TV AND SLEEP PROBLEMS
There has been a flurry of new research on the dangers of TV watching, particularly in terms of it contributing to the obesity problem in America. New research shows teenagers watching too much TV are at a higher risk for significant sleep problems. This study is really the first to look at the long term effects on sleep of watching too much television. Why exactly sleep is lost or disturbed is not exactly clear, but what is clear is limiting television viewing can help.
Shannon Speed is your average 14 year old who likes to watch TV. “I don’t watch that much actually, probably like two hours each day.” says Shannon. “It’s like relaxing.”
The research in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine shows it really is not relaxing. In fact, excessive TV viewing interrupts sleep, causing nightmares, problems falling asleep, and morning irritability. Dr. Jeffrey Johnson, the Columbia University researcher who authored the study, says, “It’s a problem especially later in the evening because late evening TV viewing is particularly likely to stir up the brain and to jazz up our minds. At an average age of 14, young people who watched three or more hours of television per day were twice a likely as those who watched less than one hour a day to have difficulty with waking up in the middle of the night and having trouble going back to sleep.”
While the effects carry on into adulthood, the researchers say clearly it was the youngest teens, those who were 14, who were most at risk for sleep disturbances from television viewing. This might be because their bodies and their brains are changing so rapidly, and they are sensitive to the outside psychological and visual input from television.
The sleep problems might be due to the fact television heightens the arousal of the brain. Or it may be because the light from the television blocks the release of hormones in the brain that causes one to become sleepy. Leslie Speed, Shannon’s mom, says, “They’re not allowed TV’s in their room so they have to fall asleep on their own. The TV is not turned on to anything in the morning except for news. Amber tries to put on MTV in the morning and we kibosh that.”
Those who reduced the amount of television viewing time to an hour or less per day by middle adolescence had a marked reduction in risk for subsequent sleep problems during later adolescence or early adulthood. Dr. Johnson says, “The point is not so much to punish as it is to think of it as an opportunity to do something you don’t have enough time for.”
“I think they could be doing other physical activities. There are a million things I would prefer them to do rather than watch TV,” exclaims Leslie.
Leslie’s other daughter Amber says she is too busy to watch a lot, but wishes she could watch more. She states, “I usually watch one or two hours a day, depending on what day it is. I watch as much as I can get away with without my mom yelling at me.”
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