Some nights end quietly. Others dissolve into a blur of doom-scrolling, half-finished thoughts, and that one work email you definitely shouldn’t have opened after dinner.
The thing about our brains is—they don’t flip off like light switches. It doesn’t just shut off when you decide to sleep; it winds down slowly, taking cues from the light around you. The softer the light, the sooner it gets the message that it’s time to rest.
Setting the Scene
I used to treat evenings like the afterparty of my workday: every light blazing, TV humming, laptop open, brain still running laps. Cozy? Maybe. Restful? Not even close. My apartment felt like a 24-hour diner—bright, overstimulated, and mildly existential.
Now, I ease into the evening differently. The overheads go off first (they’ve done enough damage), I switch to smaller, softer pools of light: my Buddy lamp, a candle flickering on the counter. That’s when the apartment starts to exhale a little.
There’s something instantly grounding about that shift. Research actually backs it up—lowering light intensity a couple of hours before bed helps your brain produce melatonin (that sleepy hormone that politely asks your thoughts to stop auditioning for Cirque du Soleil). Warm lighting helps your body relax and naturally ease tension.
The Ritual
There’s a small ritual I’ve fallen in love with: twisting Buddy into Velvet Dream mode (A soft red hue that helps you fall asleep). The room changes immediately.. My phone screen suddenly looks too sharp, too cold, like it doesn’t belong in the same universe. A clear signal to put my phone away.
I didn’t plan for this to be a “routine.” It just happened. One night, I noticed how nice it felt to read in that softer light, and the next thing I knew, I was doing it every night with my Buddy lamp glowing quietly nearby. The whole thing takes maybe two minutes, but my body recognizes it now: this is the signal that we’re landing soon.
Sometimes I switch to Warm White before bed. It’s calm but bright enough for late-night journaling, like moonlight that doesn’t judge your handwriting. And when I finally twist Buddy, the room feels ready for sleep.
Making the Light Work For You
I used to think getting better sleep was some complicated science I had to master—but it turns out, it’s as simple as setting the right mood with lighting. Blue light from phones, laptops, overheads tells your body it’s still daytime, while warmer tones signal that it’s okay to rest.
So now, I let my lighting mimic the sunset– my circadian rhythm. Bright and open during the day, soft and amber as the night rolls in. It’s less about aesthetics and more about syncing with something ancient—the rhythm our bodies have known long before screen time became a lifestyle.
Of course, I don’t get it right every night. Sometimes Netflix wins. But most nights, winding down with Buddy helps me move slower, think softer, and remember that rest isn’t wasted time, it’s repair time.
So tell me, what’s the first light you turn off when you’re ready to let the day go?