I'm surprised the article mentions the blue light problem and devices but does not talk about flux, it's a little app that shifts the color temperature of your display to match what you're supposed to see at your location given the time of day. So, after sunset your screen basically turns orange. Although it's a bit annoying and takes some getting used to, I've tried it on and off and whenever I'm using it I fall asleep and stay asleep much better than without.
A big problem for me with iPhones compared to android is that something like flux cannot work on them, so I have to avoid my device late in the evening to not disrupt my sleep.
Try getting the Uvex S1933X glasses. They work for everything in your view (obviously) without messing around with software, and probably works better too.
I have them, and they're amazing. I have pretty cool LED lighting in my apartment and can make my whole living room any color I want at night. If I set in to pure blue and put on the glasses, it's like being in pitch blackness (except a couple of items glow brightly).
It's not like looking at things with an orange tint at all, even though the glasses are obviously orange.
That being said - the benefits I get by using them is amazing. It's weird how much of a difference it can make, I get tired quickly after putting them on in the evening. If I forget to put them on I usually end up staying up too late, getting too little sleep and often ruining the next day. Personally I find it way more effective than flux.
By the way - blue light isn't just a negative thing, but also a huge positive. In the morning I use a Philips goLITE BLU HF3332, and it really improves both my energy and mood quickly after just a few minutes of usage.
Those two simple items, a blue light and a pair of blue-blocking glasses, have improved my life significantly. Try it out (especially the glasses, it's just $9).
It's summer in Norway here so it doesn't really get dark before my bedtime tonight, but here are some really short videos from a party a couple of months ago:
https://goo.gl/photos/PKyzv8HkCyVJSdzv7
Normally I have it set to a static color or a very slow and smooth fade, not the crazyness seen in the vids.
Sounds like GP is using Phillips Hue or similar bulbs, which can be programmed (via a phone or computer) to automatically change colors by individual light or groups (i.e. the lights in your bedroom change to warm hues at night and cool hues prior to wakeup)
My living room is circular, and came with an edge close to the roof that was perfect for placing a LED strip on top of. So I just bought 15 meters (5x3) and an IR remote. Something similar to this:
I frequently hear about flux but yours is the first explanation to make me want to try it.
Usually people praise how "how easy on the eyes" it is etc, but I'm quite happy with white and my eyes are fine.
While tired late at night, I've noticed how much of a pick-me-up it is when playing games such as Skyrim/Fallout 3 (which put effort into a realistic day/night visual cycle) and dawn becomes morning in the game.
It never occurred to me to take advantage of the opposite of that effect.
Ha ha, Ali G! But yeah, these glasses completely distort color perception -- much more suitable for coding or reading than any kind of visual design work.
I took an online colorblindness test while wearing my set, and got a diagnosis of tritanopia. So, maybe wear them if you want to simulate colorblindness for accessibility reasons, otherwise not when you're doing color-sensitive design!
If you care about color, you need to generate color profiles for different color temperatures and load them depending on the sun's position. I automated the loading part on Linux with this: https://github.com/stefantalpalaru/iccloader
I agree that the shift towards red light on your monitor is weird at first but after a short while you get used to it, and your monitor starts to look very weird without it.
I have never used such kind of software but I feel the same rude way about my screens at night. It's unnatural to get that strong light pushed into your face at late hours, even if you have experienced it for years already.
There's also CF.lumen [0], which I have running. It works best if you are rooted and can install the display driver. However, on non-rooted devices it behaves in a similar fashion to the other night time colour shifting apps.
Ah yes, I tried f.lux for some time. I was annoyed sometimes late at night that it would battle me, forcing me to recognize that I should be going to bed...but I guess what's best for you isn't always what you want.
Great recommendation - I immediately spotted the point about blue light, but wasn't aware of high quality sleep apps that help address the problem. Looking forward to trying your guys' suggested apps.
Does f.lux affect the brightness or does it just make everything look like a sodium lamp? Bright light is still a problem, regardless of how jaundiced you make it.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with saying something like "there are now several projects/products that aim to alleviate this problem, such as ProjectA and ProjectB." Also f.lux is freeware.
These apps are also a lot more feature rich than twiddling with display settings - you can customize their aggressiveness, set times, set timed breaks for color-sensitive work, sync to the sunset in your location, etc. You could do this all manually but I doubt anyone actually would.
A big problem for me with iPhones compared to android is that something like flux cannot work on them, so I have to avoid my device late in the evening to not disrupt my sleep.