Thread: When to turn off your computer...

Uh..

Computers and lights keep you up at night? That's kind of odd especially if you're sleepy to begin with. I'd probably Google that one.

Light stimulates the brain and messes up your day/night cycle . Especially computer screens which give off very bright and intense light. I believe you should turn it off and avoid bright lights 1 - 2 hours before you go to sleep.

Sources:
- Nighttime Computer Users May Lose Sleep
- Dr Pamela Stephenson Connolly, Head case: treat yourself to better mental health, p. 358, (2007), ISBN 978-0-7553-1721-9

I've never had issues with this, but I guess I've just gotten used to it.

F.lux: software to make your life better This application will change the temperature of your monitors light when the sun sets, which might help you, if you're having issues with sleeping after prolonged "computer exposure".

I also suggest you set your monitor's brightness to 0, if you haven't already. Most LCD monitors, in my experience, have a much higher brightness than you will ever need, unless you're sitting in very bright light most of the time. Personally I keep my monitor at 0 all the time, only very rarely raising it.
Keep in mind though, all monitors are different, and perhaps the lowest brightness setting is a little too low on whatever you have. Play around with it and set it as low as you can, without requiring you to strain in order to read what's on the screen. This way your monitor will also emit less heat and use less power.

Yeah, I turn my monitor brightness on 0 as well.
It's still too bright, especially for night time.

And yes, bright lights and especially computer and TV screens ruin your ability to sleep.
Some people have no trouble, others do. But I think even if people can get to sleep right after being on the computer
or watching TV, their sleep phases are still screwed. This is just my opinion, don't know if there has been any studies.
But sleep is basically modulated entirely by light. So it makes sense.

Do you sleep in the same room as your computer? The amount of light coming off an LCD is not enough to produce seritonine, it will not affect your sleeping.

It's not always the amount of light. Although that also makes a difference.
I think for general purposes, unless you've got a grow room going, the temperature of the light is what matters. The fast flickering (so fast you don't even notice it) of TV's and monitors also is not conducive to sleep.

Using the computer late at night makes it harder for me to fall asleep.

Originally Posted by dave1701

Using the computer late at night makes it harder for me to fall asleep.

My bet is that it's the fact that you were engaged in stuff on the net, not the computer itself.

Maybe.