New study finds that Night Shift does not improve sleep quality or quantity

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A new sleep study from Brigham Young University has found that features like Night Shift do little to improve users' sleep quality over those who don't use the feature.

New study finds that Night Shift does not improve sleep quality or quantity


Features like Apple's Night Shift are designed to shift the light emitted from your devices away from the blue light spectrum. In addition to supposedly being better for your eyes, many device manufacturers also claim that this helps improve users' sleep quality.

However, a new sleep study performed by Brigham Young University challenges that claim, showing that Night Shift and similar features don't improve sleep quality or the hours of sleep an individual gets.

The study included 167 adults ages 18 to 24 who self-reported using their phones daily. The participants were asked to spend at least eight hours in bed and had to wear an accelerometer on their wrist to record their sleep.

Psychology Professor Chad Jensen and his research team divided users into three groups: those who were asked to use their phone with Night Shift turned on, those who used their phones without it, and those not allowed to use their phones before bed.

"In the whole sample, there were no differences across the three groups," Jensen said. "Night Shift is not superior to using your phone without Night Shift or even using no phone at all."

The Night Shift option in macOS
The Night Shift option in macOS


While the three groups showed no differences in sleep outcomes, the researchers grouped the participants into two groups -- those who averaged seven hours of sleep or more and those who slept less than six.

Those who slept seven hours or more saw improved sleep quality over those who used their phones, regardless of whether Night Shift was activated.

There was also no difference between Night Shift and normal phone use in the group that slept less than six hours of sleep per night.

The research suggests that the problem, the problem is stimulation, not light. Users who text, scroll, and post are often too psychologically stimulated, causing them to stay awake longer, reducing overall sleep quality.

"While there is a lot of evidence suggesting that blue light increases alertness and makes it more difficult to fall asleep, it is important to think about what portion of that stimulation is light emission versus other cognitive and psychological stimulations," said Jensen.

Those looking to improve their sleep quality should reduce the amount of time they use electronics before bed.

A similar study was done in 2019, which showed that a users phone screen brightness, not color temperature, likely played a bigger role in disrupting sleep quality.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 21
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    That makes sense....

    Sleep is primarily a chemical process that occurs in the brain and throughout the body.   But that process and the overall physiology of sleep is poorly understood.  And, the only chemical treatments are sedatives and pills with sleepy side effects like Benadryl (an anti-histamine).

    But, since they have little understanding and no treatments for the root causes of insomnia, they have to rely on environmental solutions derived from observational data.
    While that works for things like stress and anxiety (use a relaxation technique to relieve it) it tends to branch out to things with little or no effect like what color light enters the brain before sleep.

    We need to do better.   Sleep is as critical to life as water and nutrients.  And, a lack of sleep impacts multiple things throughout the body.  For instance there is an ongoing debate whether manic episodes in bipolar disorder are triggered by sleep disturbances or if the sleep disturbances are triggered by the manic episode.

    We need to do better in this area -- we need a lot more basic research.
    muthuk_vanalingamdysamoriakiltedgreenStrangeDays
  • Reply 2 of 21
    EsquireCatsEsquireCats Posts: 1,268member
    Apple has tacitly inferred a lack of evidence for this feature to help sleep, instead on iOS states that it is easier on the eyes. Also the health app’s health checklist and the specific sleep portion of the app makes no mention of it whatsoever. macOS states "This may help you get a better night's sleep."

    That said, for some, it is a reminder to put down the phone. 
    edited May 2021 dysamoriadewmewatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 21
    darkvaderdarkvader Posts: 1,146member
    No surprise there.  All it does is infuriate me that colors aren't rendering properly.

    I hate this "feature" almost as much as I hate "True Tone".  At least unlike "True Tone" it defaults to off.


  • Reply 4 of 21
    nicholfdnicholfd Posts: 826member
    darkvader said:
    No surprise there.  All it does is infuriate me that colors aren't rendering properly.

    I hate this "feature" almost as much as I hate "True Tone".  At least unlike "True Tone" it defaults to off.


    True Tone does not default to on.

    During the setup of a new device or wiped/reset device, the option to turn True Tone on/off is presented to the user.  The user decides if it is on or off.  
    kiltedgreenmike1spock1234watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 21
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    That makes sense....

