You might not be aware of the fact that using your mobile device at night (or really, any kind of screen) could be altering your sleeping habits, this is due to the blue light emitted by these devices. As it gets darker in the evening, your body starts producing melatonin, the hormone that makes you fall asleep. The problem is that some wavelengths of light between the blue and green side of the spectrum can alter the production of melatonin, which might not only make you sleep later, but it can ultimately affect other body functions. Screens have been getting better over time as they are now bigger, brighter and they feature higher contrast levels, but they require more blue light to achieve this. This is great for daytime use as there are bright lights everywhere, but at night, not as much light is required to make the display visible.
Reading at night is a very common habit, so some companies that are aware of this situation are introducing some special modes into their apps that help to filter blue light. A software named f.lux has been available for a while, it’s supported on Windows, Linux, and OS X, and even in jailbroken iOS devices. The developers stated that they were working on an Android version and this month, a beta version finally became available. There are many apps in the Play Store that offer similar functionality, Twilight is among the most popular ones, but it only applies a red filter over everything, while f.lux actually goes into each pixel and deactivates the blue sub-pixel, making reading more comfortable.
Since the software is in beta stage, the installation process is not quite simple. First of all, users who would like to give it a try need a rooted Android device in order to install f.lux. Then, they have to sign up for an account on the f.lux forum and ask to join the Android testing group. Once accepted, users can install the app following the official list of instructions that the company released. Hopefully, it won’t take too long before they manage to release it as an app on the Play Store, so its installation can be made much easier for those interested.