Apple's Next iPhone Update Could Help You Get Better Sleep

Smartphones and bedrooms don't mix. The blue light your device emits can completely wreck your sleep, potentially leading to major health problems .

If you absolutely must use your iPhone before going to bed, though, Apple's next mobile software update might at least mitigate some of the problems.

The company's iOS 9.3 update will come with a new "Night Shift " setting that adjusts your device's display depending on the time of day. When it's nighttime, the colors on the screen will reportedly shift "to the warmer end of the spectrum," which should be "easier on your eyes," according to Apple.

As Tim Stenovec noted on Tech Insider , the function might remind you a bit of F.lux, a screen-changing app  available on computers. Apple previously forbid  app developers from messing around with the iPhone's display and, in November, outright banned a mobile version of F.lux that users could "sideload " if they wanted.  

As for why you might need the iPhone's new Night Shift mode instead of just keeping your device out of your bedroom entirely, F.lux creator Michael Herf might have put it best in an interview with The Huffington Post last August.

"There are areas of your life where, if you just have a habit, at some point you have to change that," Herf said . "I think life is a mix of gradual change and phase change. At some point, it's falling into better habits."

In other words: Start off with Night Shift, get better sleep and try to transition to a phone-free bedroom.

Apple hasn't confirmed a release date for iOS 9.3 yet, but you can expect it this year.