For many people, reaching for their smartphone before going to bed has become a habit. But how does this affect our sleep? New studies show astonishing things.
Night mode function on the smartphone: Not so useful?
The blue light from screens has a reputation for keeping you awake and making sleep uncomfortable. It could be so easy to avoid it: at the touch of a button, the harmful blue tones disappear and the cell phone display is bathed in warmer colors.
But according to a study by Brigham Youth University (BYU), it's unfortunately not that simple. A total of three different ways to fall asleep were tested on 168 people between the ages of 18 and 24. While one group of test subjects were supposed to fall asleep with night shift mode activated, another group used cell phones with night mode deactivated.
A third group, however, should avoid using their cell phones at all for an hour before going to bed. The participants were divided into the corresponding groups randomly. The tests were carried out with iPhone screens for a total of seven nights in a row.
No differences in improving sleep
The result was sobering. There were no significant differences between the three groups. “Across our study sample, there were no differences in sleep outcomes attributable to Night Shift. For people who got enough sleep on a regular basis, not using screens resulted in better sleep quality than talking on the phone with Night Shift enabled,” the study says.
“Although there is a lot of evidence that blue light from cell phones increases alertness and makes it more difficult to fall asleep, it is important to consider how much of this stimulation is due to light emission and what is due to other cognitive and psychological stimulation,” Chad said D. Jensen, co-author and professor at BYU, in a subsequent press release from his university.
