Encouraged by the latest research in the area of sleep disorders, Apple released an application called Night Shift. According to the company, the application was designed to shift the light spectrum from blue short wavelength light to orange or beige to mimic the sunset.

Recent sleep studies have determined that electronic devices such as smartphones or tablets may disrupt our sleep cycle. Researchers have explained that such devices emit a so-called shortwave blue light that is capable of delaying the moment when our bodies start to produce melatonin, a hormone involved in the sleep cycle.

Naturally, tech companies have struggled to come up with various ways to overcome this obstacle. Several Android and iOS apps have emerged since then, each of them designed to help the users get a good night’s sleep.

But do they actually work? According to Doctor Phyllis Zee, a doctor specialized in sleep issues, the application doesn’t do much for our circadian rhythm, but it’s better than nothing. The doctor, who is currently working at the Northwestern University declared that the best treatment out there for sleep disorders is to put our phones away before going to sleep.

However, since everyone is living the age of technology to the maximum, it’s often too tempting to leave your device alone before going to bed. There’s no harm in checking up your inbox or catching up on the latest new before hitting the sack.

Well, the scientists tend to argue that’s exactly what we shouldn’t do before going to sleep. It may seem harmless, but such action can severely disrupt our sleep patterns. And we do know what happens when we wake up feeling tired.

While Doctor Zee hails Apple’s commitment towards its customers, there are other who argue that such applications have little effect on the long-run. On the other hand, other researchers tend to believe that all the sleep studies involving electronic devices have it all wrong.

Raymond Soneira, the acting president of DisplayMate Tech, said that although the studies seem pretty convincing, the scientists don’t have a good grasp of how the human eye perceives color or how the display works.

So, what’s Night Shift? According to Apple, Night Shift is the best application out there that does not disturb your sleeping pattern. After the application is installed, it will use geotags and other instruments to determine the day-night cycle.

As the day draws to an end, Night Shift will kick in, shifting your display’s light spectrum from blue to orange or beige. Note that the application doesn’t work if the battery saving mode is turned on.

Whether the application is helpful or not, remains to be seen.

Photo credits:flickr