Pros & Cons for its effect on eye health that you really should know.
Image by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels
Just a year ago I was a graphic design wannabe just starting college.
Having played video games, done the entirety of my high school course online, the computer was the epicenter of where my eyes looked.
For many of us, night time is considered _the time to really get sh done,_**because there seems to be all the time in the world.
Meaning, if you didn’t have time during the day to finish a task, just do it at night!
But we also need to consider how good it is for our visual-seeking organs.
The night time for me was the best time to study.
Not only did I get a lot of sh** done, but I loved it!
Except that, the screen was so blinding that, a lot of times, I had to look away.
That doesn’t make for a good focus session.
The thing is, at night the environment around you is pitch black (if you turn off all the lights like me) and the screen is pitch white- making the black letters hard to read.
I knew that I needed a different solution, so I often paced my room looking for any clues…
Actually, scratch that.
I didn’t realize my need until a few years of studying later, when just this month I started using Obsidian.
Obsidian is a note taking app that’s notorious for its black appearance.
When I first started using it for my notes, I cringed at the display of deep gray that was known as dark-mode.
I wondered how this was any better than my gorgeous, white screen.
The thing is,
I didn’t realize just how much it would help.
screenshot by author
The first few days of using Obsidian, I tried to get used to the appearance.
When taking notes at night, it was at first bothersome. But that slight discomfort faded when I started to not notice it.
The white letters stood out well, helping me glimpse the right words for review.
And overall, my eyes were really liking it.
When I used that bright, white screen (what’s the word for anti-dark mode),
especially at night, my eyes would strain to focus on the necessary words.
Whereas now, they’re relieved when met with the dark appearance!
As I’m writing this actually, I’m using Obsidian for my early-morning writing- when the sun is just barely crossing the horizon.
I’ve found a lot of other uses for dark mode, too.
Like when it comes to aesthetics, searching the web, and (hopefully soon) for reading on Medium.
After seeing the results for myself on the wonders of dark mode (it took me about 6 years of hearing about it),
I wondered,
“Why does it help me focus?”
I was barely informed of its ability to give off less blue light, but how does it really help our eyesight?
With all the fame of dark mode’s ability to help people concentrate at night, I decided to do some research of the above questions.
But first…
Why is it so popular?
In recent years, dark-mode has grown popularity for its chic, sci-fi like appearance on your monitor, nonetheless if you’re on mobile, tablet, or PC.
It’s said to be originated with software developers who would clock in late hours, and found that the usual white screen was too glaring at night.
Most of us have heard how it helps relieve our eyes of blue light strain, helping to work longer hours both day & night (especially).
A large part of its fame is because of aesthetics, especially in having contrast & legibility, but only if you have an OLED display.
But have you heard much about how it helps the computer?
Another plus about dark-mode is increased battery life, (for obvious reasons but stating it anyway) because the majority of your screen is dark rather than white, which emits more light.
So… we know why it’s good for computers, now what about humans?
Pros & Cons for eyesight
Here’s a list of goodies that dark-mode promotes:
- Reduces dry eyes
- Boosts sleep (due to its warm colors)
- Reduces eye strain (if your environment is low light)
- Reduce screen headaches (not backed up with evidence)
- Helps focus and concentratio —
Wait, let’s look at that last one.
The whole point of this article is how dark mode saved my focus, right?
Well, remember that guru who told you that only dark-mode should be used and white-mode kills your eyes… not true.
Dark-mode (conducted by studies) only helped some participants focus better when working, whereas, most actually preferred white-mode when concentrating.
That’s right, white-mode promotes concentration.
This is due to:
- Faster reading (due to higher contrast — yeah, confusing I know)
- Boosts creativity (because of alertness, and its “positive” feel)
- Helps focus in lighter environments
That last one means a lot.
Focus is crucial when it comes to our environment.
During the daytime, depending on how long we’ve been accustomed to sunlight, dark mode makes the eyes work harder since they need to absorb more light.
This causes a halation effect, causing text to blur.
Ever noticed this? I sure have.
Now that the sun is rising and bright sunlight is hitting my face, my beautiful dark-moded, Obsidian page is starting to not do me justice anymore.
Time to switch to white-mode I suppose…
If you’re environment is light, you’re eyes are used to light.
But if its a late night, you’re eyes will thank you by using a dark-mode display.
Think of it this way,
Light for light.
Night for night.
Remember too, that not all displays are created equal.
Some dark-mode appearances may be more harsh on your eyesight,
and then again, some may provide relief.
Now to wrap things up…
Getting in the nitty-gritty
A very fancy scientific article on UX Movement states, “white stimulates all three types of color sensitive visual receptors in the human eye in nearly equal amounts.”
This causes the eye to focus by tightening the iris.
Since the eye is focused, dark letter forms on light backgrounds are easier to read.
When using a dark background with white letters, the iris opens up to more light, but that causes letter forms to blur.
Why?
“ People with astigmatism (approximately 50% of the population) find it harder to read white text on black than black text on white. Part of this has to do with light levels: with a bright display (white background) the iris closes a bit more, decreasing the effect of the “deformed” lens; with a dark display (black background) the iris opens to receive more light and the deformation of the lens creates a much fuzzier focus at the eye, ” article on UX Movement.
There, now you know the difference between dark and white-mode when it comes to eye health.
Choose according to what suits you best:
- Depending on the light conditions in your environment, and
- How dilated your pupils are that day.
I like to use dark-mode right after I wake up, and then switch to white-mode as the sun starts rising…
but you do you!
Why use dark mode for your workflow?
screenshot by author
Dark mode helps productivity, making it easier on the eyes during night time, and keeps your display aesthetically~trendy.
I can’t begin to tell you how much more focused & relieved my eyes have felt since my transition to dark-mode only!
Sure, even if you don’t use dark-mode for everything like me, we use our Notion templates a lot to organize and update our goals & to-do.
So using dark mode in Notion can help!
Not only does Notion have a feature in the settings for switching in-and-out of dark-mode, but the layouts you can create are pretty cool.
Dark-mode just makes every element pop off.
Recently (as of November 2023), I came out with the Night Time OS.
A Free Notion template to add your to-do’s and focus points for that night easily & without hassle.
Use it for your workflow, along with other freebies, on my website!
Tip: next time you’re in your settings, think night for night & light for light.
and you’ll have an enjoyable time using dark mode!