How screens actually affect your sleep

It’s about more than just the blue light.
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We’ve all heard that using our phones before bed is bad for us, but do we actually know why?
One of the most commonly cited reasons is that our phone’s blue light is disrupting our ability to fall asleep. And study after study has shown that just changing the color of light, or turning on night mode or night shift, isn’t enough to counteract the effects of our screens. The truth is that color temperature is just one aspect of how our phone light is stimulating our brains. Sleep science suggests that the key to getting good rest is much more complex.
So if using night shift on our phones is not the only solution, and we know we’re likely going to keep scrolling before bed, is there a better way to use our phones at night...without disrupting our sleep?
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Sources and further reading:
www.ncbi.nlm.n...
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[@shoriryu1216]

bold of you to assume that I feel alert and awake in the morning, Vox

[@caskadestudio]

I honestly don't think I _ever_ feel alert and awake in the morning.

[@MichaelSchwarzbacha]

The best thing to do is get sunlight after you wake up, literally either go outside or go next to a window for 5min. Science-backed and makes a huge difference

[@MrUnl0rd]

A moment silence for those already at work before the sun is up

[@PavanKumar-ft5hi]

I feel alert in the evening, when I'm in my home, in front of my computer. I feel like I can do anything on my table.

[@irenesara455]

​@@MichaelSchwarzbachacan't do it in a bad cloudy weather 😭

[@Evelyn-lq9gk]

not me watching this while IN BED

[@aussiejubes]

Same lol

[@samsam21amb]

same,

[@Squiglenoodles]

Same lol

[@M4NA5]

not me cringing on a “not me” comment

[@riannebanzuela7099]

me watching this at 3 AM😅

[@k.cooper8816]

I always find Dark Mode more useful than Night Shift.

[@LizziesLukas]

I'm glad most smartphone nowadays have built-in Dark Mode or Night Mode features... and all my social media are all in Dark Mode including KZbin & Reddit... even got my Windows 11 all black design

[@koalaunknown]

I like both

[@madebysharks]

its not darkmode or nightshift lol. Night shift decreases blue light...

[@lolo_o4309]

@@madebysharks darkmode reduces the overall brightness of the screen which is also a factor as explained in the video

[@steklùma]

​​@@madebysharks Dark mode in oled/amoled screens can totally turn off black pixels, so it really helps.

[@DaxSkrai]

I used to educate people on good sleep habits (sleep hygiene). My number one advice to help you sleep at night? Don't do ANYTHING in your bed unless it's sleeping. If your body believes every time you lay in bed that the ONLY thing that's about to happen is sleep, it'll learn pretty quick. In my opinion, that's the real issue with using your phone before bed. The fact that you're training your body that "bed time" is actually "2-hours-of-screen-time-before-bed time".

[@maxfeeldcomp]

What are your other tips?

[@overgrowncIit]

How about laying in bed during the day or evening to do some work or watching an episode before bed?

[@DaxSkrai]

@@overgrowncIit Any activity in your bed other than sleeping will diminish the connection your mind has with your bed and sleep. It's not like it's impossible to sleep well if you do a million things in bed, just that that's what I would say is the best advice I have. Specifically "do not lay in your bed unless you are going to sleep".

[@bearwynn]

nah i watch peaceful videos like people building in nature or a pocket watch repair. best nights sleep of my life they're so relaxing.

[@jellybeansi]

Yeah, I thought I had untreatable sleep-onset insomnia, and it was just bad sleep hygeine/conditioning. I stopped using my phone and reading in bed, and I fall asleep so fast now. Really bonkers how well that worked.

[@njott1021]

A big factor that negatively affects your sleep because of your phone is mental stimulation. The small novel hits of dopamine prevents your body from properly resting. Some people won't have an issue, but some people can hit the pillow tired but can stay up scrolling for hours. Other can even fall asleep while doom scrolling, chances are their quality of sleep is being negativity effected.

[@jakehr3]

This is why I appreciate the KZbinrs who make 1+ hour long videos of them doing activities with low energy. Something to watch that is just interesting enough to turn to, but not so interesting that my brain is like "I need to stay up to see what's next"

[@user-sf9gs2pg1b]

Yup, for me, making my phone black and white makes it boring and reduces my mental stimulation. Complete game changer.

[@Raphael-lu7vj]

I don't know how people can do it. Usually when I'm on my phone at night I'm in the kitchen. As soon as I'm done for the night, I put my phone on the charger in my room on my desk 2 meters from me and brush my teeth and on and prepare for sleep and go to sleep. If I can't sleep after 30 minutes of trying it, I put some low relaxing music and pay attention to it until I fall asleep.

