Light plays a very important role in the regulation of hormones and the human body clock. As light levels decrease at night, our bodies recognize that night is falling and it’s time to go to sleep. As light levels increase, we wake and become energized, ready to take on the day.

Unfortunately, we are now surrounded by light-emitting devices, which make it more difficult for our bodies to recognize when we should be sleeping and when we need to be awake.

While we may not be prepared to give up our smartphones, laptops, or our TV time before bed, what we can do is reduce the amount of blue light we take in.

Using a Blue Light Filter on Your Android Phone

Aside from trying a pair of blue light blocking glasses, one of the easiest ways to reduce your exposure to blue light before bed is to use a blue light filter on your smartphone. These days, most phones come with a blue light filter built into their operating system.

Here’s how to set a blue light schedule on your Android phone.

  1. Go into your phone settings and open your Display settings.
  2. From here, you should be able to see a section labeled Blue light filter, Night shift, or Eye comfort shield, among others. The name changes depending on what phone you've got.
  3. Here, you can adjust the color temperature of your screen, turn the blue light filter permanently on, or set a schedule.
  4. When setting a blue light schedule, you can choose between an automatic sunset-to-sunrise schedule or a custom schedule.
  5. If using the sunset-to-sunrise schedule, then your location service will need to be on for your phone to know at which time the sun rises and sets in your local area.
  6. If setting a custom schedule, then you will be able to manually select at what time you would like the blue light filter to turn on and turn off each day.

Maintaining a Healthy Relationship With Technology

Using a blue light filter can help you to get a better night’s sleep. While technology has many uses in our lives, it’s important to remember to put your devices down and allow your body to get some proper rest.