So, if you read on a backlit reader (iPad, NookColor, Android tablet, etc.)

[jbcohen]

Let me tell you what my doctor told me for those of us like me that have cronic insomnia the bed room should be used for two purposes alone: sleeping and something that I need my mrs around for. He said that one should never read in bed unless you are prepaired for a sleepless night.

[Anthem]

This topic is basically damned with anecdotal oblivion.

According to Dr. Amen, screens and other lights at night make your brain think the sun is still out (this is my dumbass way of phrasing it).

Personally, reading on screens with the functional equivalent of a flashlight behind the screen is aggravating and wreaks simple havoc on my astigmatism, so I avoid it all the time.

I want to add to the anecdotal hearsay as well: when I have lots of lights on and screens on at night I really don't get all that tired unless I am already exhausted. If I turn off everything and just sit in the dark I get tired as Hades.

I have no idea if what I just said is even true or whether I believe it. I don't keep detailed records and have no real ideas.

[Belle2Be]

They've done studies that LED/LCD screens before bed do mess with your sleep, whether its the TV or laptop (or tablet/ereader). Something about it makes your brain too active before it's supposed to shut down.

[Namekuseijin]

I don't have any such problems. I can sleep with lights on, the sun above my head, children shouting around... no prob.

If for some reason I can't, I drink some whiskey and am ready to go...

this thing that you can't read before sleep surely is wrong: what about children bed time reading? surely works, doesn't it?

[elcreative]

The thing about not reading before sleep relates to people who suffer from chronic insomnia... essentially if you generally have trouble sleeping then you shouldn't do anything that may interfere with sleep such as reading which leaves your mind active... one therapy involves retraining your normal behaviours to try and get you into a more normal sleep pattern... it is not a general thing applying to everybody.

Personally I find a boring book a great way to get to sleep... trouble is waking up suddenly several hours later with cramp from being in an awkward position...

Originally Posted by Namekuseijin

I don't have any such problems. I can sleep with lights on, the sun above my head, children shouting around... no prob.

If for some reason I can't, I drink some whiskey and am ready to go...

this thing that you can't read before sleep surely is wrong: what about children bed time reading? surely works, doesn't it?

[snipenekkid]

think about this, if the issue is indeed with the LCD screen then we should be seeing millions upon millions with increased inability to sleep due to the move from CRT TV's to LCD flat panel's. Those put out far more 6500k light than a reader panel, granted it is from a greater distance and thus suffers from the inverse-square law for light fall-off but that does not color shift the light.

What you can try is looking for an app like F.lux:
http://stereopsis.com/flux/

That app can sync your LCD's color from full-spectrum to night/warmer as the sun sets. In theory for those who have sleep issues it could help. I have long had insomnia probs from stress/anxiety and have installed it on my laptops. No idea if it works but know it does ease the strain on the eyes when the lights are off at night.

[Belle2Be]

Originally Posted by snipenekkid

think about this, if the issue is indeed with the LCD screen then we should be seeing millions upon millions with increased inability to sleep due to the move from CRT TV's to LCD flat panel's. Those put out far more 6500k light than a reader panel, granted it is from a greater distance and thus suffers from the inverse-square law for light fall-off but that does not color shift the light.

What you can try is looking for an app like F.lux:
http://stereopsis.com/flux/

That app can sync your LCD's color from full-spectrum to night/warmer as the sun sets. In theory for those who have sleep issues it could help. I have long had insomnia probs from stress/anxiety and have installed it on my laptops. No idea if it works but know it does ease the strain on the eyes when the lights are off at night.

There actually has been an increase in "insomnia", that they suspect is from the TV's in the bedroom etc.

[snipenekkid]

Originally Posted by Belle2Be

There actually has been an increase in "insomnia", that they suspect is from the TV's in the bedroom etc.

Interesting. thanks for that tidbit. I actually don't watch much TV in the bedroom so it's not that big a deal for my insomnia issues, my are due to life long chronic pain but in an odd way, it's at night after finally getting enough pain meds into me over the course of the day that I no longer notice the pain so my mind feels relaxed and I'm able to focus like I could at 25 again. Luckily on this coming Monday my doc and I are gonna work on a new regime for that with a longer acting med to establish a higher baseline then just use the current meds for breakthrough pain. At this point in life it's about QOL and the ability to remain active yet clear headed so I am leery of the stronger longer acting pain meds though I have used them for a few months at a time before. At 50-mumble it is ALL about getting away from the pain after too many years just pushing through it.

Annnnyway, it might turn out that the LCD TV folks will need to incorporate something like the F.lux app into their TV's to help minimize the phenomenon and really who would have really thought of it when LCD's were brought into the mainstream? A few folks it seems, where would we be without those who really do question everything. I do use my laptop a lot at night and in all honesty I have less sleep probs since installing F.lux. combined with reading I fall asleep much faster. I still love having an ebook on though. Something soothing about being read to sleep.

[GreenMonkey]

Originally Posted by Belle2Be

They've done studies that LED/LCD screens before bed do mess with your sleep, whether its the TV or laptop (or tablet/ereader). Something about it makes your brain too active before it's supposed to shut down.

Not just LCD screens, but any bright displays. Older CRTs included. Same principle. Light shining in the eyes, melatonin, etc.

That's why if you have trouble sleeping, they tell you, no TVs in the bedroom, no laptops in bed, etc.

[snipenekkid]

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey

Not just LCD screens, but any bright displays. Older CRTs included. Same principle. Light shining in the eyes, melatonin, etc.

That's why if you have trouble sleeping, they tell you, no TVs in the bedroom, no laptops in bed, etc.

not 100% accurate. The light in question seems to need to be full spectrum which is a color temperature of ~6000k - 6500k to potentially affect circadian rhythm. So the degree of potential affect will vary from LCD to LCD as well as CRT to CRT. If the backlight is red-shifted then odds are it won't be near to 6500K color temp for the light. And that is the point of the studies, the displays are shining daylight temperature into people's eyes which tells the brain it's not yet time for sleep.

BTW, this also applies to the newer CFL bulbs in your lights. You definitely do not want full spectrum lights in your bedroom, or even complete home should you be having sleep issues. They would be fine to use during the day, especially if you are doing something color sensitive but as the day goes on you want to move to the 2500K-3200K bulbs instead. People in this situation often over look the color temp of the bulbs in the house. If it says either "daylight", "full spectrum" or has a color temp written on it in the 5000K+ range then it could be a factor as well.

[Valkrider]

IMHO everyone is different. I cannot get to sleep at night unless I read for at least 10 minutes, I used to do this with a pBook. I have not noticed any problem since i went over to an Android tablet using the night-time colours. YMMV

[Richey79]

I don't get this phenomenon at all with my iPad, and I read in bed right before going to sleep.

I do, however, clearly notice it if I use a TFT monitor immediately before going to sleep.

I use white text on black background and keep the brightness turned down on the iPad, incidentally. I'm also an incredibly heavy sleeper naturally, and sleep through smoke alarms, etc.

[Lemurion]

I read on my NC before bed - no change in sleep patterns.

[maxbookworm]

I just updated to the latest firmware so I can dim the screen further, so I'm thinking I should be all set. Thanks for posting your experiences everyone

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by maxbookworm

I just updated to the latest firmware so I can dim the screen further, so I'm thinking I should be all set. Thanks for posting your experiences everyone

Mine is rooted - so I use Aldiko a fair bit and one very nice feature of that program is that you can lower the brightness just by running your finger along the left edge of the screen.