    Sleep is primarily a chemical process that occurs in the brain and throughout the body.   But that process and the overall physiology of sleep is poorly understood.  And, the only chemical treatments are sedatives and pills with sleepy side effects like Benadryl (an anti-histamine).
    And these drugs are only hypnotic agents that can, at best, make it feel easier to GET TO sleep. They don’t help you get better sleep, and actually interfere with acquisition of, and maintenance of, deep sleep; pretty much every drug does. The only drugs that seem to have any slightly positive effect on deep sleep are GABAs and GHB, both of which have considerable adverse effects and complications. Not to mention the fact that the body pursues homeostasis, which is why we get situations where “I need a higher dose”, “this drug isn’t working anymore”, and addictions (pretty much every drug, especially psychotropics).

    Deep sleep/delta sleep is the only truly restful stage of sleep. It’s the least active state the brain is ever in, which is when the brain itself can literally rest. This is what’s going largely missing in people with, for example, symptoms of narcolepsy and daytime sleepiness despite spending 7+ hours apparently asleep in bed.

    The only way to gauge how much of each sleep stage a person is getting is to do sleep studies where you wear a ton of crap to measure your body/brain electrical activity over time. This testing itself can interfere with sleep (strange environment, covered in wires and glue), but luckily it does tend to show useful data.

    It so far seems not to help determine the CAUSE for lack of deep sleep for any reason other than sleep apnea. For people like me, with little to zero stage 3/delta sleep, and NO apnea, there’s absolutely no answers to my sleep disorder (just hand me a disability status). There’s literally nothing to be done to help me because research isn’t being done to figure out what’s actually wrong (I have lots of ideas and none of it can be used to sell me new pills, so there’s no financial incentive to study it; not to mention it’s basically a challenge to our toxic culture that brought me to this extreme point, from a childhood of already struggling with sleep - no one GAF).

    There is a continuing myth promoted by many people, and actual drug advertising(!!), that REM sleep is the “most restful stage of sleep”. This is FALSE. It’s anything but. Your brain is very active during dream sleep. You need it, we don’t know why, but it’s not a brain-rest stage.

    In fact, we know so little about sleep as a species that the only really correct answer to the question “why do we sleep” is “because we get sleepy”.
    GeorgeBMacmuthuk_vanalingamStrangeDaysJosephAU
  • Reply 6 of 21
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    Apple has tacitly inferred a lack of evidence for this feature to help sleep, instead on iOS states that it is easier on the eyes. Also the health app’s health checklist and the specific sleep portion of the app makes no mention of it whatsoever. macOS states "This may help you get a better night's sleep."

    That said, for some, it is a reminder to put down the phone. 
    It definitely feels easier on my eyes. The lowest brightness on my phone is too bright, especially with Apple’s stupid minimal empty design of vast amounts of white space. I’m envious of people who have dark mode on their phones. Just checking the weather or the time or a middle-of-the-night message is painful to my eyes with all this white space.

    Dark mode is the only reason I want to update iOS beyond iOS 12.x. What’s stopped me so far is fear of performance loss (which I’m getting anyway, even without OS changes, because online services are getting sluggish: looking at you, autocorrect & keyboard lag)... ...but the worst issue is the loss of Safari iCloud sync with my Macs stuck at High Sierra.
  • Reply 7 of 21
    pulseimagespulseimages Posts: 656member
    I use Night Shift 24/7 as the blue light hurts my eyes.
    Beatswatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 21
    mr lizardmr lizard Posts: 354member
    I’ve never assumed any benefit to my sleep, but I much prefer warmer light at night. 
    dewmescampercomwatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 21
    mr lizardmr lizard Posts: 354member
    darkvader said:
    No surprise there.  All it does is infuriate me that colors aren't rendering properly.

    I hate this "feature" almost as much as I hate "True Tone".  At least unlike "True Tone" it defaults to off.


    Then leave it off. 
    Beatsmike1spock1234Rayz2016revenantwatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 21
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    darkvader said:
    No surprise there.  All it does is infuriate me that colors aren't rendering properly.

    I hate this "feature" almost as much as I hate "True Tone".  At least unlike "True Tone" it defaults to off.


    You're not alone.  I know others who dislike it.
    It's easy to turn it off.  Go to Settings / display & Brightness / Night Shift

  • Reply 11 of 21
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    dysamoria said:
    That makes sense....

