1 00:00:04,559 --> 00:00:07,040 Speaker 1: How your phone could be keeping you up at night. 2 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:07,760 Speaker 1: What's going on. 3 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:10,280 Speaker 2: I'm rich Demiro, this is Rich on Tech. 4 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:12,240 Speaker 1: So I've been hearing for a while how the blue 5 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:15,560 Speaker 1: light from both our computer screens and also our phone. 6 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:16,760 Speaker 2: Screens are keeping us up at night. 7 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:19,080 Speaker 1: But I didn't really put much thought into it until 8 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:21,560 Speaker 1: I was at a bunch of different parties and a 9 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: lot of separate people started telling me that they're concerned 10 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:27,480 Speaker 1: about this, and they've gotten glasses to help them, They've 11 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 1: adjusted their settings on their phones. So I figured I 12 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:31,200 Speaker 1: want to do a little bit more research, talk to 13 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:33,760 Speaker 1: an expert and see what is going on with this 14 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:36,440 Speaker 1: blue light and figure out what we can do to 15 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:40,200 Speaker 1: help us sleep better. And I consulted a's sleep expert. 16 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:42,720 Speaker 1: His name is doctor raj Da Skupta. He says blue 17 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:45,839 Speaker 1: light is actually essential to the human body. It occurs 18 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: naturally from the sun. It tells us when to wake 19 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:50,360 Speaker 1: up and when to sleep, but too much of it 20 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:51,400 Speaker 1: could be a problem. 21 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 3: This blue light will hit a receptor called melanopsin, and 22 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 3: melanopsin actually will go on to suppress the release of melatonin. 23 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 3: And as you may know, melatonin is a very very 24 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:05,360 Speaker 3: important hormone we talk about getting good sleep. It's released 25 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 3: by the pinal gland in our brain. So you can 26 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 3: imagine that in most individuals we like to wake up 27 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 3: during the morning and go to bed at night. And 28 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 3: how do we actually get this circadian rhythm what we 29 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 3: call in trained in our twenty four to seven society, 30 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:23,160 Speaker 3: it's exposure to light. You want lots of exposure during 31 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:25,920 Speaker 3: the morning and you want limited exposure at night. 32 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: So because our phones emit all this blue light, the 33 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:31,240 Speaker 1: more we look at them, the more it kind of 34 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:34,080 Speaker 1: confuses our brain, especially if we're looking at this blue 35 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 1: light late at night, and a lot of us do that. 36 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 1: We look at our phone right before we go to sleep, 37 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 1: and that could be keeping us up at night. 38 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 3: At night when a lot of us are going to 39 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:46,280 Speaker 3: be on these devices, you can imagine lots of blue light. 40 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 3: It prevents the release of what melatonin, and it's just 41 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:52,920 Speaker 3: another thing contributing to maybe not getting to sleep we want. 42 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,080 Speaker 3: Because in society, what is the big topic. It's insomnia 43 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:59,240 Speaker 3: and it's sleep deprivation. So if it's something that could 44 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 3: help us out a little bit, this is why blue 45 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 3: light is such a big topic. 46 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:05,840 Speaker 1: So there are several ways we can limit our exposure 47 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:08,840 Speaker 1: to blue light. So first off, you can wear special glasses. 48 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:11,799 Speaker 1: There's a company named Felix Gray. They make glasses that 49 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:16,280 Speaker 1: are designed to reduce eye stress by filtering out blue light, 50 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: and these glasses cost about one hundred dollars. I tested 51 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:21,960 Speaker 1: a pair called Nash they were ninety five dollars, and 52 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:25,840 Speaker 1: the company also recently introduced sunglasses that perform a similar function. 53 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:29,640 Speaker 1: The company says the glasses can reduce eyestrain, headaches, and 54 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:33,519 Speaker 1: fatigue from all the hours we spend staring at screens. 55 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:36,440 Speaker 3: So it's not only that you'd actually wear these blue 56 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:38,040 Speaker 3: light shades and all of a sudden, the next night 57 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 3: you got great sleep. It doesn't work like that. The 58 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:43,359 Speaker 3: foundation of good sleep is what we call cognitive behavioral therapy. 