
Trouble sleeping? Maybe it's your iPad  - georgecmu
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/05/13/sleep.gadgets.ipad/index.html?hpt=C1
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rafd
For your desktop/laptop, F.lux adjusts your screen color in the evening:
<http://www.stereopsis.com/flux/>

(added bonus: gets rid of the eerie blue glow when you Skype at night)

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patio11
I started using this at the recommendation of HN. It has literally been
lifechanging for me. I now get up willingly and into productive mode before 9
AM better than 3 days a week, which is approximately how many days I willingly
accomplished that between middle school and this summer.

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Timothee
Thanks for your comment Patrick! I know from your comments here that you
wouldn't take any product and recommend it lightly so I took your word for it
and just installed it.

Well, this is a weird transition for now! My screen is all yellow-ish and it
doesn't feel quite right. I'll get used to it but at first, this is
surprising.

edit: I should add that, though it does look and feel odd for now, it looks
softer on the eyes already. It also seems to accentuate the difference of
brightness depending on the angle of the screen on my MacBook. So if I type on
my lap, my laptop bounces a bit and the variation in brightness is more
noticeable.

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patio11
I literally cannot tell it is running anymore, particularly for days where I
am on the computer continuously. Sometimes if I turn on the machine for the
first time late the flash of yellow reminds me this was not the way it always
worked, but that is about it.

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pmorici
Seems to me this was a rather unscientific experiment. If I turned off
everything that makes light in my house, of course I'm going to go to sleep at
9 because there isn't anything to do except sleep. I also find it funny that
the result was him being in a better mood as apposed to when he stayed up late
and didn't sleep as much. du.

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robryan
At the same time though, theres so much I could get done from getting home
till bed time that someone who turns everything else won't be able to.

I find morning people struggle with the idea sometimes that you can naturally
wake up around midday or in the afternoon and be even more productive that
someone rising with the sun. In the end we all need sleep, when we get it
though isn't as important to productivity as some think.

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jmreid
Article is from May 2010. It mentions the iPad because it was brand new at
that point in time.

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jaf12duke
I covered this recently on my blog:

Become a morning person. How to end insomnia for $520.99
<http://bit.ly/9PjsHW>

LowBlueLights.com just made an ipad filter that fits over the ipad screen and
blocks the blue light. <http://bit.ly/b63zGi>

Remember, you have to both block blue light at night and get bright light in
the morning.

My new favorite product for getting bright light in the morning is the
Phillips goLITE blu. <http://bit.ly/9NXfeX>

It's good to travel with and can be set to turn on before the audible alarm
goes on, thus allowing you to wake up more naturally.

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gojomo
Can you unshorten those links so people can see the ultimate destinations (and
affiliate links) before clicking?

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sprout
I have to wonder to what degree this sort of thing mistakes specific people's
learned adaptation to specific light patterns rather than innate human traits.

As someone who has been spending time on computers into various hours of the
morning since he was in middle school, staring into an LCD just before bed is
the most natural thing in the world, and I sleep a solid 8 hours a night.

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enjo
I sleep a solid 8-9 hours a night, but I have a lot of trouble with when that
sleep happens. I've been desperately trying to get my schedule on a more
normal natural light schedule... without much luck really.

There is at least some evidence that melatonin issues with my 2AM-10AM sleep
schedule affect energy and overall health in a pretty significant way.

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joshu
F.lux was written by a friend of mine from school, who is an awesome hacker
and was one of the cofounders of Picasa (acquired by google)

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sliverstorm
The article needs to be a little clearer. It's not just any light- it's blue
light, specifically.

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arohner
I'm a F.lux user, it dramatically improved my life.

With that frame of reference, I've had no sleep issues from my iPad, which I
use to read before bed most nights. In fact, I read in lower light using the
ipad than with a conventional book and lamp on the nightstand.

The two main apps I use are iBooks and the Kindle app. Both apps have controls
for turning text white-on-black, and controlling the brightness. At night, I
read exclusively white-on-black at low brightness.

Additionally, for apps that don't support inverted text, you can bind hitting
home three times to invert the colors. Its at Settings -> General -> Triple-
click home.

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semipermeable
There's an interesting TED Talk about sleep cycles, and the impact of sleep on
waking alertness.

<http://www.ted.com/talks/jessa_gamble_how_to_sleep.html>

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DTrejo
I watched this the other day and wished that her talk was WAY longer.

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vl
I bought yellow filter that clips to my glasses since I find it kind of hard
to get individual filters for all possible devices. Also, melatonin helps.

Once I started exercising regularly, my sleep improved dramatically, so I
rarely use filter or melatonin anymore.

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jawee
What effect does a regular CFC-powered lamp have? Is it all light?

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sliverstorm
Find out what the spectral components are. Blue light is the real offender at
work.

I suspect CFC's are worse than incandescents though. CFC light is a much
harsher white, and I'm pretty sure that's a sign of significant blue
components.

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mambodog
Remember, the bed is for sleep and sex only. Don't read in bed!

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jrockway
Why is sex special?

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mambodog
It's just a phrase that doctors tend to say in relation to good sleep habits
and avoiding insomnia. I think the point is to do with not conditioning your
brain to stay awake and focused once you get into bed (as reading or watching
TV might do). Also I don't imagine a doctor is going to tell you not to have
sex in a bed.

