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Technology Advice for Small Businesses

Android tablet tips for a better sleep

2016Apr8_AndroidTablet_AFor business owners, sleep is a must. You rely on a good night’s rest to run your business effectively, focus on the big picture, and think clearly about your organization. But what if one of your business tools was preventing you from getting sufficient sleep? If you use your Android tablet in the evening, this might just be the case. Here’s how you can utilize your tablet to get some solid shut eye.

Don’t use it before bed

It’s been widely recognized that the blue light emitted from screens and mobile devices can disrupt sleep, suppressing your body’s melatonin levels (the hormone that induces sleep). Because of this and the distractions your tablet produces, it’s best to avoid using it a half hour before bed. However, if this isn’t possible here are a few tips to prevent your device from causing sleep disruption.

Silence distractions with Google Chrome’s Reader Mode

Reading before bed can be an effective way to induce sleep. However, if you’re using your tablet to browse the Internet, you’re often exposed to ads which are sometimes loud and flashy. Just as you’re nodding off, one of these ads could startle you awake and out of slumber mode. So what can you do?

Google Chrome’s Reader Mode can eliminate unnecessary ads and images, placing an emphasis on the text. To activate Reader Mode, type chrome://flags into your navigation bar, scroll down till you find Reader Mode triggering and choose Always from the menu. The next time you launch a page on Chrome, click on the banner that appears at the bottom of the page that reads Make page mobile-friendly. And just like that your text will be highlighted and ads eliminated.

Prevent disturbances

If you’re letting emails, calls and text messages wake you up in the middle of the night, then you are missing an obvious way to get a better sleep. Enter the Do Not Disturb setting. This will shut out all of these nightly annoyances so you can unplug from the world and focus on doing something important for yourself – getting a good night’s rest.

To turn on Do Not Disturb, open Settings > Sound and Notification. Then click on Do Not Disturb. From here you can choose which contacts can get through to you while you’re in dreamland.

Dim your device

While Android tablet doesn’t have a built in feature to adjust the amount of blue light emitted, there are apps that can help you easily adjust the filter opacity, which enables your screen to be less bright. The free app Screen Dimmer is one option you can try.

Monitor your sleeping habits

Do you constantly wake up at night unsure as to the reason why? Are you sleeping better or worse on nights when you consume certain food or alcohol? Or do you sleep better on the days you exercise? If you’re unsure of these answers, there’s an app for it. Using a motion sensor and sound recording, SleepBot will monitor your sleeping habits to help you discover which nights you sleep best. Then you can try to recreate those conditions to resolve your sleep issues.

No matter your business, sleep is vital to your success. We hope these five tips will help you get the sound sleep you desire. If you’re curious to learn more about how the Android tablet can improve your life and business, give us a call.