For thousands of years, the nighttime鈥檚 daily darkness naturally told humans it was time to go to sleep. That鈥檚 an evolutionary principle embedded into our brains 鈥� and it becomes apparent for those who can鈥檛 peacefully slumber at night because of the annoying indicator light that鈥檚 part of many household electronics.
Countless devices and appliances 鈥� from surge protectors and televisions to headphones and laptops 鈥� often have a bright light that turns on when plugged in but can鈥檛 be turned off unless the product is unplugged. It鈥檚 a pesky bedroom nuisance.
鈥淓xposure to light at night is a completely unnatural and alien experience,鈥� Steven Lockley, a neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School鈥檚 Division of Sleep Medicine, said in author Paul Bogard鈥檚 2013 book, 鈥淭he End of Night,鈥� which explores the effects of artificial light on society and health.
Not only are there more of those lights these days, but many are brighter than they used to be. Some manufacturers say indicator lights can sometimes serve a practical purpose. But the one thing that鈥檚 clear is that at bedtime, people looking to get some sleep just loath those difficult-to-ignore dots of light ruining the comforting darkness needed to get some shuteye.
The solutions we come up with
For Kyle Moschen, a 27-year-old public relations professional based in Seattle, it almost looked like a starry night sky in the studio apartment he used to live in with his boyfriend, except it wasn鈥檛 beautiful like Vincent van Gogh鈥檚 famous painting, it was irritating.
Bright lights emitting from many sources 鈥� from the oven, an automatic fan, the fire alarm, an air purifier and a wireless phone charger 鈥� made it difficult for Moschen to sleep at night.
His solution: Tape those bad boys right up.
鈥淚 was looking around and I just kept noticing more and more and I felt so confused, like why are there so many lights?鈥� Moschen told CNN. 鈥淚 was like this crazy person putting these black strips of electrical tape on every little light.鈥�
Amazon, among other retailers, stocks several different sizes and shapes of blackout, or light-dimming, stickers and sheets.
The solution looked a bit different for Jonathan King, a finance professional based in New York.
鈥淚 plug in my Logitech headphones and it鈥檚 a little blue light but I really have a hard time sleeping with any light on so I have to either wear a face mask or what I usually end up doing is putting a shirt over the headphones so I don鈥檛 see them,鈥� King told CNN in an email.
The practical and aesthetic purposes of indicator lights
To put it simply, an indicator light just reflects the status of a device, and that varies from product to product. For example, an indicator light could show that a device is charging or plugged in and working properly. For Bluetooth devices, they鈥檙e necessary when pairing with a phone.
Those bright indicators are often LED lights. LED lighting is an energy-efficient option for manufacturing indicator lights. The light has a long lifespan and doesn鈥檛 generate excess heat 鈥� important qualities for a technology that鈥檚 used every day.
Blue LED light 鈥� a common indicator color but one particularly disruptive to sleep 鈥� was such an industry breakthrough that the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to physicists Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura for creating it.
Blue LED was introduced for commercial use in the 1990s. Amid a growing tech industry, blue LED offered a new, innovative color that gave consumer electronics a cutting-edge appearance.
鈥淪ometimes those lights are on there just for aesthetic appeal, contributing to the gadget鈥檚 design, appeal and user experience,鈥� David Loftus, president and chief executive of the Electronic Components Industry Association, told CNN.
Still, many manufacturers do without them. 鈥淎 lot of times, some don鈥檛 have it because it is a very inexpensive device and the manufacturer has chosen not to spend a few pennies on putting an LED status light in it. Or, the devices are just really simple and don鈥檛 need it,鈥� Loftus said.
Manny Linhares Jr., senior director of product management at Legrand, a French electrical equipment manufacturer, said the indicator lights of Legrand鈥檚 products are essential for functional, aesthetic and safety reasons.
鈥淎s a manufacturer, adding an LED light does cost something, so to add one just to add one seems quite wasteful. So in our case, it鈥檚 used purposely to enhance the user experience,鈥� he said.
Linhares Jr. also said the lights can be helpful as night lights.
鈥淲e aim for the subtle lights to help a customer know where these devices are when the lights are off in spaces where the occupant isn鈥檛 familiar with the room, like in hotels you at least have that subtle light glow,鈥� he said.
John Towfighi contributed to this story.