[@ad16]

@@user-sf9gs2pg1b how do you do that?

[@merrymachiavelli2041]

I've got no idea how helpful this actually is, but I have automated lighting in my bedroom that goes from cold to warm throughout the day, and gets darker as it gets to when I sleep. Since I start using it I rarely get insomnia, at least if I'm not ill or something.

[@FusionC6]

I work midnights. I like to walk to work (about 35mins) it wakes me up and energizes me so I'm not tired when I show up for my shift (which involves siting at a desk mostly). When I walk home its my favorite part of the day because that sunny walk always puts me in an amazing mood, especially if I don't have to work the next day. its like waking up on Saturday morning. (almost lol)

[@thor.mukbang]

The sunset light always gives me so much energy, where as daylight just makes me stressed

[@literallybarbie]

maybe you associate the bright daylight as having to work/study/do something stressful , and the sunset light as a time where you're free to just chill and do what you like. I'm not trying to be a psychologist or anything haha just that maybe it's worth investigating and understanding why you feel like that so you can have an improved sleep cycle

[@thor.mukbang]

@@literallybarbie I also think it's in part because I have photosensitivity genetics, like sneezing when I look at the sun.

[@literallybarbie]

@@thor.mukbang hmm that could be a factor!

[@DarkKnight-db1dy]

Tell me more about these genetics. It is a new thing I have learned today.​@@thor.mukbang

[@FreakyBo0o]

same!

[@someguy6075]

2:41 Higher CCT is not higher shift, it is the opposite. CCT means Correlated Color Temperature, which are the numbers you were discussing at 1:23. I don't know what the author's basis is for "not significant" but figure 4 in the paper seems pretty clear that CCT is an important factor, just not the only one.

[@Ask-Ali]

Are they talking about statistical significance? So given your interpretation would features like night shift still be worth it?

[@brianfunt2619]

No error bars on the chart showed in the video, so we don't know the standard deviation of melatonin suppression amongst participants in each group

[@vatsallakhani7341]

it's 4am rn vox!!!

[@ShubhGG12]

where im watching this its nearly 6 o'clock in the evening

[@joelthorstensson2772]

Watching this at 14:25 (so ~20 minutes after release) in Europe (14:25 is 2:25 PM for non-24 hour users.)

[@michaelfreeman222]

In California it came out at 5am were do you live lol

[@joelthorstensson2772]

@@michaelfreeman222 Me? I'm Swedish.

[@Fg795yt]

Watching this at 3am when I have to get up early tommorow you can’t save me Vox

[@medicalmelonplayground3660]

Funny thing is I’m watching this while in bed

[@raghav1694]

Night shift is a work shift in India. People working with computers all night, sleep all day.

[@brokenglassshimmerlikestar3407]

Yeah that's what I tought of when I saw this lol

[@prasanth2601]

Especially for software engineers

[@Bonyari_Boy]

The feature name ‘Night Shift’ is a bit of wordplay based on that meaning.

[@meganrichardson6471]

Yes we use it that way in the U.S. also. There’s also swing shift, which is more like the evening.

[@kebyzak]

loved how author put olivia rodrigo's song 'bad idea right?' 🤣

[@g00ners43ver]

Thanks for the knowledge! (watched at 2.30 in the morning)

[@luuketaylor]

I feel like you arrived at one of the most important, newer reasons for these issues before ending the video: short form scrollable content served up by an algorithm. Shorts, Reels, TikToks, and the like are destroying attention spans. Yes, it's one part of the pie, but it's relatively new and already wreaking havoc.

[@ego-lay_atman-bay]

3:15 I feel called out, because I watch (more than) 3 episodes of a show I'm currently watching. It's not necessarily a netflix show, but it is a show.

[@Scarface4TX]

I use a color inversion (white become black, etc.) with minimum brightness because I don't use my phone to see videos or images at night much. Not sure if science would back me up on this, but I think it makes a meaningful difference. Anyone else tried it?

