Your computer keeps you awake

[heineygoat]

F.lux is a windows program that automatically adjusts your display to be warm at night, and like sunlight during the day to keep you from staying awake and alert before bed.

http://stereopsis.com/flux/

Redshift is a similar program for Linux.

http://jonls.dk/redshift/

It's pretty cool sometimes I'l notice my screen go red so I look out the window and the sun is going down.

More detail...

Some people will not be tired when they jump off the computer at night, but force themselves to go to bed because they need sleep. But it doesn't work like that.

Our body needs a certain amount of REM sleep (or deep sleep) in order to feel completely rejuvenated the next day. REM is the second stage of sleep, you need to be in the first stage of sleep for a few hours before you will enter REM sleep. If you go to bed awake and alert, you will toss and turn at night. Every time you toss and turn you reset the sleep cycle and have to start the first stage again. So going to sleep alert and awake could potentially result in NO deep sleep at all, only as poor quality sleep and you feel like shit the next day even though you went to bed early. The chemical that keeps you awake and alert is called hypocretin (also called orexin).

More information:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-sense/201111/is-light-keeping-you-awake

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/sleep-101

[Wats]

This sounds good. I use red light so I can see inside and out of the plane during night time cross country flights. Doesn't make me sleepy however it doesn't blind me.

Nice little bit of detail there too. I'll play with Redshift in a while, that tossing and turning is no joke.