If you regularly use your computer at night, you may have noticed eye strain, fatigue, or sleep disruptions. The blue light emitted from our screens can negatively impact eye health and circadian rhythms when viewed in the evenings. Fortunately, Windows 10 and 11 have a built-in feature called Night Light mode that aims to solve these issues.
What is Night Light Mode?
Night Light mode is an integrated display setting in Windows 10 and 11 that shifts colors to the warmer end of the color spectrum at scheduled times. This gives the screen a subtle, yellowish tint designed to reduce exposure to sleep-disrupting blue light wavelengths. The mode can be manually activated at any time or set to turn on automatically from sunset to sunrise.
6 Benefits of Enabling Night Light Mode
Here are six research-backed reasons why you should consider enabling Night Light mode, especially in the evenings:
1. Less Eyestrain from Warm Light Exposure
Staring at cool-toned bright screens late into the night can strain your eyes. The warmer tones of Night Light mode are significantly more comfortable to view in dark environments. Studies show that blue light specifically exhausts the eyes more quickly than warmer wavelengths. Night Light mode minimizes blue light, bringing welcome relief.
2. Avoid Disruptive Blue Light for Better Sleep
Blue light exposure at night has been shown in multiple studies to suppress melatonin production and disrupt healthy circadian rhythms. Night Light acts as a filter, dramatically lowering blue light for better sleep quality and duration. For optimal results, be sure to disable Night Light mode upon waking in the morning.
3. Increased Visual Comfort, Less Glare
The bright white/blue light emitted from screens can reflect excessively in darkened rooms. By shifting to warmer red/yellow tones, Night Light mode significantly cuts down on glare potential for more comfortable viewing with less eye pain or headaches.
4. Enhanced Dark Room Viewing
Having bright white screens illuminating an otherwise dark room often leads to eye discomfort. Our eyes dilate in low light, meaning overly-bright screens become challenging. By making your display warmer and dimmer, Night Light accommodates natural dilation.
5. Combine with Computer Glasses for Added Protection
Pairing Night Light mode with specially-designed computer glasses that block blue light results in a powerful one-two punch to protect your peepers after-hours. The glasses filter ambient light from screens, while Night Light handles emitted light – together minimizing eye fatigue.
6. Possible Burn-in Prevention for OLED Screens
For self-illuminating pixel OLED screens prone to possible burn-in, Night Light mode alters the colors displayed over the course of use. This color-shifting helps prevent permanent ghost images sometimes caused by displaying static, unchanging visuals on OLEDs for too long.
Tips for Optimizing Your Night Light Experience
Follow these expert tips for customizing and making the most of Windows‘ built-in blue light reduction mode:
- Gradually acclimate to warmer tones by slowly decreasing color temperature
- Let Windows automatically schedule Night Light from sundown to sunrise
- Manually enable Night Light 1-2 hours before bedtime
- Adjust room lighting for ideal screen brightness
- Use Night Light with dark mode and reduced brightness settings
- Consider pairing Night Light with computer glasses after the sun sets
Give Windows Night Light mode a try for a more comfortable, less disruptive display viewing experience – especially in the evenings. Your eyes will thank you!