[@bellmattwebb]

This video made me sleepy 😴

[@flamingscar5263]

Another important factor for specifically waking up is eating, light isn't the only thing that controls our circadian rhythm but our digestive system has good impact as well, if your someone to eat before you go to bed, that will impact your sleep, your digestive system will send a signal to your brain saying "HEY, don't go to sleep yet, I need to divest this food" and the same is true in the morning, your body will adjust to making you feel more alert based on when in the day you eat. If your trying to manipulate your circadian rhythm then eat right as you wake up, and a decent sized meal as well not just like a muffin, and opposite for sleeping, we often think that we should eat big meals for dinner, but that will harm your sleep, a big meal takes more time to digest. Also someone may say "but doesn't food make you tired? Yes, that's because your using energy ro digest it, but your stomach wants you awake while you do that, but some individual foods will contain chemicals that make you tired, we all know how Thanksgiving turkey makes you feel, that's because turkey contains chemicals that play a similar role to melatonin

[@God_069]

Thank you for so much information ❤

[@danytalksmusic]

Screen flicker rate is also important, because it overstimulates our nervous system. Luckily most laptops have LCD's which have less flicker due to using PWM so it's a good idea to switch to a laptop or desktop late at night over your phone if you really need to do something on a screen...

[@hayeonkim7838]

Thanks for useful and valuable video as always ❤❤❤

[@OlimpiuVuia]

Reporting from bed. That's something new!

[@jellybeansi]

I used to use my cell phone in bed all the time, and even with night mode, it took me hours to fall asleep. I did CBTI and it totally removed the association of being in bed = staying up and doing stuff. I fall asleep within a few minutes now, even if I use my phone before bed - as long as I'm using it in another room.

[@nasimbanaei6619]

Thanks for making this video. Please make a video on how we can challenge misconceptions and fight against misinformation. Thanks in advance! :)

[@michaeltrinh3332]

2:56 More melationin is suppressed at a higher CCT?

[@stephanietahn9066]

This is interesting. I'm from the PH, work an 8-hr night shift, 9pm to 6am and I sleep 12pm to 8pm. I sleep good during afternoons. Took me a long time to get used to it but it works for me.

[@ceno10101]

ok, the thumbnail had me confused for half this video before explaining that night shift was talking about some phone setting, instead of actual night shift jobs effecting your sleep.

[@ckhpersonal670]

fnaf

[@thepenguin9]

I use devices with screens constantly, and I vehemently stand behind changing the temperature* of the screen using native settings (night light, night shift, etc) Set it to a sunset-sunrise schedule and it'll automatically shift perfectly *don't use filters that just add the colour red or orange but translucent. This is still emitting blue light

[@Enthralpy]

I have such a weird issue. For some reason, blue light filters *give* me headaches. The filter, not blue ilght itself. I've tried it on my computer and on my phone. When my screen gets reddish, I will start getting real bad headaches. I've had this issue for years until I realized the filter was causing it. Once I turned it off, my headaches went away in a week. This is such a rare thing that I only found like one reddit thread and one article about it. Anyone else have this problem?

[@cursedblade6657]

According to this people in tropical areas should basically sleep better 🤷

[@klaxxon__]

I use the grayscale mode option Android has. It simply deters phone use because it is a bit annoying to use, and video and games suffer especially, which is exactly what is supposed to happen.

[@Maple_Tachibana]

I’m extremely nocturnal. I am asleep in the morning and awake at night. My body doesn’t even feel awake when there is natural light. Even more weird is, most of my cousins are like me, by 5am we are asleep then we wake up 4 or 5pm. Although this usually only happens when we are on vacation or we have no “jobs” that would force us to wake up or normalise our sleep. Great video, made me contemplate the idea that night owls are a hereditary aspect.

[@TetsuyaSato-lf9mo]

Thank you for the information. That'll help me a lot

[@djayjp]

2:54 Pretty sure the chart labelling is backwards here...

[@victormochengo]

Interesting video. Just wondering, do screen sizes & distance from screen matter materially e.g. is it acutely worse for screen time effects if using a phone as compared to say a Tv at a distance OR working late on a desktop monitor?

[@SeanMather]

I find I need to use a device before I go to sleep, sure, it might be messing with my circadian rhythm (whose rhythm seems like it’s drums being played by a group of toddlers), but it settles my mental state to a point where it finally shuts up for the night. Otherwise it’s still cranking at 100 km/h, which will keep me awake for sure.

[@JohnnyHibner]

How does high CCT at 2:52 have a higher suppression rate than low CCT ? o:

[@buuh7592]

Great video, i was looking forward to see a difference between screens like tv, phone and ebook readers... cause while i don't bring my phone to bed, i do read on my kindle every night , so, is there a difference between these screens?

[@Claw.00]

I dont know for sure, but I would assume so. Especially if you have one of the e-ink kindles.

