ıt’s become a virtually unchallenged piece of conventional wisdom that exposure to blue light—the type emitted by electronic device screens—is bad for sleep. That thinking has spurred a mini-industry of innovations meant to stop those effects, like warm-toned “night mode” settings on gadgets and glasses that claim to block blue light.
But in December, a group of researchers at the University of Manchester in the U.K. published a paper in Current Biology challenging that notion. After exposing mice to lights that were different in hue but equal brightness and assessing their subsequent activity, the researchers concluded that yellow light actually seems to disturb sleep more than blue. Warm-toned light, they hypothesized, could trick the body into thinking it’s daytime, while cooler blue light more closely mimics twilight.
The study was surprising, given the widespread thinking around blue light, but it wasn’t unprecedented. Some researchers have argued that, while electronics can keep you up because of their bright lights and ability to time-suck, blue light isn’t necessarily the problem. So what’s the best way to get a full eight hours each night? Here’s what experts say about blue light.
Why is blue light thought to disrupt sleep?
Your body is dictated by its circadian rhythms, a set of time-dependent physical, mental and behavioral shifts. The most obvious circadian rhythm is the one that drives you to be tired at night and alert during the day. This process is dependent upon melatonin, a hormone secreted when it’s dark outside. Nighttime light exposure can confuse this process, suppressing melatonin production and keeping you up longer.
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