Smartphones are often given a bad rap when it comes to users’ mental and physical wellbeing. The most obvious complaint, in respect to our subject matter, is the effect on sleep.
The light emitted from the display stimulates melanopsin protein in our eyes, inhibiting the release of melatonin and making it more difficult to fall asleep.
The addictive qualities make it hard to put the phone down at night, coaxing us to stay up later and allow less time for sleep. Some go so far as to check their social media accounts if they wake up in the middle of the night, getting their “fix” before going back to sleep.
The phones can also be a source of disrupted sleep by way of phone calls, texts or notifications during sleeping hours (which, for shift workers and frequent travellers, can be anytime of the day and night).
Valid points to be sure, but I for one am not about to trade in for a basic flip phone. Which is why I’m going to show how you can avoid the sleep damaging effects by following the tips below.
Note: These specific features are for iPhones only. For the most part, android has similar capabilities under different names. For example, the iPhone’s Night Shift feature becomes Android’s Night Light. Let me know in the comment section if you’d like to see an Android version of this post.
Night Shift
Apple’s Night Shift is a feature that shifts the colours on the display to the warmer end of the spectrum. This end of the light spectrum has less impact on melatonin and is less harmful to sleep. Make sure the color temperature slider is all the way to “warm” for maximum effect.
Settings > Display & Brightness > Night Shift
Especially useful is the ability to automate the time it’s active, so you don’t have to remember to adjust the display.
You can also quickly turn it on or off manually by swiping up from the bottom to reveal your Control Center and holding your thumb on the Brightness control.
However, if I happen to look at my phone at night, or while attempting daytime sleep, I want even more insurance against negative effects – which is where our next tip comes in:
Red Tint
The ultimate in filtering harmful light, this feature eliminates all colours except red. It’s far less jarring to dark-adjusted eyes and the red is the least disruptive to the melatonin cycle. Follow these instructions and give it a try:
Settings > General > Accessibility > Display Accommodations > Color Filters
Then switch Color Filters on and select Color Tint as your filter. Move the Hue slider all the way to the right for a red filter and then move the intensity all the way to the right for maximum effect (which is where I have it set).
I highly recommend the following shortcut so you can quickly turn this feature on or off with just 3 taps of the home button:
Settings > General > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut (all the way to bottom) > Color Filters
Darker Filter
There is also a shortcut to add a darker filter to your screen. I used to use this a lot for viewing my phone in dark environments, but rarely since discovering Red Tint. I’ll include a link anyway for those who want more flexibility. You can use it in combination with Night Shift or Red Tint to further limit the light from your display. Click here for instructions on how to activate it.
Do Not Disturb
As with Night Shift, you can either manually turn on, or automate the times you want your phone to go into Do Not Disturb mode, preventing any calls, texts or notifications from distracting you or disrupting your sleep.
There is now a Do Not Disturb at Bedtime feature that prevents notifications from being displayed on your screen. This eliminates the temptation to check into any notifications, and further sleep disruption, when all you wanted was to quickly check the time.
Emergency Bypass
One aspect of Do Not Disturb that should not be overlooked is the ability to allow individual contacts to bypass the feature. For instance, when turned on, my phone will only allow calls from my wife and work (it is in my interest to be available for overtime calls… financially speaking).
Contact > Ringtone > Emergency Bypass > turn On
The Do Not Disturb feature can also enable Repeated Calls. This will allow a second call from the same person within three minutes, which is important in case of emergency situations.
Airplane Mode
If you don’t wish to be available or disturbed at all, you can simply put your phone in airplane mode, which disables all WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and cellular capabilities. This has the added benefit of eliminating the radiation emitted by these radio frequencies, which is potentially harmful to both your sleep and long-term health. I haven’t seen any convincing studies on this and, frankly, I’m not too concerned. It is however something to be aware of.
Bedtime
I include this one last because, although it’s a nice feature, it’s usefulness to shift workers is pretty limited.
The Clock app’s Bedtime feature can be set to remind you when to go to bed, and when to wake you up, giving you enough time to get your desired amount of sleep. This is great for people that have a shift schedule that repeats every week. Unfortunately for myself and most other shift workers, the feature makes no accommodations for unconventional schedules – you are limited to one bedtime and wake time and then choose which days of the week it is active. Most shift workers would constantly need to adjust the settings, defeating the purpose.
Conclusion
There are many other ways you can use your iPhone to promote better sleep, but most will require paying for third party apps or products. This list is simply an overview of features that come standard on newer iPhones – features that many fail to take advantage of.
Photo by Tyler Lastovich on Unsplash