[@United_Wings]

Interesting 🤔

[@EmptyRedBullCan]

I SLEPT THROUGH AS I WAS WATCHING THIS VIDEO ✌️

[@billypeterson6280]

Me, seeing "night shift" in the thumbnail, being an overnight shift worker...

[@tiagomaqz]

Am I the only that NEEDS a video to help me fall asleep? Like I love to watch space documentaries.

[@人生不是這樣就是那樣]

😮

[@JJ_Magnificent]

lol nah i put on a movie but volume and brightness all the way down

[@tiagomaqz]

@@JJ_Magnificent then you're agreeing. lol. I also put the brightness and volume down.

[@nafisaaptekar4508]

Thank you great info Thank you Rohan

[@AshishSharma-rv8mz]

Which application you use for creating these animations. Please do tell.

[@Adays700]

One of the best things I love to do is wake up and go outside immediately with my bottle of water and walk on the grass barefoot and drink water while I stretch a little bit to wake myself up. Making sure to do this right when I wake up without looking at my phone or artificial lighting. It really makes me feel so much better throughout the day. And it just takes 10 minutes to do.

[@breemedia_house]

"Night Screen" app, warm light that is also incredibly dim paired with any video about our universe, natural history or physics knocks me out every night.

[@d0zeboy]

my question is, aside from stimulation and other variables, how different is light from a lamp or light in the room different from a phone, or sunlight? If it's primarily the light itself, then is reading a book with the light on any better?

[@EveloGrave]

5:12 AM about to go to sleep. I like the night shift personally. I hate sunlight.

[@chriswhorror6658]

I turn off the blue light 7pm to 7am. Were I work i basically do nothing so I’m constantly on my phone. I get bad headaches.

[@jamieldomasig]

Great video!

[@Jdbfyskxuek]

Why at 2:57 the chart shows High CCT(warmer) suppress more percentage of melatonin than Low CCT(Cooler)? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

[@Jdbfyskxuek]

@Vox

[@Yosetime]

Oh geez, you're right! I first thought you were reading it wrong. But I went back to look and I was reading it wrong. I was thinking that the % of melatonin was 'non-suppression'. But it is clearly 'suppression'. Maybe that's why it said it doesn't work. Good catch there! I totally missed that.

[@vineeththalapaneni]

Watching this during dengue 😢

[@happyhattergamer8078]

I’m TOTALLY NOT watching this in bed at midnight. Totes not me.

[@AA-wc3tw]

I fall asleep quickly but wake up 1-3 hours before my alarm. How can I force my brain to stay asleep until my alarm sounds? I don't use my phone in bed.

[@bcshelby4926]

.....so what about those who live in area with a higher percentage of overcast skies which reduce the brightness and colour factors of the sun?

[@GlennOrSomething]

This feels like a half answered question unless I’m missing something

[@neutral.chaotic]

Personally the lack of uv sunlight makes me more alert and awake. Daytime is for sleepies when brain make yawn chemicals. At least thats how my brain has always worked. (Chronic insomniac since 5 yrs old, had multiple sleep studies as a kid)

[@davidcantor293]

I just went from night to day shift. World of difference. My full 4 days off are enjoyed!

[@fergushitchen610]

Have you tried turning the brightness down

[@rongvishi8685]

Do blue light glasses work?

[@ankurrao5980]

Good work

[@sakurapablo671]

I always reduce the brightness on my phone to help. Even on my kindle fire also

[@a9sdg9oajs]

Night shift isn’t red enough. Here’s how, on iPhone, to properly red your screen: Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut > Enable triple click side button to be color filter Now, settings > accessibility > display & text sizes > color filters turn it on, enable color tint, increase intensity all the way, and scroll the hue all the way to red (to the right for me) now just triple click the side button to make your screen only pump out red light

[@Yosetime]

But why RED? Why not other colors, like brown or yellow hues?

[@a9sdg9oajs]

@@Yosetime due to our biology. Because sunlight gets more red in the afternoon/evening. And then, evolutionarily, we had fires in the evening, which emit red light. So, when our brain sees red light only, it helps circadian rhythm know its soon time to sleep

[@josephharrison5639]

Before bed I shift my phone to a red color mode, I feel like it works but I’m curious if this is a placebo

[@AminaAmor2196]

How long must we walk?

[@Joodies]

I guess I can’t watch vox videos before be anymore lol

[@ghostlightning]

As a Filipino, while I love all of these (because rice is life) I would prefer the Chinese version because we want the rice to go with some other protein and vegetable. Our fried rice is far simpler: Sinangag or garlic fried rice, truly meant to be part of an ensemble.

