My smartphone and I have built up a pretty special bond. I’m an Apple junkie, myself, but I understand why people love their “crackberries” – my iPhone almost feels like a part of me. That being said, a smartphone can also make it impossible to fall asleep sometimes.
Gizmodo reports that, “using your computer, smartphone, or tablet before bed is bad for you—your eyes and brain become more active as you squint at the screen and then take longer to drift off to rest.” But what if you don’t want to completely cut the late-night habit, yet also value a good night’s rest? There has to be something that allows people get their smartphone fix and get their beauty sleep.
There are now apps that deliver precisely what’s needed for this exact situation. Applications for different operating systems now exist that let smartphone users adjust to their nighttime routine naturally without the unwanted insomnia.
One of those apps is called “Twilight”, an Android app that filters out the blue spectrum on your phone or tablet. It takes your location (which can be set manually or detected automatically) and uses sunrise and sunset times as indicators for dampening your screen. After sunset, Twilight will begin to dampen your screen’s color temperature using a combination of blue-light filtering and warmth intensity and protect your eyes with a soft and pleasant red filter.
For those that treasure a little background noise around bedtime, there’s an app for you, too. The iOS app, “Sleep Sounds”, offers over 100 different audio choices covering white noise, lullabies, sounds of nature, and much more. There is a timer and also fade-out features so your smartphone won’t be blurting out noise all through the night. The sounds are recorded and enhanced to relax and make you sleep. They isolate, create a relaxed environment, and put you into a cyclical sleep pattern.
According to WebMD, “sleepiness can damage your judgment, work performance, mood, and safety.” These incredible apps are built to prevent those things from happening, while giving you the freedom to enjoy your smart phone and live your life.