How to Enable Night Light in Windows 11 to Reduce Eye Strain

The Problem with Blue Light

Modern LED monitors emit a significant amount of short-wavelength blue light. During the day, this bright, cool light mimics the sun and helps keep you alert. However, if you are staring at a bright white spreadsheet at 11:00 PM, that same blue light tricks your brain’s circadian rhythm into thinking it is still noon. This halts the production of melatonin, making it incredibly difficult to fall asleep after you shut down your PC, and often leads to severe eye strain and headaches. To combat this, Windows 11 includes a built-in feature called “Night Light,” which aggressively shifts the color temperature of your monitor toward the warmer, amber end of the spectrum.

How to Turn On Night Light

You can enable and customize this feature directly in the main display settings.

1. Click the Start Menu and type Settings, or press the Windows Key + I.
2. In the left-hand sidebar, click on System.
3. In the main window, click on Display.
4. Under the “Brightness & color” section, locate the toggle switch for Night light.
5. Click the toggle to turn it On. Your screen will immediately shift to a yellowish, warmer hue.

How to Automate the Schedule

You shouldn’t have to remember to manually toggle this setting every evening. You can tell Windows to manage it for you automatically.

1. Click directly on the words Night light (or the small arrow next to the toggle switch) to open the advanced configuration menu.
2. Use the Strength slider to adjust exactly how orange the screen becomes. Find a comfortable balance that removes the harsh blue without making text impossible to read.
3. Toggle the Schedule night light switch to On.
4. Select Sunset to sunrise. (Note: You must have location services enabled for Windows to know your local sunset time).
5. Alternatively, select Set hours to manually type in exactly when the filter should turn on (e.g., 9:00 PM) and when your screen should return to normal white light (e.g., 7:00 AM).