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Apps Can Cut Blue Light From Devices, But Do They Help You Sleep?

Therapist
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If you’re losing sleep over the blue light coming from your phone, there’s an app for that.

In fact, there are now lots of apps that promise to improve sleep by filtering out the blue light produced by phones, tablets, computers and even televisions.

But how well do these apps work?

There haven’t been any big studies to answer that question. So I phoned a couple of scientists who study the link between blue light exposure and sleep.

My first call is to Lisa Ostrin, an assistant professor at the University of Houston College of Optometry.

Ostrin owns an iPhone. And every iPhone comes with an app called Night Shift that lets you filter out blue light. So does Ostrin use Night Shift?

“Yes I do,” she tells me.

Without a filtering app, cellphones and tablets expose users to an alarming amount of blue light, she says, “Especially as people are lying in bed and have their screens just a few inches from their face.” To read more from JON HAMILTON, click here.