Using Nightshift on your Mac

If like myself you often find yourself working late into the night on your Mac you can find your eyes starting to hurt. The good news is there is a way to make the screen less harsh on the eyes. You can find Night Shift in:

Apple menu () > System Preferences, then click Displays. If automatic brightness is enabled on your Mac the screen will also be dimmer if the ambient light is not as strong which can make your eyes even more strained.

Apple describes Night Shift as:

“Night Shift adjusts the color of your display after sunset. Many studies show that exposure to bright-blue light in the evening can affect your circadian rhythms and make it harder to fall asleep. After sunset, Night Shift will shift your display colors to the warmer end of the spectrum, making the display easier on your eyes. In the morning, your display returns to its regular settings.”

Already own an iPhone or iPad? you may have already come across this feature, basically Night Shift changes the color output toward the red side of the color spectrum. This reduces the harshness from the blue light coming from the screen which is supposed to disrupt sleep patterns.

Night Shift can be switched on at any time of day or you can use a timer if unlike me you have a fairly steady schedule!

To quickly turn Night Shift on manually which is how I use it open the notification centre:

Night Shift isn’t available for all Mac models or external displays the system requirements are as follows, so if you cannot find it that will be the reason why:

System requirements for Night Shift

Night Shift requires macOS Sierra 10.12.4 and one of these Mac computers, using the built-in display or the displays listed:

• MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
• MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer)
• Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
• iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
• Mac Pro (Late 2013 or newer)

If your Mac is to old or you are using an external display that doesn’t support Night Shift try the App called Flux , Flux also has more customization options! https://justgetflux.com/news/pages/macquickstart/