Pros and Cons of Having a TV In Your Bedroom

Quality sleep can be hard to come by, especially with how hectic life can get at times. But it is during these times that it is crucial to find outlets that help us relax.

Relaxation is one of the most important ingredients for falling and staying asleep, and there are many different ways in which people can relax before bed. Some people may find it helpful taking a warm shower or reading a book. Others find physical activity to be helpful, and will do light workouts before shutting off the lights.

But one of the most popular activities that people do before bed is watching TV. And what is better than watching a good movie or show from the comfort of your own bed?

While this activity has proven therapeutic to many, others find it to be distracting. Truth be told, it is difficult to find the correct answer to the question: Is it bad to watch TV in bed?

Instead, we are going to take a closer look at the pros and cons of having a TV in your bedroom and let you decide what the real answer is.

PROS

It Can Help You Unwind

It is important to include relaxing activities in your nighttime routine because it helps you to unwind both physically and mentally. And one of the most relaxing feels is to get comfortable in your bed and put on your favorite show or movie.

Watching TV is one of the many great ways to escape the real world for a moment and indulge in the lives of a favorite character or characters. This is proven to help you relax and reduce anxiety, helping you to both physically and mentally prepare for falling asleep.

For some people, simply hearing a familiar sound in the background helps them to unwind and relax. I think we all have the one show or movie that we put on as “background noise.”

Many people find watching their favorite form of entertainment to be therapeutic, and the simple sound of characters’ voices can help them to relax and become comfortable in their environment.

It Makes You Look Forward to Going to Bed

In order to maintain a proper sleep schedule it is vital to have a positive association with your bedroom. And this positive association can be formed by a combination of many different things, including past memories, romantic encounters, and even frequent activities that have become a part of your routine, such as watching TV.

With how busy life can get at times, it is important to cherish the things that you look forward to doing. The time that you have to watch TV in bed could possibly be your favorite part of the day because it is the only time that you get to settle down in a quiet environment.

At the very least, the motivation of getting home and watching TV can help you follow a good sleeping schedule. And the journey you experience from watching these stories helps to solidify your bedroom as a haven where you feel relaxed and ready to unwind.

It Makes Your Night Feel More Productive

Nothing is worse than the feeling you get when the grind of life begins to wear you down. Many people get stuck in a repetitive rut that includes waking up, going to work, coming home, doing chores, and then going back to bed. After a while, several people begin to feel that their days are not productive because they are not personally advancing in any way.

Finding a good TV series or movie trilogy can be a great way to add a productive feeling to your day. Admittedly, watching TV does not necessarily change any aspect of your physical life, but it can always give you perspective on your life while providing a form of entertainment.

People fall in love with characters because they can relate to them personally in one way or another. Watching their experiences, albeit typically fictional, can help you reflect on your own personal situations and can push you to strive for excellence in both your personal and professional life.

And if nothing else, having the opportunity to spend time with just you and your thoughts can be productive in itself.

CONS

Blue Light Can Delay Your Melatonin Production

TV screens, cellphones, and any other type of device with a backlit screen emits something called blue light. Blue light produces short wavelengths with a higher amount of energy than most colors.

When your light receptors in your eyes take in this blue light, it can mess with your circadian rhythm, which is responsible for your brain’s behavioral changes to different levels of brightness within an environment.

Researchers have found that the light from these screens can delay your build-up of melatonin, which is the hormone responsible for helping you fall asleep. Once this build-up is delayed, falling and staying asleep becomes much more difficult and can lead to you staying awake several hours past the point you had originally planned for.

Watching TV Increases Your Brain Activity

Although watching TV can be relaxing, it also increases your brain activity. Watching what happens on the screen means that your brain is busy processing information that you absorb. If you find yourself fully engrossed in the program, it can be difficult to snap out of.

And even if you turn the TV off, it will take a while for your brain to slow down its activities. This will typically lead to what is known as a night of restless sleep where you find yourself flipping from side to side every so often in an attempt to get more comfortable.

If you do plan on watching TV for an extended period of time before falling asleep, try to begin watching it on your couch or somewhere else that is not your bed. Once you feel fatigued enough that you could fall asleep, it may be okay to switch to your bedroom. Just do not forget to make an honest attempt at falling asleep rather than fighting it by watching TV.

Noise Can Disrupt Sleep

If you are anything like me and can never manage to turn the TV off before falling asleep, then you too may have been awoken at some point in the night due to sound coming from your television.

Whether it was from a familiar sound such as a phone ringing, or even a loud action scene with gunfire and explosions, getting woken up abruptly is not a pleasurable experience. In fact, waking up at the wrong time can even make it extremely difficult to fall back asleep.

It is crucial to sleep in an environment free of distractions or annoyances. When your TV is left on to run while you are asleep, it is bound to eventually emit a sound that will trigger a response in your brain that wakes you up. And this can make a big impact on how well you function the next day.

One trick that may help with this situation is to watch TV at a lower volume with your subtitles on. This way the noise is not likely to wake you up if you fall asleep before turning off your program.

Conclusion

There are several different pros and cons to having a TV in your bedroom, and how much these will affect you personally depends on the individual. Everybody is unique and responds differently to the world around them.

For some people, watching TV may not be an unwinding experience at all. Others, however, may not be able to fall asleep without having the TV on. Whatever the case, it is important that you are getting the amount of quality sleep that you need each night in order to recover from your day and function properly when you wake up.

And do not ever forget how big of a factor your mattress and pillow are when it comes to getting proper sleep. It is important to make sure you find the right match for you, so feel free to check out our guides to help you with this decision.