Although we are well aware of the recommendation not to use the mobile phone at night with little light around us, for example while we are in bed, it is difficult for watching the networks a little before going to sleep or just when we wake up not to end up being part of our routine. routine. Although we should try to avoid it completely, if we are aware that we regularly fall into this practice, we should at least configure the smartphone in a way that protects our vision as best as possible.
There are several adjustments that we can make in this regard, but we are going to talk specifically about the brightness of the phone screen. Some people are not very aware of the brightness they have adjusted, and end up looking at the screen with a very high brightness that is useful when we are on the street, but unnecessary when at home.
It is not good to be looking at such a strong light source when we are tired, or when we are in a dark environment, such as our bed or room. Therefore, you should never forget to adjust the brightness when using your phone at night or while relaxing in bed.
We can adjust it manually from the quick launch bar, but we can also set custom schedules in Settings, which reduce the brightness level and other parameters automatically at a certain time, for example, from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. You can make these settings whether you have an iPhone or an Android, but we are going to discuss below a very useful setting available only on Android phones.
This is “extra dim brightness” or “ultra dim”, a function that has been available on Android phones since version 12. We are currently on Android 15, so this function has been on our phones for a long time (since 2021). . Even so, it is possible that either you do not know it or you are not giving it all the use it deserves.
Extra dim glow before bed
The extra dim brightness option should be available on most terminals that use the Android operating system. It will help us so that the screen does not dazzle us when we use our cell phone at night, not only to avoid damage to our eyesight, but also so that it does not affect our brain too much, making it believe that it is daytime and that we should stay awake, taking away sleep.
On Samsung phones, for example, you just have to pull down the status bar and then look for the “Extra dimmed” button in the Control Center, to press it and activate it. If the Extra Dim button doesn’t appear in Control Center, go to Settings > Accessibility > Vision Enhancements > Extra Dim. In that menu, choose the brightness intensity of the screen and activates the extra dimming function.
It is a function that, as we say, can be a great improvement for our usage habits. As one Reddit user commented when this feature debuted three years ago: “The new Extra Dim feature is my favorite button when I’m in bed at night. I love being able to customize exactly how dark my screen should be, and it has helped me not wake my partner when I go to bed early in the morning. “I really value this function,” he says.
In addition to this option, iPhone phones allow us, for example, to adjust the colors to make them warmer at night. Android has also been incorporating more settings of this type that we can combine with the use of dimming.
