Sleep Better Away from the Blue Light

There have been words of caution about the affects of television on sleep pretty much since television watching became a popular pastime.  These concerns, however, have grown recently.  There is certainly more television programming available these days than there was even 10 years ago, and with the popularity of DVRs you can even watch recordings of your favorite shows in the middle of the night.  Additionally, sleep scientists tell us that the blue light emitted from televisions and computer screens can actually cause confusion in your body’s internal clock.  Since many homes these days have some kind of computer or TV screen in every room, it’s hard to imagine we get any sleep at all.

Here are some simple tips to ensure that the TV isn’t causing you and your family to lose sleep:

• Avoid high action TV shows right before bedtime, particularly with children but also with adults.
• Turn off the TV/video games/computer and lower the lights a little before you get into bed.  This is a good routine to signal your body that it is time for sleep.
• Instead of watching TV or surfing the Internet before bed, try reading a chapter of a book or an article from a magazine.    This will not only settle your body and create a bedtime routine, it will also allow your brain to unwind from the images it has seen on television.