How Sleeping In Front Of The TV Every Night Affects Sleep Quality

How good or bad is your sleep? Are you able to get at least seven hours of decent, continuous sleep? Do you sleep easily and peacefully like a baby or do you struggle to get and stay comfortable? Sleep is very important in human life and must be treated as such. Unfortunately, many people struggle to have consistent good nights. Some rely on sleeping pills, while others need to be coaxed or become so exhausted, they fall asleep while doing something. One of the most typical ways people sleep currently is when watching TV or playing a game. If you find yourself within this bracket, then you are causing yourself more harm than good. Here are how sleeping in front of the TV can harm you in the long run.

The light from TV can affect your sleep

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorder and Stroke (NINDS), the body has an internal clock controlled by the amount of light and darkness in a day. At dark hours, the brain’s hypothalamus sends a signal to you that it’s time to sleep. The pineal gland then secretes melatonin to limit your activeness.

As you spend long hours in front of the TV or under artificial lights, it can impede the secretion of melatonin, hence, affect your sleep. Dianne Augelli, M.D, an assistant professor of Medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University and a fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, has therefore cautioned against too much exposure to artificial light at night.  

How TV sound interrupts your sleep

It is a known fact that sound can disturb your sleep. The ambient noise from a TV is not constant as it can go up and down at any time. If it were to be soothing and steady, it would have been great in helping people to sleep comfortably. But looking at how the sound rises and falls inconsistently, it can disturb your sleep. That aside, other surrounding sounds do interrupt sleep.

Conclusion

Both the light and sound from the TV can seriously affect your sleep quality. It can prevent you from having a deeper sleep that rejuvenates you for the next day. In the end, you suffer sleep deprivation, which affects your day.