Definition
Digital sunset is a habit that improves the quality of your sleep. As your sleep improves so does your performance and alertness in subsequent days. Screens on your phone, TV, and computer emit blue light. This blue light has a negative impact on your sleep quality and thus your next day’s performance and your health. The objective of the Digital Sunset Habit is to restrict blue light at hours that are close to your bedtime.
How to Do It
There are 3 main ways that you can restrict the blue light from screens:
- Avoid looking at screens all together for 1 hour before you go to bed. This may be challenging if you are more productive at night or like to watch TV to wind down.
Reduce blue light on your phone and computer by turning on night mode. - There is a feature on the phone that reduces blue light and makes the tones more “warm”.Your computer has the same feature called “night time”. The great thing is that you can set both to automatically switch to nighttime after a certain hour and then switch back to regular mode in the morning.
- The best way to restrict blue light is by purchasing a pair of blue light blocking glasses. Blue light blocking glasses have special lenses that block the blue light from your eyes. This way you can watch TV or look at a computer screen at night without restricting melatonin production. Not all blue light blocking glasses are created equally. One of the biggest keys is comfort. After all you want to be able to sit there and watch TV or work without being uncomfortable behind your ears. One pair of high quality glasses is called the Swanwicks and can be found at Swanwicksleep.com.
Benefits
- May improve sleep quality and rest
- May improve overall health
- May improve focus and productivity
Time Commitment
None
Why it works
Blue light tells your brain that it is daytime and causes it to reduce the production of melatonin. Melatonin is necessary for a good night’s sleep and rejuvenation.
Additionally artificial blue light may be damaging to the DHA essential fat in your retina which is responsible for converting sunlight into energy. This throws off your circadian rhythm and can cause mood and energy issues.
Suggested Frequency
It is best to mitigate artificial blue light exposure daily.
Supporting Studies and Articles
Gurus/Celebrities/Doing it
Dave Asprey
James Swanwick
Brian Johnson
Related Products
Rating
Category Health/Productivity/Focus:
Health
Suggested Time of Day
1-2 hours before you go to sleep
Notes
Remove and don’t use fluorescent light from your house and office. Not only are fluorescent light bad for your sleep studies have shown them to cause depression and anxiety. It is a good use to simply avoid these light all together if possible.
