Good for you/bad for you

By Kirsten Hudson

Thursday, September 3, 2009

After a long day at school and work, you’re exhausted, but can’t stop tossing and turning. You decide to grab the remote and turn on the TV. But could watching Letterman or Conan be contributing to your insomnia?

Leaving the tube on while you fall asleep could be unhealthy for you. During the first few stages of sleep, you can be awakened very easily. “The flickering light or noise from the TV can disrupt your sleep,” says Gary Carder, director of The Sleep Center at Pulmonary and Sleep Associates in Topeka.

If you continue to lose sleep or repeatedly wake up while sleeping, you begin to accumulate sleep debt or lack of sleep. When sleep debt starts to build up you feel sleepier during the day and may have more difficulty concentrating on that Western Civ. lecture. If you still can’t hit the sack without your late night TV fix, Carder suggests setting a timer for the TV to go off, so it doesn’t stay on all night and interrupt your sleep.

Just watching the tube before bed isn’t necessarily unhealthy for you, but it could make it more difficult to fall asleep. Everyone should have a routine before going to bed, says Carder. If watching a little TV is part of your routine, it’s OK, so long as you click it off before falling asleep. What TV show you’re watching could contribute to insomnia, though. Watching an action film or horror movie that gets your adrenaline pumping isn’t a good idea before bed. Try to watch something quiet and relaxing to get a good night’s sleep.

Verdict: Bad for You

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