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Some people crawl in the bed, yawn like newborn kittens, put the blankets over their shoulders and immediately drift into an uninterrupted position. to sleep. Other people, like me, need a little more courage. Almost every night, I turn off my lights, turn on my TV and broadcast endless hours of New girl reruns until Netflix saves me from myself. I do not know exactly when it started or if it will ever end, but I refuse to let myself go to the land of dreams without Jess, Nick, Winston and Schmidt lighting the way.
If you are in the same boat, you might think that your brain needs this technological boost to fall asleep. But if you are one of those people who sleeps while a streaming episode-by-episode service of a show, are you unintentionally prejudicial to your rest?
To find out if it's better to fall asleep in front of a television (or with the camera you're watching), you need to understand how screens can affect your sleep. Let's describe the two main ways that screens interfere with your sleep.
How your TV light affects your sleep
Your body has an internal clock called your circadian rhythm, which generally operates on a 24-hour cycle and is largely controlled by patterns of light and darkness, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). As night falls, your brain's hypothalamus comes into play to make you feel like it's time to go to hell. Enter melatonin, a hormone secreted by the pineal gland of your brain that helps you to tire.
During the day, your pineal gland remains relatively dormant, but when the sun goes down, this gland pumps melatonin into your bloodstream, according to the NINDS, making your bed the most attractive thing you've ever seen.
The problem here is that exposure to artificial light, like that coming from your TV when you browse happiness episodes – can suppress melatonin, which can make you less likely to fall asleep. (As might be tempted to stand up and watch a fascinating plot unfold.)
"We are not supposed to be exposed to any artificial light at night, period" Dianne Augelli, M.D., member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and adjunct professor of medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, told SELF. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, this is not very realistic, but the tug of war light / sleep can be very real for some people. That is why it is sometimes asked to those who suffer from insomnia of limit bright light as they try to prepare their bodies for sleep.
A 2011 study published in The Journal of Endocrinology and Clinical Metabolism examined the exposure to artificial light before bedtime in 116 people for whom no sleep disorder was diagnosed. The researchers found that, compared with low light, exposure to indoor electric lighting (also called room light) between twilight and bedtime inhibited to some extent the melatonin production in about 99% of participants. Although the study does not explicitly mention the brightness of television, the researchers examined participants living in a room up to 200 lux (measurement of light intensity), while the brightness was less than 3 lux. For the contextual analysis, an analysis conducted in 2012 on TVs with automatic brightness control by United States Department of Energy found that most viewers are less than 50 lux, so somewhere between the two extremes posed in The Journal of Endocrinology and Clinical Metabolism study.
In addition, the light from our technological devices has short wavelengths that make it slightly blue, and some experts believe that this "blue light" is particularly effective at suppressing melatonin production.
What about when you actually sleep? "As long as … you have these flashes of light, it goes through your eyelids," Donald Greenblatt, MD, director of the Medicine Sleep Center at the University of Rochester, told SELF. Your eyelids are made of a material that is thin enough that it will definitely put you at risk of suppressing the secretion of melatonin you need to sleep well, says Dr. Greenblatt. You can also wake up because of lightning flashes themselves. However, your proximity to your screen can certainly have an impact here. "You're probably less exposed to the light of a TV in the room than a tablet in front of your face," says Dr. Greenblatt.
How your TV sounds affect your sleep
We established that a glittering screen right in front of your face could affect your to sleepbut there is also the question of sound.
"Some people would say that television in the background can be helpful because it prevents you from starting to ruminate or thinking about things that will get you into a pattern of what we call psychophysiological insomnia, where you do not You can not relax enough to fall asleep, "says Dr. Greenblatt. "There is an element of truth in that, but the flip side is that the ambient noise of the TV is not constant." Soothing and regular ambient sounds, such as a white noise or even a purring cat, can help some people fall asleep and stay asleep. the sporadic nature of the TV noise could ruin your rest.
Environmental noises, such as your neighbor trampling on the floor or a loud noisy TV commercial, can interrupt your sleep without you remembering it.
What does it all mean for your sleep quality?
The main concern here is that the light and sound of the TV will prevent you from getting into deeper and more restorative sleep phases, Dr. Augelli says. This can lead to sleep deprivation, which can cause daytime sleepiness, irritation, lack of concentration and even muscle aches, according to the doctor. Mayo Clinic.
It is also possible that this affects your dreams. There is not much evidence that sleeping with the TV will give you Game of thronesnightmares, it's possible that a sound on television wakes you up, that you see an adorable dog on the screen and that you dream of rolling in a pile of puppies. (Join us.)
But even if you do not wake up completely, your brain is still active when you sleep, says Dr. Augelli. "We are less attentive, but we are not completely unaware. So you do not want to have a lot of sensory information, "she says. And of course, if you indulge in something disturbing, it could influence the content of your dreams, says Dr. Greenblatt.
But what if you are someone who is still sleeping with the television and who feels very rested on awakening? "Sometimes we can get away with something until we can not," says Dr. Augelli. In the end, even if you have the TV muted, light can affect your circadian rhythm, says Dr. Augelli. This may not have a significant impact on your sleep so you can feel it the next day. But, as previously reported SELF, your circadian rhythm influences much more than your rest. This includes your metabolism, hormonal fluctuations and even your body temperature, all of which are very important processes for which you do not want to be bored.
What to do instead
Listen, if you always fall asleep with the television and feel well rested, we can not force you to stop. If, however, you think that your sleep might be disrupted, it might be time to consider putting an end to this habit. There is a reason why going to bed in a dark and quiet room is the cornerstone of the sleep hygiene.
If you insist on watching a little TV while you walk away, it is best to put your TV or monitor on a timer, if you can, so you do not get exposed to light and sound all night long. If you are using a streaming service on a device such as your laptop, check to see if you can turn off AutoPlay so that you do not see flashing lights and do not hear random sounds all night long. In both cases, try to reduce the screen and remember to keep the device as far and as quiet as you can handle it.
You can also exchange the TV for a podcast on a very small volume, a white noise machine or a meditation app that speaks to you, says Dr. Greenblatt – anything that can give you constant ambient noise without light that removes melatonin . It's the same thing for the music. A soothing mixture could be the very thing you need.
If you're really struggling to leave the TV on while you sleep, you may want to ask why, says Dr. Augelli. Do you deal with a lot of night anxiety? Is it loneliness? Anyway, you may realize that your television habit masks something you may want to confront (possibly with the help of someone like a therapistif it's too difficult to handle alone). Otherwise, it might be wise to try not to use the TV and see if that guarantees the best possible sleep.
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