It's often been said that people who spend a lot of time on electronic devices such as smartphones or monitors/TVs before they go to bed will often find it difficult to fall asleep. Researchers say that this is due to the blue light emitted by screens affecting people's melatonin production - the hormone that anticipates the daily onset of darkness and plays a role in regulating circadian rhythms.

But now, a company called Saffron - which specializes in sleep-oriented smart lights - wants to help late-night TV viewers fall asleep easier, thanks to the Drift TV, an HDMI box that slowly removes the blue spectrum light from a screen.

Drift TV - which connects between a TV and an HDMI switch or AV receiver - lets users select how much blue spectrum light they want to slowly remove from their screen over the one hour period before they go to bed. They can also specify a wake-up time, at which point all the color will return to the TV.

The maximum amount of blue spectrum light removed by the Drift TV can be set by the user, and is adjustable in ten percent increments. While it is possible to set this to 100 percent and remove all trace of blue light from a display, this can make the colors on a screen look pretty bad.

There are some apps already available which perform a similar function as Drift TV; f.lux - available for PC, Mac, Linux and jailbroken iPhones/iPads - makes the color of a device's display adapt to the time of day.

If you find it difficult to get to sleep and don't want to curtail your late-night viewing habits, you can get your hands on a Drift TV for $99 next month. If you're thinking of buying one to give as a Christmas present then you better move fast - the initial run for the device will be limited to 150 units.