The smart light bulb has built-in Bluetooth capabilities, so all you have to do is screw it into your light fixture, turn it on, and pair it with the Philips Hue Bluetooth app on your smartphone—no need to fuss around with your WiFi router. I was a bit worried that my lamp (which I scored from a thrift store for just $3) would be too old to properly work with the smart bulb, but it connected in a cinch. Most often, I keep my lamp set to “bright” until I start to get ready for bed. I love to read for at least half an hour before going to sleep, so as soon as I pull out my book, I’ll increase the warmth of the light bulb and dim it enough so that my room feels darker (but I can still read the words on the page without straining my eyes). After about a chapter or so when I start to get tired, I’ll turn off my light and fall asleep. It wasn’t always this easy. Before I got the Philips Hue light bulb, I relied on a normal, non-dimmable light for my bedtime reading. On days when I was particularly tired, I’d fall asleep easily, but more often than not, it took some time for me to doze off after turning off my light. Being able to gradually adjust the lighting in my room has made it much more natural for me to transition from day to night, so I can fall asleep faster. To buy: $50; amazon.com There’s research that may explain this phenomenon. A 2014 study published in Photochemistry and Photobiology found that the intensity of the light you’re exposed to in the hours before bedtime can alter your circadian rhythms. Reducing the intensity of the light in your home, then, is a simple way to ensure your sleep patterns don’t get interrupted so you can actually fall asleep when you want to. Now that I can change the mood of my bedroom with just a few taps on my phone, my nighttime routine feels more relaxing than ever. This purchase, for me, has proved to be a real light bulb moment.
