Smartphone manufacturer demonstrated: Popular mobile phone feature is actually pointless

At Apple it is called "Night Shift", at Android it is often just night mode - both functions promise a healthier sleep by filtering the blue light on the mobile phone display in the evening hours. But is that really the case? A study proves exactly the opposite, because the popular mobile phone function is actually completely useless.

The "blue light" of computer and cell phone screens keeps you awake and should be avoided in the hours before bed. But who would like to do without an iPhone, iPad and Co. even in bed? That's why there has been "Night Shift" (iOS) or "Night Mode" (Android) on the devices for many years. It automatically changes the colors of the smartphone display to a warmer color spectrum and should be easy on the eyes. This also implies the promise of healthier, because better, sleep . A fallacy, as it turns out repeatedly.

Popular but pointless: night mode on smartphones

This is the result of a new BYU study from last year (source: Sleep Health). Three conditions were tested and the participants were randomly assigned: iPhone use with Night Shift activated, iPhone use with Night Shift deactivated and no phone use - in the hour before bed for seven consecutive nights.

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What did you get out of it? In a nutshell, there were no significant differences in sleep results between the three experimental groups. So it should be clear: Night Shift from Apple and similar functions from other manufacturers may subjectively "protect the eyes", but they do not ensure a better sleep - quite an exposure. Chad Jensen, a professor at BYU, points out:

"While there is a lot of evidence that blue light increases alertness and makes it difficult to fall asleep, it is important to think about how much of this stimulation makes up the light emission compared to other cognitive and psychological stimulations."

Which is really important

In the end, this probably means: It is not the light that is the decisive factor, but rather perhaps the activity of smartphone use itself makes it difficult to get a good night's sleep. Therefore, the following applies: Night Shift and Co. do not protect against actually doing without. Simply turn everything off and switch off an hour before going to bed - it probably helps more than this popular but completely useless mobile phone function.