59 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:46,040 Speaker 3: It's your actions, it's your behaviors. So you always have 60 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:46,960 Speaker 3: to add on to that. 61 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 2: And here's the funny thing about all this. 62 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:50,040 Speaker 1: Back in the day, when I was at c NEET, 63 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:53,919 Speaker 1: there was a company called Gunner Optics that were marketing 64 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: these glasses that were for like gamers who looked at 65 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:58,640 Speaker 1: screens for a long time. And I always sort of 66 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 1: discounted them, thinking, come on, do we really need special 67 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: glasses for looking at screens? And it's kind of funny 68 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 1: how everything has come full circle and now this is 69 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:08,000 Speaker 1: definitely a big thing. Also, I know a lot of 70 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 1: eye doctors are allowing people to put blue light filters 71 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,760 Speaker 1: in their prescription glasses, so it's definitely a thing now. 72 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:15,880 Speaker 1: When it comes to your devices, there are some settings 73 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:18,680 Speaker 1: you can change to make the screen emit less blue 74 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:21,520 Speaker 1: light when it's getting close to your bedtime. So what 75 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:23,560 Speaker 1: it does is it kind of puts your phone on 76 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:25,080 Speaker 1: the warmer spectrum of things. 77 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:27,680 Speaker 2: So normally your phone screen has kind of this. 78 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 1: Blue bright white look to it, but when your phone 79 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:34,360 Speaker 1: is on a blue light filter setting, Apple calls it 80 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:37,280 Speaker 1: night shift for them, it will actually look a little 81 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:39,280 Speaker 1: bit warmer, so it almost looks like it has a 82 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:41,440 Speaker 1: red tint. So if you're on the iPhone, you can 83 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:45,320 Speaker 1: go into settings, then display Brightness and look for night shift. 84 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: This will make your display a pure warmer and less 85 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:50,520 Speaker 1: blue and you can have it turn on during schedule 86 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: times or you can have it follow sunrise and sunset. 87 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 2: So you probably want to. 88 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:57,080 Speaker 1: Have it due schedule times if you have a bedtime 89 00:03:57,120 --> 00:03:58,800 Speaker 1: that you try to keep, so Let's say you go 90 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 1: to bed at eight o'clock every night, you can have 91 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 1: night shift come on at six pm every night, So 92 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 1: if you're looking at your phone before you go. 93 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 2: To bed, it's going to have that blue light filtered out. 94 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:09,160 Speaker 2: Android devices also do this. 95 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:12,280 Speaker 1: If you're on a Samsung device, you can go into 96 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:14,720 Speaker 1: settings and then under display look. 97 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 2: For blue light filter. 98 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:18,560 Speaker 1: If you have another brand of Android, just go into 99 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 1: your settings and search for blue light, or search for 100 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:24,840 Speaker 1: blue or search for filter, or just search for display 101 00:04:25,279 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: and look through all the settings in there, and I'm 102 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:29,840 Speaker 1: sure you'll find something that has to do with blue light. 103 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:31,880 Speaker 2: Even on Windows ten. 104 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 1: If you have a desktop computer or laptop with Windows 105 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:36,919 Speaker 1: ten and the appropriate latest software. 106 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:38,279 Speaker 2: You can schedule night light. 107 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:40,720 Speaker 1: So all you have to do is go Start and 108 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 1: then Settings and then System and then Display and then 109 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:45,800 Speaker 1: night light and you'll see the settings for that and 110 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:47,280 Speaker 1: that will do the same thing. It will change your 111 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 1: screen to have a less blue que And if you're 112 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:52,240 Speaker 1: on a Mac computer you can do the same. You 113 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:55,040 Speaker 1: go to the Apple Menu System Preferences and then click 114 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:59,119 Speaker 1: displays and look for the night shift tab and again 115 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:01,400 Speaker 1: all of these system in the settings lets you turn 116 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:03,800 Speaker 1: this on. Automatically, which is probably the best, and a 117 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 1: lot of them let you follow sunrise and sunset. And 118 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:07,919 Speaker 1: if you have a tablet, you probably want to do 119 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:10,159 Speaker 1: the same switch to settings on there so that you 120 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:11,719 Speaker 1: filter out your blue light as well. 121 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:13,000 Speaker 2: Now here's the bad news. 122 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:17,839 Speaker 1: Doctor Raj recommends no phone or screens two hours before bedtime, 123 