New Study Busts iPhone Night Mode: It Has No Effect on Sleep

Sleeping well with technology is still a highly debated topic. According to multiple sources, blue light emission halts the secretion of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, and thus distorts individual sleeping cycles.

As a result, tech brands are trying their best to counter the blue light emission effect via different apps and features. One of these is the Night Shift feature of the iPhone.

What this option does is change your screen colors to warmer shades after the sun sets, using your clock and geolocalization to determine the right time. 

However, a recent Brigham Young University (BYU) study confirms what you already suspected — the Night Shift feature on your iPhone is not really helping you sleep better. At least, it had no effect whatsoever on the surveyed young adults (aged 18–24) in the study.

In fact, the research team measured several sleep outcomes, including:

• total sleep duration 
• sleep quality
• waking up after initially falling asleep
• time needed to fall asleep, etc.

The 167 participants formed three experimental groups — one using Night Shift and their iPhone an hour before sleep; another that didn’t use the said feature; and a third one, which didn’t use their phone at all before going to bed.

And, you guessed it — the experimental group that avoided using their phones before going to bed showed the best sleep results. The other two presented virtually the same sleeping outcomes.

Hence, let’s just say that we won’t be relying on these blue-light elimination apps as an effective way to treat insomnia any time soon. 

In other words, using any type of warmer-colors mode is not a valid replacement for the melatonin supplement we so desperately need. 

Namely, due to its efficacy in restoring the circadian rhythm, melatonin is so popular that it’s one of the leading OTC branches of the global insomnia market.