iPhone Blue Light Filter is finally available!

I am so excited about the new iPhone blue light filter update! We finally have a night time viewing setting that filters out blue light! Previously the only solution to reduce night time blue light exposure while using an iPhone was jail breaking the phone to use F.lux, but that compromises security and isn't for the faint of heart. Even turning down the brightness settings didn't change the warmth (color) of the light. But with the latest iOS release, we now have a built in solution directly in the phone's settings!

Here are the instructions on how to use the iPhone blue light filter (also known as Night Shift).

1. Go to settings, which is the gray gear-like icon.
2. Go to Display & Brightness.
3. Go to Night Shift.
4. To enable, set the Scheduled to green.
5. Set the times you want it on. The default is 10pm, but I recommend going by the sun. If the sun sets at 7pm, then you shouldn't have as much artificial blue light exposure after 7pm. I like to sleep in, so I set my morning for 8am.
6. Set manually enable to green.
7. Set your color preferences. I would simply set it to as much warmth as possible. The colors will look funny to you for a day or two but you get used to it.
8. I've been using F.lux on my computers for years, and I love it. The only time I disable it is to do graphics work where colors matter. Or if I'm making charts and the colors are beginning to run together. Or shopping for a particular color of something. Otherwise, it's handy for Facebooking, browsing, and just about everything else. At least I can say that my excessive screen time in front of a computer wasn't what was keeping me up at night.
9. Because it wasn't available for iOS, it was a major bummer for me, and I considered at various times to invent/source an amber screen cover for iPhones, but then it may be annoying during the day. I would still have used it personally, but I'm a real stickler about how much light affecting sleep habits. I talked with a number of suppliers, and they just stared at me like I was crazy.
10. Of course the reason to eliminate blue light at night is to improve your sleep. Blue light suppresses your natural brain production of melatonin. It's very important to reduce the amount of bright light, esp. bright LED white/blue/greenhouse lights in the evenings. When your brain is able to naturally make melatonin, then you'll more easily fall asleep and sleep better at night without having to resort to artificial habits like taking melatonin pills.
11. Anyway, I'm just so excited that the night time iPhone blue light filter is finally available! I hope the screenshots help you figure out how to use it!

Written by Dr. Wei-Shin Lai, CEO AcousticSheep