One of the best things we can do for our physical and mental health is get enough sleep but there are a lot of things (jobs, babies, must-see-TV) that get in the way of that. Happily for those of us who are hanging out online just before bed, there’s one tool to change the look on your monitor to more closely mimic the kind of light you would see if your computer was tuned in to the natural order of things. F.lux is a little piece of software that sits nicely on your menu bar (if you have a Mac) and very quietly and unobtrusively changes the level of blueness in the light your monitor is putting out.

The programmers have a whole page linking to research that explains why this works if you’re curious about it.

There’s also a version that works for your iPhone or iPad but unfortunately you’ll need to jailbreak your device to get it to work. That makes me a little nervous so I haven’t tried it.

I don’t really notice my monitor getting dark unless I’m working on something where I need to be paying attention to color. You’ll definitely want to steer clear of any graphic design after the sun’s gone down or you’ll end up with some unintended color schemes when it’s daytime again or you can simply switch F.lux off and work away.

F.lux is free for Mac OSX, Windows and Linux so check it out and see if it helps you settle into your evening more easily.