious privilege of being the “World Champions” in the use of mobile phonesboth in number of terminals per inhabitants and in time of use.
It is not to be proud … but it is what it is.
After knowing these data, you surely agree with me that this is not healthy and that is why it is so important that you start today to protect your eyesight, sleep better and take care of your health.
With this overdose of blue light and activity at inappropriate times it is completely normal that we are not able to sleep fast or well .
For all these reasons, I ask you to please start applying this selection of “Vision Hacks” that I have prepared for you because if you use them you will sleep better and take care of your health.
VISION HACK Nº1 to fall asleep fast. Regulates the color temperature of your computer at source and according to the time of day
- Thanks to this “Vision hack” you will not need special computer glasses or cumbersome filters to stick on the screens.
- There is a much better and FREE way to achieve better results by regulating the color temperature and the intensity at origin of the screens.
- The goal is to reduce or eliminate the peak of blue light emitted by LED screens during sunset and at night, so you can fall asleep quickly and well.
And so that you have no excuse, I’m going to give you three options on how to do it so that you can choose the one you like the most:
Option 1. The best software to sleep fast and well if you use laptops or “All in one” Windows or Mac
How would you like to have a filter that changes the color temperature automatically according to the time of day and time of year?
Well, you can do this for free by installing a small program called f.lux that will help you sleep fast and well.
This software is a wonder and it seems essential to me if you use a Windows or Mac laptop or one of the “All in one” type (type iMac or other brands).
When you install it, you indicate your postal code or your location and that’s it … the rest already does it for you automatically adjusting to a warmer color temperature as the day progresses and completely eliminating blue light at night.
And best of all, this free software is valid for both Windows and Mac users. You can get it here.
Option 2. Native blue light filters for better sleep on Windows and Apple computers
At last, tech makers are putting the batteries in so we can sleep faster and better .
- However, the downside of these native blue light filters is that they are not dynamic and unless you modify them manually, they only allow you to adjust a single warm light color temperature that is activated from a certain time or depending on of sunrise and sunset.
- If you use Windows it is as simple as activating the night module for Windows and if you use a Mac you will have to activate and configure the Nightshift module.
- In both operating systems you have to do this from the option of system display settings.
The Night Shift will help you sleep well if you use apple computers.
Night mode will help you sleep fast if you use pc
My recommendation: It is always better to use the f.lux to regulate the color temperature, which is much better to sleep fast and well than to use the native options of Windows and Mac.
Attention: If you install the f.lux remember to deactivate the night shift and / or night mode functions of Windows because otherwise they would overlap and the color of the screen would be insufferable.
Option 3 Blue light filters for external monitors
The thing changes if you use external monitors since it will not be worth anything to install the f.lux because the monitor works independently of the software.
- In this case what you have to do to sleep well is to regulate the color temperature directly on the external monitor using the menu settings on the screen of that monitor.
- This is very simple because all modern monitors come with an option that allows you to change the color temperature.
- Of course, since it is not a dynamic solution, the ideal is to select a different color temperature option depending on the time of day.
- In some monitors it sets the color temperature in numbers and in others it displays “Reading mode”, “Night mode”, “Cold light”, “Warm light”.
Note on color temperature: as a general rule, the warmer the lighting, the lower the color temperature will be and the colors will be a shade more yellow-orange.
In case you do not want to be changing manually depending on the time of day, you could leave it permanently in an intermediate zone between 4000 and 4500K (not ideal).
VISION HACK Nº2 to sleep well. Regulates the color temperature of the tablet and / or smartphone to sleep faster and better
As always, the objective that we set ourselves is to sleep well and it goes through reducing or eliminating the blue light peak emitted by the LED screens of our mobile devices.
And to eliminate it, it is necessary to modify the color temperature to 2700K (or even less) at night if you want to sleep well. At dusk it would be worth having it over 4100K.
To achieve this, it is not necessary to install external apps that act as a filter because, like current mobiles, they already have the option of adjusting the color temperature as standard.
And this is great … because some external apps designed for this work quite badly.
Of course, as was the case with the native settings of Mac or Windows on mobile phones and tablets, they are not dynamic filters and they only have the option of adjusting between two types of light depending on the time of day or sunrise and sunset. .
If you want to make the color temperature changes it is as simple as going to the screen settings section and there looking for the option nightshift in iOS or night mode and / or reading in Android.
Filtering blue light at source is FREE and more effective than using goggles or pasting filters.
Blue light filters for better sleep for iPhone and iPad
All Apple mobiles and tablets, such as the iPhone and iPad, have incorporated the “Night Shift” function for years, and in this sense it is appreciated that the batteries have been put in place much earlier than most other manufacturers.
Blue light filters for fast sleep for Android phones and tablets
As a general rule you will find this option in the settings area of the screen with the name “Night mode”, “Reading mode”, “Night light” or similar. It may vary according to the manufacturers of the devices and also the version of android you use.
