Watching Tv Before Bed

A tv in your child s bedroom has a negative effect on sleep quality.

Watching tv before bed. Turning on the tv before bedtime can disrupt our sleep cycles and excessive exposure can lead to depression and anxiety. Turn off the tv before bed. Gradually reducing the time spent watching tv may make it easier to transition away from tv than simply stopping cold turkey. People often report that they ll put on a television show or movie right before bed and they re asleep before the end of the theme song or the opening credits.

Our bodies aren t used to this. Emsellem author of snooze or lose this may be true but only if you watch tv for a very short period of time keeping the sound low and viewing something that s nonviolent and non stimulating. Watching an exciting full length movie in bed is. Richard shuster clinical psychologist and host of the daily helping podcast.

The reason is that our brains create alpha waves when we watch tv. Watching tv before bed and being exposed to blue light is associated with increased obesity higher levels of diabetes and heart disease. And according to dr. A hundred years ago nobody was gazing at screens for any amount of time during the day.

The one third who. Originally published in the january february 2008. Anecdotes like these make us wonder if this passive screen time could actually be a sleep aid and not a hindrance. Start by reducing the amount of tv your little one watches before bed.

The worst thing you do before bed. There are a couple main reasons watching the tube at night can damage your sleep quality. Watching the tube before bed may seem like a good way to wind down for the evening to help you relax and fall asleep. Blue light lowers melatonin which has other jobs besides putting you to sleep it repairs cells and lowered levels are linked with some forms of cancer including breast cancer.

The second half of the 20th century saw artificial light sources quadruple as our sleep quality dipped. A recent sleep survey found that two thirds of people in every country watch tv in the hour before bed. This blue light blocks melatonin production and interferes with your circadian rhythms essentially telling your. The artificial light emitted by your tv screen contains a high proportion of blue light.

More millennials watch tv before bed than any other generation. Anything that is stimulating to the brain before bed may be detrimental to one s ability to fall asleep explains dr. Our survey found that 52 percent of baby boomers 56 percent of gen xers and 60 percent of millennials acknowledged watching tv before falling asleep. Watching tv before bed disrupts your hormones.