Apple products are continually innovative, with new and better technology being included in each model every year. In addition to these yearly updates to each of their products, they create and implement “iOS” software updates far more frequently.
This past update, the iOS 9.3 update was released very recently. While the iOS 9.3 update had a lot of good features, this update is especially noteworthy because it brought a new feature to the iPhone and iPad called Night Shift.

Why are we bringing up Night Shift? Because, if you’re a late-night phone user, Night Shift is likely going to improve the quality of your sleep! According to the National Sleep Foundation, “careful studies have shown that even our small electronic devices emit sufficient light to miscue the brain and promote wakefulness. As adults, we are subject to these influences and our children are particularly susceptible.”

Typically, electronic devices emit bright, blue lights, like the lights mentioned above, that negatively affect sleep patterns. Night Shift changes that. With Night Shift, you get to change your phone’s display – you can choose whether to make your screen “warmer” or “cooler” toned, warmer tones being ideal for nighttime usage. 

Apple released a statement saying ““Many studies have shown that exposure to bright blue light in the evening can affect your circadian rhythms and make it harder to fall asleep”.
So, why is this? Because these lights emitted from our devices are short-wavelength enriched, which basically means that the concentration of blue light is more than that of natural light, and blue light interferes with melatonin, a hormone that induces sleep.

According to an article on the effects of electronic blue lights by Scientific American “Changes in sleep patterns can in turn shift the body’s natural clock, known as its circadian rhythm. Recent studies have shown that shifts in this clock can have devastating health effects because it controls not only our wakefulness but also individual clocks that dictate function in the body’s organs.”

Luckily, with this new iOS update you can manually set Night Shift to begin and end whenever you want, or you can set it for specific times, such as a time range of 10pm to 7am – it’s completely customizable, even down to the level of warmth displayed.
To read more about how to use this new feature, click here (link to that article).

Finally, because this new technology is still in the early stages of being proved to be helpful, and while we encourage you to give it a try, it is still in your best interest to consult a sleep doctor if you are having difficulties sleeping.
Take our online sleep quiz here (will link to page) to find out if you need help and contact us today at (904) 854-6899 to schedule a consultation.