VISION HACK Nº3 to sleep well. Reduce the light intensity of the screens and avoid using electronic devices with LED screens for an hour or two before bed.
It is very common to meet people who use their mobile phones with very high levels of light intensity that they maintain indoors and even at night.
As you can well imagine this is fatal if you want to sleep well .
- The main key to the intensity of illumination of our screens if we want to sleep fast is to always work with automatic brightness adjustments and that if possible use lower values than those that your default mobile device brings.
- Logically, the more light there is in the room, the more intensity you will need to have a good contrast, but in most cases when you are indoors or at night you can lower the power below the default values of the device. mobile.
- On the other hand, it is clear that Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and in general all social networks are thieves of dreams and energy.
If you want a fast and good sleep, it is important that you avoid looking at screens for an hour or two before going to bed.
Also remember that LED displays cause brain activation when high demands on concentration and vision are required.
And this activation causes as collateral damage poor sleep, having more appetite, blood glucose levels rising, gaining more weight, as well as worse brain and muscle recovery.
That is why it is highly recommended that before going to bed you carry out relaxing and undemanding activities in order to reduce physical and mental activity.
Heh, heh … if you are a gamer you should consider changing your night habits and / or go to the goose or Parcheesi if you want to sleep well .
In this way you will prepare your body and your brain to enjoy a restful sleep that will allow you to get up the next day with much more energy.
What are the ideal LED lamps and bulbs for a fast and good sleep?
Well, now that we have clear how to solve the sleep problems derived from the strong blue light peak emitted by digital screens, I am going to explain which are the most suitable lamps and LED bulbs to sleep well.
This issue is very unknown to most users when it turns out that the same thing happens with LED screens as they produce the same negative effects when it comes to sleeping fast and well.
Look at the peak of blue light emitted by a white light LED lamp or bulb that is equal to or greater than that emitted by digital displays .
But do not worry because I bring the solution if you apply the 4 “Vision hacks” of lighting to sleep fast and well that I am going to give you below.
VISION HACK Nº4 to sleep fast and well. Use lamps or bulbs adjustable in color temperature
The adjustable LED lamps and bulbs allow you to vary the intensity and color temperature with a remote control or even with your mobile phone, adjusting it to a cooler or warmer light depending on the time of day.
It’s great … with a single lamp you solve all activities and hours of the day.
And the most important thing is that you will sleep better and wake up the next day with more energy.
- In my house we have several dimmable LED ceiling lights (one in the kitchen and one in the room that I use as an office) and they are a perfect and economic solution although it is true that they are not the most beautiful lamps.
- There is also an option to buy color temperature dimmable bulbs like the Phillips Hue but they are more expensive than dimmable lamps.
- And for those who need to study or read a long time there are the fantastic table lamps with adjustable light in intensity and color temperature.
- All these options allow you to choose a cooler light temperature that you could use during the morning and early afternoon or a warm light perfect for the night, going through intermediate values for the sunset.
By the way, in case you do not know all the lamps and bulbs that are currently sold have in their boxes the data of their color temperature.
VISION HACK Nº5 to sleep better. At dusk it uses color temperature lighting of less than 4000K and at night 3000K or less
If you do not want to buy an adjustable lamp you have the option of using bulbs with different color temperatures depending on the room.
- For example … in the living room we usually spend more time in the afternoon and at night, so the ideal is to use warm light bulbs of 3000K or less.
- However, if you want to light up a work area where you are in the morning and first thing in the afternoon, you should use 5000K or 5500K cold color light bulbs (no need to reach 6500K).
- Keep in mind that in the same room the ideal is that you do not combine different color temperatures because they can fight and not look good. When in doubt, the ideal is to consult with a professional.
- And the most important thing is that you are aware that depending on the time of day you must learn to use a different intensity and temperature light of a different color.
I assure you that when you have the correct lighting you will notice the difference and the great help it makes to sleep well and fast.
VISION HACK Nº6. To read books at night use an ebook reader with adjustable lighting and warm light
If you like to read paper books my recommendation is that at dusk always use a warm light to illuminate it if you want to sleep well.
If you use a cold light lamp to illuminate the book you will cause a circadian rhythm imbalance and you will sleep much worse.
In the event that you read in digital format (as I do) it is important that you avoid doing it from a mobile phone or from a tablet because you will be sending the light directly from the screen to your eyes.
In case you can’t avoid it, install an application that allows you to change the backlight and that has a reading mode and a night mode.
The great news for readers is that the technology has improved a lot and there are currently quite a few eBook readers on the market that already incorporate light adjustable in color temperature and intensity.
The advantages of reading on an eReader with adjustable light (cold-warm) are multiple:
- The light does not go to our eyes but goes to the screen.
- You can vary the font size at your convenience.
- You can adjust the intensity and type of light to colder or warmer depending on the time of day.
- They weigh very little and their battery lasts for many weeks.
- On a device of less than 200 grams you can carry a small library of thousands of eBooks.
For all this, my recommendation is that if you read a lot you should buy an eReader with adjustable lighting.
