Bright indicator lights ruining your sleep? You’re not alone. Here’s why they exist

The nighttime’s daily darkness has always naturally told humans it was time to go to sleep. That’s an evolutionary principle embedded into our brains. But these days, an annoying indicator light on many household electronics is disrupting our sleep.

For thousands of years, the nighttime’s daily darkness naturally told humans it was time to go to sleep. That’s an evolutionary principle embedded into our brains — and it becomes apparent for those who can’t peacefully slumber at night because of the annoying indicator light that’s part of many household electronics. Countless devices and appliances — from surge protectors and televisions to headphones and laptops — often have a bright light that turns on when plugged in but can’t be turned off unless the product is unplugged. It’s a pesky bedroom nuisance. “Exposure to light at night is a completely unnatural and alien experience,” Steven Lockley, a neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School’s Division of Sleep Medicine, said in author Paul Bogard’s 2013 book, “The End of Night,” 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’s 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. 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’t beautiful like Vincent van Gogh’s famous painting, it was irritating. Bright lights emitting from many sources — from the oven, an automatic fan, the fire alarm, an air purifier and a wireless phone charger — made it difficult for Moschen to sleep at night.