    Sleep is primarily a chemical process that occurs in the brain and throughout the body.   But that process and the overall physiology of sleep is poorly understood.  And, the only chemical treatments are sedatives and pills with sleepy side effects like Benadryl (an anti-histamine).
    And these drugs are only hypnotic agents that can, at best, make it feel easier to GET TO sleep. They don’t help you get better sleep, and actually interfere with acquisition of, and maintenance of, deep sleep; pretty much every drug does. The only drugs that seem to have any slightly positive effect on deep sleep are GABAs and GHB, both of which have considerable adverse effects and complications. Not to mention the fact that the body pursues homeostasis, which is why we get situations where “I need a higher dose”, “this drug isn’t working anymore”, and addictions (pretty much every drug, especially psychotropics).

    Deep sleep/delta sleep is the only truly restful stage of sleep. It’s the least active state the brain is ever in, which is when the brain itself can literally rest. This is what’s going largely missing in people with, for example, symptoms of narcolepsy and daytime sleepiness despite spending 7+ hours apparently asleep in bed.

    The only way to gauge how much of each sleep stage a person is getting is to do sleep studies where you wear a ton of crap to measure your body/brain electrical activity over time. This testing itself can interfere with sleep (strange environment, covered in wires and glue), but luckily it does tend to show useful data.

    It so far seems not to help determine the CAUSE for lack of deep sleep for any reason other than sleep apnea. For people like me, with little to zero stage 3/delta sleep, and NO apnea, there’s absolutely no answers to my sleep disorder (just hand me a disability status). There’s literally nothing to be done to help me because research isn’t being done to figure out what’s actually wrong (I have lots of ideas and none of it can be used to sell me new pills, so there’s no financial incentive to study it; not to mention it’s basically a challenge to our toxic culture that brought me to this extreme point, from a childhood of already struggling with sleep - no one GAF).

    There is a continuing myth promoted by many people, and actual drug advertising(!!), that REM sleep is the “most restful stage of sleep”. This is FALSE. It’s anything but. Your brain is very active during dream sleep. You need it, we don’t know why, but it’s not a brain-rest stage.

    In fact, we know so little about sleep as a species that the only really correct answer to the question “why do we sleep” is “because we get sleepy”.

    Thanks!  That was informative and interesting.
    I feel for you and understand the frustration.

    And, I agree with your assessment of sleep labs:  it's almost like the Quantum Mechanics riddle where merely measuring something changes its characteristics -- so you can never get an actual measurement of it.   But, I look forward to companies like Apple who are moving devices that used to be the exclusive domain of medical professionals out into user's hands.   Technically, there is probably little technical reason why all sleep studies could not be done in one's own bed these days.  But, that would put a lot of sleep labs out of business -- so they aren't likely to give their kingdom up easily.

    But, home based sleep studies using consumer grade equipment could help in another way:   It would enable you to conduct trial and error assessments using objective measurements rather than simply whether or not you felt like you slept or felt better the next day.

    While I have no doubt you have turned over every stone, I'll ask anyway:   Have you tried Benadryl?  It has effects that impact older people, but many of my patients found it helpful without the side effects of the hypnotics.
    In any case, best of luck with it.
    dewme
  • Reply 12 of 21
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    mr lizard said:
    I’ve never assumed any benefit to my sleep, but I much prefer warmer light at night. 

    I've noticed that even the lighting companies recognize that:  they'll have bulbs with a harsh, bright blueish white for kitchen use and bulbs with softer whitish light for living areas.
  • Reply 13 of 21
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    I thought there were studies supporting this way before iPhone? They even have glasses that block blue light.
  • Reply 14 of 21
    nicholfdnicholfd Posts: 826member
    Beats said:
    I thought there were studies supporting this way before iPhone? They even have glasses that block blue light.
    The studies said blue light might be harmful to your eyes - that's why the blue block on glasses.  

    This is about blue light keeping you awake.

    There are studies that stated blue light prevents your body's from preparing for the normal sleep rhythm and the production of melatonin that helps you sleep.
    I don't know how good/accurate either study is.  Sounds like the sleep one has been disproven by this latest study.
  • Reply 15 of 21
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    dysamoria said:
    Apple has tacitly inferred a lack of evidence for this feature to help sleep, instead on iOS states that it is easier on the eyes. Also the health app’s health checklist and the specific sleep portion of the app makes no mention of it whatsoever. macOS states "This may help you get a better night's sleep."

