We’ve all been there: waking up in the middle of the night to get a drink or go to the bathroom, only to end up kicking a table or dresser. Sure, you could invest in a traditional night light, but there may not be an outlet where you need it, and having a light on all night is neither cost-effective nor helpful for sleeping.

But there is a solution. Smart lights and sensors can help solve these problems. With a variety of lighting types and features, you can easily set up a guiding light to save your toes – and your sanity – with these tips. Here’s everything you need to know about using smart lights at night.

Use a contact sensor on the door

Contact sensors consist of two pieces that attach to a door and its frame and are triggered when the two pieces separate. You can then connect your sensor to a smart light and program it to turn on when triggered.

There are many types of sensors, including this one Aeotec SmartThings Versatile Sensorwhich offers sensing features such as temperature, motion, light and vibration. However, to avoid kicking furniture during the night, a simple contact sensor like this one from ThirdReality will do the trick.

If you’re not sure how to set up your smart home, be sure to check out our guide for beginners.

I like to use contact sensors to turn on lights at night because they are less likely to be triggered accidentally, like a motion sensor might be if an animal walks by.

To use a contact sensor for your nighttime excursions, you’ll create a routine on your smart home platform of choice. Whether Amazon, Google, Apple or another platform, your situation may not reflect mine. My smart light lights up in my bathroom at 2% brightness in a warm hue when my contact sensor recognizes that I have opened the bathroom door. The light will stay on for 10 minutes then turn off automatically.

Motion sensors

Although I prefer contact sensors to automate lighting in many situations, depending on the location, sometimes it’s not the best solution, such as in a hallway. As for contact sensors, motion sensors can activate automations when triggered. But in this case, it is, as you might have guessed, movement that creates automation rather than the opening of a door.

I use these devices at night by connecting the two motion sensors at each end of my hallway and one in the kitchen to turn on the lights in those areas. As with the touch sensor automation, I only power the lights up to 2% brightness and a warm tint when the sensor detects motion. But instead of setting the lights to only turn off after a certain amount of time, I use movement as an indicator of when the lights should be turned off.

The lights will only turn off after the sensors have detected no movement for five minutes. I use the same process for normal daytime running lights when connected to motion sensors.

Save the toes!

These smart sensors and lights have stopped me from hurting my feet and waking up my family more times than I can count. I like to use devices I already have at home to solve problems like this. Even if I could get a motion sensing light strip Or light bar to install, it would be another device to manage when I already have several useful solutions on hand.

Additionally, smart lights can be useful in a variety of other ways throughout the home, from help you save money on energy costs to help you wake up naturally. Adding these convenient devices to your home brings flexibility and customization to lighting that regular bulbs can’t offer, including helping to prevent injuries during the night.