So, you can typically get an alarm clock for the bedside with a blue light or a red light.
All that has to be said. . .
The blue light is worse than the red light when the lights in the room are on.
The blue light is worse than the red light when the lights in the room are out.
The blue-light clock radios come with a dimmer switch often. If you set it to dim, you can’t see it in the light. If you set it to bright, you can literally read by it in the dark.
You’re saying “lazy boy. flick the dimmer to dim when you go to bed, and to bright when you wake up”.
Well, that’s a pain in the ass, and you’re also talking about using the switch twice a day, every day, and I expect to keep a clock radio for many years.
Also, even the ‘dim’ puts out more light in the dark than the red ones.
Now, you might expect there’s a reason they use blue at all. I thought maybe the light lasted longer, but, I’ve actually seen a blue start losing “bars” within a few years, while we currently have two “reds” that have been in service for 15 and 20 years. (this is something for GQ)
Why did I get the blue? I needed features that only a blue one had when I got a clock-radio recently.
My alarm clock has a yellow light. Not yellow LED numerals, no, but a LCD screen that has black numerals, back-lit in yellow. I picked it out in a store, which has lights for the convenience of workers and customers. I took this model because it was the only one I could find that allowed you to wake up to “nature sounds”, plus it lets you program a different alarm sound/time for weekends than for during the week.
You’ll recall that I mentioned that the store was lit. So it wasn’t until I tried out the clock in my bedroom at night that I saw the yellow screen was actually pretty bright. As opposed to red LED numbers just glowing, it casts light across the room. This might be tolerable to most people, but I like it to be dark when I’m trying to sleep. I can’t even read the time on it anyway because I’m so nearsighted. It’s across the room so that I have to get up to turn it off, rather than hitting the off button while not quite awake and accidentally falling back asleep. It’s probably a good thing that it’s across the room because I couldn’t imagine having that light near my face.
My solution was to put something in front of the clock to block the light. Now I can’t see the time even when I have my glasses on and the room’s lit, but at least I can get to sleep and wake up properly. Stupid yellow screen.
It was the only one in the store that had dual-alarms except for one that was like $50.
Also, I hadn’t had a blue one in like 20 years, and I’d kind of forgotten how annoying it was. I figured the dimmer would satisfy, but like I said before, when the clock is on ‘dim’ you can’t read it in the light and it still lights up the dark.
It was the only one in the store (Target) that had dual-alarms except for one that was like $40 that was some brand I’ve never heard of.
Also, I hadn’t had a blue one in like 20 years, and I’d kind of forgotten how annoying it was. I figured the dimmer would satisfy, but like I said before, when the clock is on ‘dim’ you can’t read it in the light and it still lights up the dark.
While we’re at it, let’s pit those hideously ugly bright orange/red dashboard instrument gauges that can be found on certain cars. That feature alone would be a dealbreaker for me.
Ok, I don’t mean to sound unsympathetic here, but I’m just thinking here.
Think Darkroom. Red light is ok because it is a very soft light. Now, think bright blue headlights, they make the light blue because blue pierces the dark and shines farther. Doesn’t seem to be that large of a leap to me…
[Anecdotal evidence–Not Data]My beautiful eyes are more sensitive to blue light than to red. This is cool because if when I leave a red lit room my eyes don’t have to take so long to adjust to the dark–handy for stomping around in a dark house infested with children & a lazy spouse who won’t tidy up or do laundry or…where was I? [/Anecdotal evidence–Not Data] It was my understanding that this is why military night ops use red lights when any light is allowed.
Anyways. I got me one of them blue alarm clocks from K-Mars, an *Indiglo *which puts out lots of lovely blue light. I love blue nightlights. I’va always tried to keep a blue Lava Lite in my bedroom. Just a preference thing.
