Should my room be completely dark or have a little light?

**N1ghtFeather** · 04-21-2014 10:54 PM

So my alarm clock that is about 3-4 feet away from my head when sleeping is like a digital wristwatch where the numbers are black and to see it at night it needs to be backlit.
It has 4 levels of brightness: High, medium, low, and off.
When it is on high it is bright enough to see all the shapes in my room but I still can only see in black and white vision, so I know I am seeing with my rods in my eyes and not cones.
I don't know if I should have the backlight on or turn it completely off at night because I never remember waking up at night, probably because my bed is so comfy that I just fall right back asleep

so maybe keeping the light on will keep me awake when I wake up so I can try WILD or some other technique. I also know that the darker the room is the better you will sleep.
So should I have the light on or off?
I know that there is a thread similar to this one but my main reason to turn the light on is so I can wake up at night and not just fall asleep again.

**AstralMango** · 04-21-2014 11:11 PM

When my alarm goes off so does the light. The light doesn't bother me that much since it's on the lowest setting. Besides, for WBTB you need to get some awareness anyway, so I don't see any reason why a short burst of light would be bad. But not too bright though.

**RavenOfShadow** · 04-21-2014 11:52 PM

Here's a pro-tip for the WBTB technique: If you find that you are shutting your alarm off then falling right back asleep, put your alarm or cell phone on the other side of your room, as far away from your bed as you can. This forces you to stand up, take a few steps, and consequently wakes you up in the process. The small adrenaline you get from also realizing that if you don't shut it off your whole household will be awake in a few seconds works like a charm. Since you're now standing, its easier to go to the bathroom, take a short walk around your house, sit up for a bit... whatever your activity of choice is.

As far as light pollution goes, sunlight will wake you up. We are programmed to start stirring as the sun gets bright. Digital lights are less obtrusive however, and I have never really had a problem with a computer LED, digital alarm clock, or what have you. Just make sure your room doesn't brightly glow in the mornings.

Cheers