Does watching TV at night affect your sleep?

If you have insomnia, it's commonly recommended that you avoid watching TV in bed. There are at least five reasons for this advice.

The modern bedroom is a media room equipped with a laptop, phone, tablet, e-reader, TV and smart speaker – plus books, work papers, pets, kids, take-out containers, lotion, puzzles and piles of unfolded laundry.

but, Most Supported Components of insomnia process, Stimulation control therapy (SCT)prohibits any activity in bed other than sleep and sex. The idea is that if you reserve your bed for sleep, it becomes a powerful conditioning cue, or green light, to fall asleep.

SCT is also thought to promote the formation of beneficial associations between bed and calm sleepiness, while breaking harmful associations between bed and anxious wakefulness.

There is There is no scientific consensus The impact of screen content on adult sleep has not yet been studied, but patients report that certain programs are emotionally arousing and thought Some shows can disrupt sleep, and some shows can be so engaging that patients continue watching them beyond the time when they would normally be asleep.

Late-night light sends false sunlight signals to your body clock, Suppress Dark Hormones MelatoninThis effectively shifts your company's time zone westward.

Television volume changes and flashing lights can be distracting when you're awake and can wake you up when you're asleep. Light can also StimulationIt doesn't take long sound Disrupts sleep.

Risks of falling asleep too early:

Many of my patients collapse into bed after work and watch TV, which puts them to sleep early and then has trouble staying asleep all night. Sleep DriveLike any other appetite, sleep has its limitations. It can become fragmented, causing you to stay asleep for long periods during the night or wake up too early.

Now, let's look at the other side of the coin: there are some compelling arguments in favor of watching TV in bed.

What if watching TV in bed is itself a conditioned trigger for falling asleep? I have had several patients tell me that after they were told not to watch TV in bed, they were unable to fall asleep. Many patients also confess to being addicted to TV.

Television is on demand, so we can be more selective about what we watch. David Attenborough's nature documentaries are not “Black Mirror,” a modern-day “Twilight Zone.” We want something calming (“Cognitive refocusing” ” can drown out our default thoughts. Some people find that watching something helps them suppress their thoughts more effectively than concentrating on something else. Not using anything leaves you vulnerable.

Solitude Harmful to sleep. Stories and their characters can be our companions late at night.

Perhaps relatedly, some of my patients like to listen to the TV at the lowest volume while they fall asleep. They find the low tone of a human voice soothing, in the same way that some people find the sound of rain soothing.Suppression of pronunciation“The power of thought is at work.

Joy, Rest, and Independence:

After a long day of obligations and meeting the demands of others, it feels good to relax in bed and take some time for ourselves (or our partner). The content we choose to consume caters to our unique desires and interests.

While there's no perfect compromise, here are some customized guidelines I offer insomniacs who want to enjoy quality sleep and watching TV in bed: These guidelines are not a substitute for personalized health care.

• Enjoy watching TV in another room most of the time, and when you start to feel sleepy, go back to bed and watch a little more.
• If your bed is enough, try varying your sleeping and waking environment: for example, watch TV on the opposite side of your bed from where you normally sleep (the right side instead of the left), and when you start to feel sleepy, move to your side of the bed.

• Choose your content carefully, and switch it off if it's too stimulating.

• Instead of watching TV two hours before bed, it's best to enjoy some non-screen activities instead. See if you can find time to enjoy a show earlier.
• If you want to watch TV during that time, Blue blocks out light Turn your TV brightness down significantly. This advice applies whether you're in bed or not, and ideally applies to all lighting. Keep the screen away from your face.
• Avoid watching TV in the middle of the night to fall asleep again.

• Set a timer on your TV to automatically turn it off so you don't have to wake up repeatedly.

Going to bed early:

• Prop yourself up, walk around, or vary your activity as needed so that you can stay awake until the later hours that you find give you reasonably consistent sleep.

Friendship and good sound:

• If you need sound and company to help you fall asleep but want to avoid screens, audiobooks or shows can be a good alternative to watching TV.
• Some of my patients have found friends through weekly activities — card games, church or temple committees, hiking groups — to feel less lonely, and for others, a little therapy has helped their social anxiety, self-esteem, and social skills enough that they felt courageous enough to reach out to others.

Joy, Rest, and Independence:

• Working too much or not having enough time for yourself can cause a rebound effect at night. This rebound effect can take the form of delaying sleep and engaging in activities such as: Binge watchingStrive for balance in your daily life so that you don't sacrifice sleep and leave yourself more exhausted and vulnerable to maladaptive habits.

My patients seem to appreciate the opportunity to tailor standard sleep advice (within reason) to their own circumstances and needs, and you might find this approach helpful, too.

Dr. Lisa Strauss is a clinical psychologist in the Boston area who specializes in sleep disorders.

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