Wired and tired: Reduce blue light for a better night's sleep

Do you have trouble getting to sleep at night? Problems shutting down your body at bedtime?
Perhaps you spent too much time scrolling through your Facebook feed or reading an e-book. The culprit keeping you from sleep could be the light from your electronic devices after sunset.
That smartphone or tablet you can't seem to put away at night has a high concentration of "blue light." The short-wavelength light tricks the body into thinking it is daylight even when it's pitch black outside.
Experts suggest using e-devices at night may disrupt up to an hour of sleep each night. But there are solutions to this harmful light that throws off your body's natural clock. One solution, for computers, is called f.lux. The software allows you to configure the amount of blue light remove from your system's display. Options to configure when you wake-up daily or to adjust automatically with the sunrise and sunsets.
For your smartphone, Android users can load an app called Twilight for similar functionality.
iPhone users, however, will need to wait for an update. Apps like f.lux or Twilight require system-level changes, something Apple doesn't allow. Instead a future operating system version will include a similar feature, called Night Shift.
To use Night Shift, set the filter manually or schedule a daily begin and end time. Customize the color temperature to your individual preference.