[@robhalford92]

assume this is the same as watching your TV before bed... or does the distance lower the effects significantly?

[@quadsnipershot]

I use dark mode and night shift at night for at least not having eye strain and to me it feels better then staring at very bright screen.

[@ckq]

Just put the brightness as low as possible and blue light filter to the max, make it black and white if possible. My problem is I want to go to sleep by 10, but it always ends up being between 12 and 2, so I'm either lazy and only truly get up at 10 and waste half a day or if I wake up before 8, I spend the morning being annoyed that I only got ~5-6 hours of sleep. My screen time is wildly high, probably around 10-13 hours a day with a third of it coming before I sleep.

[@DissociatedWomenIncorporated]

The irony of uploading this to a service that intentionally uses emotionally and behaviourally manipulative algorithms to keep people watching their screens, no matter what…

[@akhilgunda2857]

Will our house lights not affect the circadian rhythm? We are mostly exposed to bright light in our houses, and until the time we go to bed we use lights. Why will phone light affect the circadian rhythm more than the house lights?

[@vlr003]

Did it say low cct decreased melatonin levels LESS? So it’s not as effective as high CCT (though not a meaningful difference)? That’s interesting. I wonder how kindle comes into play.

[@jumazaczac2291]

Simple self control, is enough. trust me try one day not touching your phone 30 min before sleep and 30 min after waking up. you will feel so much rested and energized

[@stacycovitz7017]

I've always been curious about reading on ipads-kindle app. And, I do the NY times puzzles in bed, but have no problem falling asleep- however, I wake up in the middle of the night! Is that the cause?

[@emanando138]

me, watching this even tho i got a pattern based off "i'll sleep when i'm gone" - but actually: i either reread books (so i'm not as _gotta find out what's the outcome_ as the first time) or i'll watch a non sense mini chinese drama that has a weird plot (again, i'm not hooked on the plot, whatever comes next won't make sense anyways) and the _not understanding 100% chinese_ makes my brain tired and begging to shut down - which it does very quickly, 20~30min on the phone and i'm knocked down!

[@TheGoodContent37]

I have been like this for years, more than 10 years. Sleep at 9am, stay awake at night. Sleeping 8 hours wvery single day. I have noticed weird biological changes but im still here. Dont really know what this habit will cause to my body in the long run. Haven't found any science about it and i have seachers it all. Apparently theres no studies about people like me other than some stufies on night shift workers.

[@Cattaaliyah]

I think it works did an experiment

[@anjalisudarsan7674]

Does using a kindle have the same impact on your sleep as a phone (since the light is barely there).

[@Methylcloroisothiaz1]

I always find I have more energy and im more awake at night, it's calm its peaceful it's quiet i can get things done and concentrate and the early mornings are just like ugh shoot me now

[@seeker_of_knowlage3568]

intersting. Thanks

[@aneru9396]

For those wondering, yes, they do answer the question whether or not Night Shift Works.

[@solsoman102]

are you the cameraman from that cheap vs expensive buzzfeed series

[@fanime1]

Literally watching this before bed

[@ManifestedRudra]

What about if it's taking notes from a pdf or watching not very colored lectures and fairly coloured/vibrant lectures? (in the night)

[@anasghaffar7837]

At the end of the video i still am confused..what was the point of the video idk Reminds me of university professor who would ramble for hours but we couldn't get the point...

[@lugas4270]

i feel sleepy at noon, what hormone are kicking?

[@rinchin0]

I swear to god once i was scrolling Instagram reels and then i realised i was dreaming

[@djayjp]

I thought phone screens default to 6500k white point... 🤔

[@amrismailJ]

I only use my phone when I'm in bed

[@TheRealAlfonso.]

Vox ! It's 10am I should be sleeping !

[@Oliver_mitskisnobody]

Me watching this to sleep:

[@TheBak124]

Then i musr\t be differeent i use my phone so i could fall asleep quicker is that normal?

[@mazenphotos6967]

Me watching this in bed before sleep

[@danieljohnson2393]

Me watching this while waking up

[@benedixtify]

I'm watching this at night in bed, and adjusting my phone as the video goes along

[@landishershey7797]

not me watching this while i should have gone to sleep an hour ago

[@Mrgaunt1]

Or people could be responsible and actually put their phones down. My girlfriend is OBSESSED with being on her phone all of the time and uses it at night all the time - and she's tired EVERY morning. I hardly use my phone at all, let alone at night, and I can get by at around four-and-a-half hours of sleep at night and be good to go.