Let me guess: You sleep with your iPad, don't you? | Hacker News Reader

Let me guess: You sleep with your iPad, don't you?

niemanlab.org

18 pointsjmduke30 comments

This is really bad for your[0], but unfortunately a lot of people don't realize that. The health benefits of putting away your gadgets at least an hour before sleeping are huge.

0: http://lifehacker.com/5778483/screen-reading-before-bed-stil...

To mitigate, install f.lux on rooted iPads and Screen Filter on your Android tablet.

Since I stopped taking the iPad and laptop into my sleeping room (the old e-ink Kindle is still allowed in, with wi-fi turned off) I was able to normalize my sleeping pattern, sleep a full 7 hours per night and work out as soon as I wake up, feeling energized for the whole day.

Just the other day I took my computer because I needed to reply a rather longish email... boom, I couldn't sleep before 3am, on a Tuesday. Never making that mistake again.

Yep, this is why I'm considering getting the new Kindle Paperwhite, which has been getting rave reviews[0]. The display is front-lit, not back-lit, which makes a big difference when it comes to affecting our ability to fall asleep on time (i.e., front-lit = not a problem). All computers, tablets, and phones (and other back-lit devices) definitely have to stay out of the bedroom.

0: http://www.theverge.com/2012/9/30/3433110/amazon-kindle-pape...

Interesting despite the link-bait headline (an editors, not the OPs). Source can be found here:

http://www.journalism.org/analysis_report/future_mobile_news

There is a link above the table of contents that allows the entire paper to be downloaded as a pdf.

Isn't it easier to "sleep with" a laptop than a tablet?

A laptop holds the screen in a vertical orientation that you can watch while lying down. How do you do this with a tablet?

I ask as someone who has "slept with" a laptop more or less every night for five or six years.

The iPad, at least, has a slide switch on the side which allows you to hold the screen in either orientation.

You can also lock orientation on iPhone in the menu that appears with the triple-press of home button.

With Android you have countless options to fix the orientation. Use the settings menu, use a one-click widget on your desktops, use a button in the notification pulldown menu, etc. You could even easily make it stop rotating if you use certain apps by using Llama or a similar tool. Same for making that by time of day or else.

Both my Android tablet (Nexus 7) and phone (Galaxy S2) have a software rotation-lock button.

If you mean physical orientation, then well, I just lay it in a way that it's supported by pillow or bed wall to keep it vertical.

Also, I like sleeping with my tablet because I don't have to get up from bed to turn it on and check e-mail & HN ;).

I did mean physical orientation, but I see from rereading my question that's not clear at all.

Nah, I sleep with the Nexus 7. Better battery life, for one, and it doesn't feel like a wet dog nose (cold aluminum) poking me in the chest.

My first reaction: well duh!

During my 9-5(ish) I'm on a real computer. Why would I bother with a tablet? If I'm out and about, the iPad's just one more thing to carry with me, so I'm using my phone instead. I only really use the iPad when I'm settled in somewhere but don't want to mess with my laptop to do something. I use the iPad like a bigger, slightly less convenient to carry but nicer to use smartphone.

If enough people are at all like me, I'd expect the iPad to be used mostly at home before and after work, and I'd expect it to lead to more media consumption simply because it makes passive media consumption less painful.

There is also the cost to consider. With all those extra gadgets laying around, it's easy to set your iPad aside and have it disappear. Then you're out $500-$900

I wonder, though. How much is the increased news consumption a reflection of who owns tablets vs. the effects of tablets themselves?

Even without my iPad, I'd still read lots of news (though probably less from Twitter late at night), and I'm sure I'm not the only one. I would just guess that many of the factors correlated with owning a tablet (wealthy, tech-user, etc.) would also predict high news consumption.

As tablets become more mainstream, will tablet users continue to consume more news than average, because of the convenience of using a tablet, or will usage begin to look more like the general population?

Technology is banned from my bedroom. Books and a Casio watch - that is all that is allowed.

Much healthier for the mind from experience!

My wife and I do (with the phone) and I'm not really sure it's healthy. She'll stay up for hours playing short little time waster games, and I'll do the same on reddit (as a long-term non-game time waster). Then we're right back at it for 15-30 minutes in the morning. I can't say either of us actually benefit from the experience, and it definitely interrupts sleep and makes for hasty mornings.

Unfortunately I need my phone nearby in case something happens at work, and they have some of the most convenient alarms in the world on them. Not really sure how to attack this problem besides pure force of will. Any ideas?

I did with my kindle, until I rolled over one night. The screen has such a pretty pattern on it now. All the time.

Now I read my kindle books on my phone.

Order a new screen (ED060SC7 for Kindle 3) and replace it yourself. It's super-easy and there are tutorials for it on the web. I did it recently with my girlfriend's Kindle to her great delight :). It's cheaper than buying new or paying someone to fix it, and then there's also this ego boost :).

Nope. And I still get my news from multiple source before 8am. BBC world news on the tv in the morning as I'm getting ready for work, and NPR on the drive in to the office. After I'm at the office, a quick check of the tech news sites while the coffee is brewing. That's all before 7, 7:30 if traffic was bad.

My tablet lives on the coffee table.

The word "news" shows up in that article 51 times (with 5 non-article occurrences on the page). Not sure if this bothered anyone else but it drove me nuts and I couldn't finish the article.

I usually sleep with my glasses and my iPad under our pillows in an attempt to keep them safe from our marauding Burmese cats who love to chew on expensive items.

Sounds like you need a drawer.

I sleep next to my iPad almost every night. By reading articles right before sleep, I often wonder if it's affecting the quality of my sleep.

I used to do this. I had the same suspicion. About two months ago, in an effort to improve my sleep quality, I banned the iPad (and all other devices, except a first generation books-only non-backlit Kindle) from the bed when sleeping. My sleep is indeed better, in part because I no longer spent "just a few more minutes" randomly browsing before going to bed, in part because if I wake up early or in the middle of the night, I can't just reach for a device and start checking email.

Yes, and it would be cool if the tablet could detect when I fall asleep so Netflix doesn't think I finished watching what was playing.

I fall asleep every night watching starcraft2 games on my ipad1 (Mostly from sc2casts.com for the interested).

No, but I do with my android phone.

Nein!

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