Joe Fedewa
Dark mode is a feature on pretty much every device and app you can imagine. Android, iPhone, Windows, macOS, Chromebooks, you name it. But in the real world, you’re stuck in light mode half the time. Let’s fix that.
Dark Mode for Your Eyes
Your eyes don’t have the ability to adjust to lighting conditions, but there’s a handy accessory called “sunglasses” that can do the job for you. They have tinted lenses embedded in a frame that sits on your nose, darkening anything you look at through them. Despite the name, they can be used to block more than just sunlight.
Dark Mode for Your Room
Pretty much any building you’re in—including your own home—has rectangular boxes scattered around the walls. You’ve probably been curious about the purpose of these mysterious boxes, especially the ones with switches. You can actually use these switches to turn off the lights in a room, effectively enabling dark mode.
But what about those large cutouts in the walls that let light from the sun inside? It’s not as simple as flipping a switch. Thankfully, there’s a clever solution called “curtains” or “blinds.” Curtains are usually long pieces of fabric that can be slid on a rail above the wall opening. Blinds usually operate in a vertical fashion to block the opening.
CHICOLOGY Mini Blinds
1-inch slats of plastic that can open or shut to let sun from the outside through the window.
Dark Mode for Sleeping
Typically, people use dark mode on their devices at night, when bright light is not welcome. Features such as “Night Shift” and “Night Light” are also useful before bed. However, these features don’t address light from other sources while you sleep.
Curtains are useful for blocking light, but they’re not always 100% effective. A more direct approach is something called a “sleep mask.” No, we’re not talking about Halloween masks! A sleep mask is a piece of padded material shaped to fit over your eyes, secured by a strap around your head. While some dark modes simply dim the environment, a sleep mask provides a pure black dark mode.
Automatic Dark Mode
The dark mode methods outlined above are effective in their own unique ways, but they have one thing in common—they need to be toggled on manually. There are a few methods you can use for enabling dark mode in real life automatically.
Taking sunglasses on and off throughout the day is a pain. The good news is you can get sunglasses that automatically darken when they detect bright light. Simply keep them on all day and dark mode will automatically be enabled when needed!
Those switches on your walls don’t need to be manually flipped, either. Smart switches can be used to set up schedules or follow sunrise and sunset for turning on and off the lights. A house full of smart switches can quickly go into dark mode.
You also don’t need to manually open and close curtains or blinds to block the light. Smart blinds can be programmed to close when the sun is brightest so you never have to live with light mode in your home.
Dark mode on the many devices in our lives with displays is just one piece of the puzzle. To truly live the dark mode life, you have to think beyond glowing screens. Thankfully, with such technology as sunglasses, light switches, curtains, and sleep masks, it’s now easier than ever. Happy April Fools’ Day!