So. This *Indiglo * clock I have. You can’t read it unless you’re looking at it at a downward angle–like when your head’s on the comfy non-allergenic pillow and the clock’s on the floor. Regular people have nightstands & such, so I’m told, but the only other piece of furniture in our bedroom is a dresser (empty–the laundry is on the floor, yet another pit thread in the works) so when I wake up in the middle of the night all I can see is a wonderful blue blur–I have to sit up and squint to see the time and by that time I may as well haul my butt outta bed for the remainder of The Dark Time. But it has that double alarm feature we need…
Oh, of course if you give me a quiz, “which do you think is brighter, a 40 watt red bulb or a 40 watt blue bulb” I’m going to pick blue. But, your comparison breaks down a little because the blue, while brighter in the dark, is still harder to read when there’s ambient light. It’s worse in all cases.
Like I said, I’m picking out a clock in Target. I figure the dimmer will be fine. I was primarily there to get a dual-alarm clock.
I’m not asking for sympathy anyway. I’m just pitting that stupid blue clock.
My computer has an external hard drive, and the case has two of these super-bright blue LEDs (one for power, one for access). After the novelty wore off, I found the blue light to be really annoying.
So I grabbed my Philips screwdriver, opened the case, and snipped the connector for the “power” LED. The other one I covered with Liquid Paper, to diffuse the glow.
Five minutes of work beats ten minutes of ranting.
Blue light is scattered more by the air and glass and therefore causes more glare for all the other drivers, who will then curse you for an inconsiderate snob for blinding everyone else with your blue lights. Besides, anyone who has seen a sunset knows that red light travels farther through the air than blue light. And if that wasn’t enough to make blue headlights totaly idiotic, the human eye is only half as sensitive to blue light as it is to red or green ( which has the highest sensitivity).
Not saying that you are one of those inconbsiderate snobs, just fighting ignorance.
Inigo- Actually, military night ops use green light. All night vision goggles and night vision compatable equipment are lit with a special green light that is hard for optical sensors to get a lock on.
You are thinking of submarines, in which case they use red because it doesn’t spoil nightvision, and would allow the captain to actually see out the scope when it was raised at night. Also, they don’t have to worry about light leaking out the windows.
Errrrrrrr? I was thinking of the red lights in our M557 & Hummer Huts, and of the red lenses on our flashlights & such. The NVGs I thought were green because…they were just green.
Never came across a green light in the Army except as part of an instrument display.
The 2 alarm clocks that use light to wake you instead of sound are suppose to be more natural as they simulate the sun, unfortunatly both use a green light which is much brighter then a red one. So much so that I have to place objects to block the time when I sleep.
I think I am summarizing correctly when I say:
Red lights don’t spoil night vision, but green is the easiest color to see in the dark (because our eyes are most sensitive to it.)
I was in the Airforce, but we didn’t start making everything night-vision related green until about 5ish years ago. I remember it well because it was a real pain in the ass to have to change out thousands of lightbulbs when the new regulations came in. Before that, there were indeed red bulbs in the airplanes for viewing at night.
Trunk, you must be having an easy and smooth life.
Anyway, I have a blue lighted alarm clock, and this is what I do to coexist with it:
Turn the light to dim, permanently.
Have it right beside your bed, but turned so it ‘faces’ away from you. If you wake in the night and want to know the time, it’s a simple matter to reach over, turn the clock a bit, then turn it back. Won’t wake you permanently – if you’re lucky.
And this one is key, BUY ANOTHER CLOCK for your bedroom. An unlighted one, the old fashioned kind with hands, you know? Easily readable in normal light.
So, to recap: when you are up, look at the non-lighted clock for the time. After the room lights are out, look at the dimmed bedside clock. Simple, yes?
While we’re pitting alarm clocks then, I’ll just chime in and say that I hate the one my wife gave me as a birthday present yesterday (ungrateful bugger, aren’t I).
It is battery operated and has night ilumination provided by a single diffused amber LED in the centre of the dial; this is fine, except that there is only one switch; you pop it up one click for the light and pop it up a bit more (it clicks again) to activate the alarm. You can’t have the alarm set without the light, but the instructions say you shouldn’t use the light too much (like, maybe all night, every night, or anything) because it drains the batteries. Brilliant. Perhaps I can set a different alarm clock to wake me up at half past six, so that I can turn the light/alarm on for just half an hour until it is time to wake up.
I think it will have to go back to the store anyway because it just didn’t go off this morning.
