Sleep has important roles in your cognitive functions, eating behavior, cardiovascular health, growth, repair and many more. Sleep also participates in your immune functioning. A night of good sleep is restorative. While many health experts are commonly recommending not to have light-emitting screen exposure to eyes before bed, plenty of people use to watch TV before bed. Do those people have some positive by watching TV or simply hurting their sleep. Does watching TV delay your sleep or interrupt your stage of sleep? To find How good watching TV before bed for sleep, we will go through some situations. You will find out is there any way of watching TV that may give you some positive effects.

How good watching TV before bed for sleep?

Why watching TV before bed can hurt your sleep?

While blue light or even a dim light can interfere with a person’s circadian rhythm and sleep hormone melatonin secretion in the night, watching TV also suppress melatonin secretion. Even LED lights also produce a fair amount of light in the blue spectrum. (1,2) And that can hurt your sleep. Sleep plays a vital role in your overall health and you simply can’t ignore the importance of sleep. Know why you need a restorative sleep.

One study showed suppression in melatonin among people who used screens in the hours before bed. (3) It creates even more stress to your eye if you are watching a screen in a dark room.

Another problem with bedtime TV watching is simply the temptation to stay up late to find out what happens next. Additionally, violence, bloody show, or suspense may leave you feeling anxious.  But in reality, most of these are actually not the main concern. Similarly, some shows may trigger your emotions and make you panic. (4)

Can watching TV before bed help you?

But there some other situation also exists. Watching TV before bed is definitely not encouraging however in some way watching TV can give some relaxing effects if used in a proper way. Many times a racing brain overloaded with activities, multitasking, scrolling through what you have done wrong or what is going to be wrong is very disturbing. This may even go worse if you stay alone.  

That can create pain, anxiety and steal your sleep. And TV show with violence, emotional triggers, a lot of noise with loudness even may bombard your unstable mind. But in some other way can watch TV aid some remedies in such a situation? Plenty of people also tune the TV in an attempt to be relaxed.

 For example, if you are overloaded with whole day stress, and want to re-watch some of your low noise favorites, then there is something interesting. A TV episode or movie that you’ve already seen a number of times can offer a sense of familiarity and comfort and don’t pull your emotional response may help to minimize the negativity of the mind. And that helps to calm you down.

In a study, researchers found watching a re-run of a favorite show restored their energy levels. However, binge-watching doesn’t have the same effect. (5)

Another point that makes a difference from using a smartphone or computer with TV-while you are using a smartphone, tablet or computer your eyes are closure to the screen, while typically the TV screen stays a few feet away. There is also a study that found computer use increases the risk of poor sleep among university students while watching TV during the same periods did not present the same risk. (6)

Conclusion

How good watching TV before bed for sleep depends on that person, to whom it is more preferable to watching TV to calm anxiety, switch off the TV and sleep. There are people for whom it works. (7)

Reading a book with cool thoughts is a better option. Many times a good book works as a good friend and can give you positive thoughts.

Even you watch TV, rather than taking a meal and switching on the TV in a straight way, having some walk or spending some time with relaxing activities with family, friends or pets and then go to the TV is a better choice. Also, keep it in mind that the TV show is not triggering your sense of emotion. You can set a timer to shut down the TV automatically after one hour. You may also try screen for filtering out blue light & glare filter. But also make sure you don’t become too dependent on TV to use a sleep aid.

Spending hours of time in front of the TV is definitely not a healthier choice. According to the National Sleep Foundation, even you might feel like you can fall asleep just fine after your show the blue light exposure can delay the onset of REM sleep and lead to morning drowsiness. (4)Watching TV before bed is also a topic of debate. And we don’t have many scientific studies. And after all, it is perhaps better to figure out what works for you in a healthier way. And if you really do not need to watch TV to fall asleep, then don’t go for it.

The related article Can alcohol help you to sleep better?

Disclaimer: Information provided here are generalized information for  
informational and entertainment purpose only,  not intended to provide one  
to one health consultation or replace practice of a qualified practitioner.  
Different people may have different health condition and may have different  
reaction to the same food. Hence it has been advised to consult with health  
care provider before application of any of above information 
Source and references: 
1.https://www.brighamandwomens.org/about-bwh/newsroom/press-releases-
detail?id=1962
2. Blue light has a dark side, What is blue light? The effect blue light 
has on your sleep and more, Harvard Health Publishing, August 13, 2018,
 https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side
3. Wood B, Rea MS,  Plitnick B, Figueiro MG. Light level and duration of 
exposure determine  the impact of self-luminous tablets on melatonin 
suppression. Appl Ergon. 2013;44(2):237–240. 
doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2012.07.008
4.https://www.sleep.org/articles/is-it-bad-to-watch-tv-right-before-bed/
5.https://www.verywellmind.com/the-surprising-benefits-of-re-runs-3144586
6.Mesquita, Gema,  & Reimão, Rubens. (2010). Quality of sleep among  
university students: effects of nighttime computer and television use. 
Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria, 68(5), 720-725. 
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X2010000500009
7.https://www.businessinsider.in/strategy/why-looking-at-your-phone-is-
terrible-for-your-sleep-but-watching-tv-isnt/articleshow/54473441.cms   

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