Are you afraid of the dark? Didn't you love that show? Ok, so we digress. The real point of discussion here is whether or not you're the kind of sleeper that hits the pillow with nothing less than complete darkness surrounding you. If you are a dark sleeper, do the vampire power-sucking standby lights from any in-bedroom gadgets keep you up at night? Here's my experience...
I am not afraid to admit that I like to have a little light on in the bedroom when I sleep. If I don't fall asleep with the TV's sleep timer on (a common occurance), then I'll make sure the door is open to my dimly lit living room or that I leave the blinds down and let the lights from the street outside trickle in.
But there's one light I cannot stand when it comes to laying down to get some shut eye. My practically ancient Mac PowerBook G4 has that really annoying pulsing sleep indicator light on the side. Even though the thing is tiny, it will somehow always manage to alternatively fill the room with light, then fade it into complete darkness from its permanent perch on my desk. I always have to rest my silicone-skinned Blackberry thisclose to the light to keep it from looking like aliens are landing in my room.
What about you, Unplggd? Do you have any in-bedroom gadgets with annoying standby lights that keep you total-darkness sleepers up at night?
(Image: Flickr member DeclanTM licensed for use under Creative Commons)
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The flashing green lights on my router and Vonage boxes are a bit annoying, but I've managed to obfuscate them well enough that they don't keep my awake anymore.
well, i'm not afraid of the dark but i do like to have some kind of mood lighting. fortunately my samsung monitor, razer mouse, and wd MyBook, all have blue lights. so when the monitor goes on idle, the blue lights is blinking. its not that bright of a blue
addition to my previous comment. i also can't sleep without watching tv and having it on sleep timer for 120mins enough for me to sleep before it goes off. however, i dont keep it on becoz of its light but becoz i can't sleep without tv.
can't. sleep. with. light.
not even a smidge, and my macbook has the same pulsing sleep light. I do not bring it into the bedroom, I did once and despite shoving it in shelving under the bed, it really bothered me.
I always wondered who used those sleep timers.
No technology in the bedroom for me! I hate the idea of computers, tvs, anything in the bedroom. Except my cell phone, which does have blue blinking lights if someone texts me...and that does keep me awake.
Yes! The MacBook Pro sleep light keeps me up, as does any tiny glowing light, particularly electronics lights (alarm clocks, internet routers, charging cell phones etc.) Oddly, a lamp won't keep me awake, and I can take a nap in full sunlight. Something about a tiny light against the darkness that gets to me.
oh my gosh. I HATE light when I sleep. I keep an old shoebox lid perched on my airport express, a small pillow in front of my alarm clock, and if I happen to have my laptop sleeping, instead of shutting it down for the night, that light is definately covered. I just can't take it. That tiny light seems as though it could easily light an entire auditorium.
The first time I stayed over at my boyfriend's house, I couldn't quite put a finger on what drove me crazy about sleeping in his bedroom. Then, one night, I looked around and counted 7 different sources of glowing light - flashing green lights on the router, freakishly bright blue lights on his PC speakers, red standby lights on the TV & DVD player, etc., etc. Eek!
Now, at our new place, the bedroom is blissfully technology-free. No TV. No computer. Just our cell phones to wake us up in the morning. Bliss.
The lights in my bedroom - on my router, on the DSL modem, on my computer's power supply, on the UPS, on the USB router and on the monitor - drive me nuts. One of these days I'm gonna wire them all to big kill switch and trip it every night before I go to bed. Ugh.
Not to mention my overly-bright clock radio, which I swear they can see from the ISS at night.
I enjoy a pitch-black room at night. But we've not been able to accomplish this. Too many things that have little-bitty lights. I have the same Mac Powerbook G4 - and I know exactly what you are talking regarding the pulsating light. I normally don't even notice it when I go to bed but for some reason just as I am falling asleep it's when I begin to notice the light filtering in and out. UGH! Now I have to remember to shut it down before closing it and putting it away for the night. Or I move it to another room.
Writing this makes me even more frustrated because I should DO something about it. Maybe I will tape over every light I see...
LED lights especially disturb my sleep. I can sleep in the sunlight and that's fine, but all electronic lights have been banished from my bedroom. I don't even have an LED alarm clock anymore - I use the alarm on my Blackberry, and even power it down at night so it doesn't blink. Anything that creates light (chargers, etc.) are only used during the day.
Though I do like to have some light on it has to be constant, that blinking crap drives me insane! This is the reason computers are banned from our bedroom!
Bright LED's are annoying, particularly when they pulsate like on the MacBooks. A little black electrical tape takes care of it, though.
I have covered up the lights on my macbook pro's sleep light and battery indicator on the cable, and my tv's standby light with black tape that I typically use for flapping my graphics work. It works wonderfully and I can now sleep in almost darkness.
I was staying over someone's house the other day and got up in the middle of the night to get some water. Their powerbook was sitting in the corner of the room, pulsing. I had no idea what it was, and it was a bit freaky! Like maybe it was an alien egg, or soemthing...
Well the pulsing light drives me crazy too. I turned my MacBook to the wall, lodged it under furniture, left my socks over it.....! After all these trials my best advice is to use BLU TAK. Great thing is it will stay in place to so no more pulsing room!
the cable box lights