    That said, for some, it is a reminder to put down the phone. 
    It definitely feels easier on my eyes. The lowest brightness on my phone is too bright, especially with Apple’s stupid minimal empty design of vast amounts of white space. I’m envious of people who have dark mode on their phones. Just checking the weather or the time or a middle-of-the-night message is painful to my eyes with all this white space.

    Dark mode is the only reason I want to update iOS beyond iOS 12.x. What’s stopped me so far is fear of performance loss (which I’m getting anyway, even without OS changes, because online services are getting sluggish: looking at you, autocorrect & keyboard lag)... ...but the worst issue is the loss of Safari iCloud sync with my Macs stuck at High Sierra.

    I use Night Shift 24/7 as the blue light hurts my eyes.

    Here’s an iPhone hack for sensitive eyes:

    https://www.imore.com/how-use-and-customize-accessibility-shortcut-iphone-and-ipad

    Choose “reduce white point”.




    Now when you triple click the home button or side button (FaceID devices) you’ll have access to even lower brightness than previously available.
    StrangeDays
  • Reply 16 of 21
    scampercomscampercom Posts: 95member
    I’m just here to comment that I’m amused that this story was posted by someone called “Amber.” (Maybe I’m just easily amused.) :)
    GeorgeBMac12Strangers
  • Reply 17 of 21
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 13,086member
    dysamoria said:
    That makes sense....

    Sleep is primarily a chemical process that occurs in the brain and throughout the body.   But that process and the overall physiology of sleep is poorly understood.  And, the only chemical treatments are sedatives and pills with sleepy side effects like Benadryl (an anti-histamine).
    And these drugs are only hypnotic agents that can, at best, make it feel easier to GET TO sleep. They don’t help you get better sleep, and actually interfere with acquisition of, and maintenance of, deep sleep; pretty much every drug does. The only drugs that seem to have any slightly positive effect on deep sleep are GABAs and GHB, both of which have considerable adverse effects and complications. Not to mention the fact that the body pursues homeostasis, which is why we get situations where “I need a higher dose”, “this drug isn’t working anymore”, and addictions (pretty much every drug, especially psychotropics).
    This is worth repeating. Sleeping pills and alcohol don't induce sleep, they're a sedative hypnotic and only put you under. It isn't the sort of actual restorative sleep your brain needs, plus they have side effects. So they're an un-virtuous cycle. 

    Great interview w/ one of the country's premiere experts on sleep:

    https://www.npr.org/2018/07/20/630792401/sleep-scientist-warns-against-walking-through-life-in-an-underslept-state
    edited May 2021 muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 18 of 21
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    The question I have before they started the study did they study these people’s sleep habits before they made those changes. Also how long did they study the people. Lastly it takes months to change your sleep habits just because you started doing something different before going to bed you will not see an immediate affect. You have to do the same thing for weeks before you will begin to see any noticeable change,
    12Strangers
  • Reply 19 of 21
    This "study" doesn’t have any credibility.  The sample size was extremely limited - 167 "students from a western undergraduate university" ages 18-24, 71.3% female, split into 3 groups(~55 students per group) and further split into 2 groups - those who slept an average of 6.8 or more hrs/night and those who slept an average of less than 6.8 hrs/night. This information was self-reported. There was no information on what the iPhone users were doing on their phones or to what degrees Kelvin each person was setting their phone to during the "study". 

    This is/was an incredibly flawed study.
  • Reply 20 of 21
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    This "study" doesn’t have any credibility.  The sample size was extremely limited - 167 "students from a western undergraduate university" ages 18-24, 71.3% female, split into 3 groups(~55 students per group) and further split into 2 groups - those who slept an average of 6.8 or more hrs/night and those who slept an average of less than 6.8 hrs/night. This information was self-reported. There was no information on what the iPhone users were doing on their phones or to what degrees Kelvin each person was setting their phone to during the "study". 

    This is/was an incredibly flawed study.
    Compared to studies done by the food and pharmaceutical industries -- where the #1 determinant of how it comes out is who funded the study -- this one isn't too bad.

    Many studies are based on "self report" -- only because that has been the only feasible way to get the data -- nobody has the money to lock up a few hundred people for a couple weeks to study what they eat or how they sleep.   But, hopefully things like the Apple watch will be changing that.  Two studies collect my Apple Watch data.   It gives them large amounts of timely, quality information very cheaply and one of them even collects my Medicare data so they can compare what we do (like exercise, resting heart rate, etc.) to its health effects.

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