Three Simple Tips for Better Sleep and an iPhone Hack to Reduce Blue Light Exposure

Do you have a hard time falling asleep at night? Do you find yourself laying in bed with your mind racing? If so here are some easy and free things that you can do for better sleep. First, try to cut off your screen time a few hours before going to bed. Research has shown that blue light that is emitted from computer screens, cell phones, and TV's signal to your body that it is time to be awake. So cutting off your screens a few hours before bed helps your body to prepare for bed instead of stimulating you and keeping you up. Second, try to stop eating a few hours before bed. Sleep is necessary for your body to repair. If you are eating right before going to bed your body has to work on digesting your food instead of getting into restorative sleep. I notice that I get more restful sleep if I stop eating a few hours before bed. Third, try to get out into the morning sun. This will help to reset your circadian rhythm for the day and will help you to fall asleep easier at night.

If you are unable to shut off your screens a few hours before going to bed there is a simple iPhone hack that allows you to put an orange filter on your phone that helps reduce the amount of blue light you are getting at night. To do this go to iPhone settings, then go to Display & Text Size, turn on Color Filters, make sure the Hue and Intensity are almost all the way to the right. You can also set up a short cut to switch between the filter and your regular display. You can set that up by going to Settings, Accessibility, Accessibility Shortcut, and then select Color Filters. Depending on which iPhone you have you can turn the filter on or off by tapping the home button three times or by tapping the button on the side of the phone three times.