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:20,760 Speaker 1: which I know that's not always easy. And what's not 124 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:22,560 Speaker 1: clear to me is that if you're looking at your 125 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:25,280 Speaker 1: screen with the night shift on before bed, is that 126 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:27,800 Speaker 1: still counted towards those two hours or is it just 127 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:29,400 Speaker 1: a little bit better because you don't have all that 128 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 1: blue light? But the reality is I think anything will 129 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 1: help at this point. So if you have those night 130 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:35,680 Speaker 1: shift settings on you can do the best you can 131 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:37,800 Speaker 1: to not be on your phone right before bed, then 132 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:38,760 Speaker 1: that's probably a good thing. 133 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:42,159 Speaker 3: We all have this Pablovian reflex to be an arms 134 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:45,360 Speaker 3: distance of our cell phone. Who's snapchatting me and who's 135 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:48,200 Speaker 3: instagramming me? So I think that if you are going 136 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:50,359 Speaker 3: to look at your phone, there is no downside in 137 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:52,120 Speaker 3: using a blue light shad. It's kind of like called 138 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 3: a low lying fruit, you know what I mean. Especially 139 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:57,440 Speaker 3: now there's more data about is there healthcare in the 140 00:05:57,440 --> 00:05:58,360 Speaker 3: eye involved here. 141 00:05:58,680 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 2: And here's the flip side of all this. 142 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:02,440 Speaker 1: If blue light is bad, it sounds like red light 143 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:05,159 Speaker 1: might actually be better. So that's why these screens turn 144 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:08,320 Speaker 1: to that warmer red color. But if you have some 145 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 1: of those smart color changing light bulbs in your house, 146 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:14,440 Speaker 1: maybe set those to a warm red light before bedtime 147 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:16,480 Speaker 1: and this could help signal to your body that it's 148 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:17,159 Speaker 1: time to sleep. 149 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:18,160 Speaker 2: Personally, I do this. 150 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:21,320 Speaker 1: I've got those color changing lights in my bedroom and 151 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:23,919 Speaker 1: I've always used like sort of a pink or a 152 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:26,280 Speaker 1: red at night, just because the first time I looked 153 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: inside the lifix app, it said relax and it was 154 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:32,360 Speaker 1: sort of a pink shade. And now I've just kind 155 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:33,719 Speaker 1: of stuck with that. And now that I've heard that 156 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:35,560 Speaker 1: red is better, that's what I have at night. 157 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:39,279 Speaker 3: All wavelengths of light could actually suppress melotonin, but red 158 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:42,120 Speaker 3: light may do with the least and some data may 159 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:44,880 Speaker 3: say it actually increases the production of melatonin. 160 00:06:45,279 --> 00:06:47,680 Speaker 1: So there you have it, adjusting those settings on your 161 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:49,960 Speaker 1: phone to help you get some better sleep. And again 162 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:52,800 Speaker 1: this is just one part of healthy sleep. Look, if 163 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:55,240 Speaker 1: you're chugging a red bull right before bed and you've 164 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:57,680 Speaker 1: got your blue light filter on, doesn't necessarily mean you're 165 00:06:57,680 --> 00:06:59,919 Speaker 1: gonna fall asleep instantly. So this is all part of 166 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 1: a healthy lifestyle and one other thing I learned doing 167 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:04,160 Speaker 1: research for this story. 168 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:05,440 Speaker 2: It's not cut and dry. 169 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,040 Speaker 1: Yes, it seems like a lot of experts agree that 170 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 1: this blue light is a problem, But just how much 171 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:13,480 Speaker 1: of a problem and to what extent it affects our sleep, 172 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 1: We're not one hundred percent sure, but the reality is 173 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 1: clearly these settings are built into the phones. The major 174 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:22,000 Speaker 1: manufacturers have caught on to this, so I think there's 175 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 1: something here there. 176 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 2: You have it. 177 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 1: If you want to see those instructions one more time, 178 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:27,480 Speaker 1: you can go to my website it's rich on tech 179 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 1: dot tv, or you can check the show notes to 180 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:32,559 Speaker 1: see how to turn on the night shift or the 181 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:35,280 Speaker 1: blue light filter settings on your particular device. 182 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 2: Thanks so much for listening. 183 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:39,480 Speaker 1: If you love this podcast, please tell a friend I'm 184 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:41,480 Speaker 1: Rich jamiro I'll talk to you real soon.