If your typical workday is
anything like mine, much of it involves staring at a computer screen. Even when
you go home at night, you have emails to return, Facebook to check and you may
even watch movies on your computer screen.
That's a lot time spent staring at your monitor, which is why frequent breaks are important to avoid
injury. It's not just the amount of time spent staring that can
cause problems though.
At night, looking at the blue light from your monitor
tricks your body into thinking it's daytime, which makes it harder for you
to go to sleep. Avoiding your computer a few hours before hitting the hay is a
solution, but not always practical.
Fortunately, there's a free program that solves this very
problem.
f.lux is a free download that automatically adjusts your
monitor's color temperature according to the time of day. So at night it
shifts your monitor to a red tint, which won't mess with your sleep pattern.
f.lux connects to the Internet to automatically detect your
location and will begin adjusting your display immediately to your
surroundings. You can click Settings to change your location if it's incorrect
and you can adjust the color settings according to the lights you use in
your office or room.
If you need precise colors while you edit photos or do other
color-sensitive tasks, you can disable f.lux for an hour with just one
click. Or, if you want to watch a movie and have the colors look right,
you can put f.lux in Movie Mode. This disables f.lux for two and half hours.
Note: If you first install and run f.lux at night, your
monitor will suddenly take on a serious shade of red. Don't worry; that's
normal and you'll get used to it fairly quickly.
If the colors still don't seem right to you after you've
given yourself an hour or so to adjust, you can change the warmth setting until
it looks like a book page under your home lighting. This is the most
natural setting for your eyes.
Download
Instructions
To download the program, navigate to the f.lux download
page. Windows users can click on the blue button in the center of the page to
start their download. Mac users should click on the "Mac" text link
under the blue button.
Your download should begin immediately. When the download is
complete, open the file and run the installation package. Be sure to read the
license agreement before continuing!
f.lux will run automatically after the installation is
complete. A f.lux icon will appear in your system tray - located down by your
clock in Windows. Click this icon at any time to manage your settings or to
temporarily disable f.lux.
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