Following the American Psychological Association’s Guidelines
We have all been in a position before bedtime, where our head begins to sag, our eyelids begin to droop, and we feel ourselves fall asleep. The end of the day has come and we are ready for bed. The difference between most of us is that some will want to leave their televisions on, while others will want to turn them off. There is so much noise around us all the time, it is hard it is sometimes hard to imagine falling asleep in a silent room but many do it every night. Furthermore, they want to do it. They actively turn off their televisions, wanting to fall asleep in the dark silence. The reasons for this seem mysterious to those who sleep with a television turned on, but after some research, the speculation about why some like the television turned off is easy enough to figure out. Typically, those who like to sleep with their television turned off are better educated, healthier, less depressed, and more focused; these are the causes of why they like having their television turned off each night.
The National Sleep Foundation’s website has, obviously documented a lot of information on the subject of sleep, including what is healthy and what is unhealthy in terms of getting a good night’s rest. In one such article, “Lights Out for a Good Night’s Sleep,” the site explains that light often interferes with the body’s natural internal clock, and that leaving. The television remaining turned on will technically trick the body into thinking it is still awake because there is still noise and light. This simple fact is something that most people would learn in a general biology course. The human’s internal clock and desire for dark quiet spaces when sleeping is something that is often obvious without taking a class, suggesting that individuals who are better educated might be aware that their best chance at a good night sleep will mean turning off their television. They will grow to like having the television turned off at bedtime because they will equate it to a restful night’s sleep.
Better education is not the only dividing factor between those who like to turn off their televisions at night, and those who do not. “Television and the Quality of Life: How Viewing Shapes Everyday Experiences,” suggests that physically fit, healthy people watch less television . There are a number of reasons for this statistic. These individuals work out more, statistically have more hobbies outside the home and away from the television, and normally have more social interactions that lead them away from the couch. Essentially, they are busier than physically unfit individuals who commonly spend more time in their home, coincidentally near the television. Though television is not the deciding factor in the individual’s quality of life, it is one of the resulting factors, and sometimes ends up disrupting sleep. Hence, a cause for some individuals’ liking the idea of sleeping with their television turned off is that they are not that attached to television to begin with. They are healthier, they get out more, and they have other hobbies to distract them. When it is time to lie down and go to sleep, that is all healthy people are thinking about. In contrast, unhealthy people may want to continue watching a show, or just generally distract themselves from something that might be bothering them, and so they continue to watch television even if they are trying to fall asleep.
Unfortunately, the lack of health in some individuals goes hand in hand with the rate of depression. According to “How to Sleep Better,” by Melinda Smith and her associates, many individuals who are physically unhealthy are mentally unhealthy too, sometimes at a rate of 60 percent . This state of mental unrest can cause individuals to seek comfort or distraction in anything around them, including television programs. Statistically speaking, depressed individuals watch almost 50 percent more television than those who are not depressed and report that they desire to sleep the most during the daytime hours . One must assume then, that depressed individuals are doing most of their television watching at night, when they are unable to sleep, perhaps because they do not want to be alone with their thoughts. Bearing this in mind, it would make sense also to assume that individuals who are not depressed, and who report normal levels of sleep during the typical nighttime hours desire to sleep with the television turned off because they do not have mental unrest keeping them up. Simply put, they are not depressed and do not need a distraction while they are trying to settle their mind and fall asleep. This cause could be a valid reason why some undepressed individuals prefer to have their television turned off when they are trying to go to sleep.
A fourth speculative cause of why some individuals like to sleep with their television turned off is that they are more focused individuals. Individuals who have reported higher levels of focus, whether it be because they are parenting young children or employed at a high stress job, have stated that adequate amounts of restful sleep reduce their stress and allow them to focus significantly better, according to an article published in Behavioral Sleep Medicine . In contrast, individuals who lacked focus in their everyday life, or who did not have a reason to focus confessed that they did not see any point to getting a full night’s rest, or even a good night’s rest because they had nothing important to do the following day . It would be safe to assume, then, that focus and sleep share a mutual relationship, where one cannot exist without the other. An individual needs something to focus on in order to desire the proper amount of sleep; however, they must have the proper amount of sleep to maintain focus. It was confirmed by Harvard Health Publication’s website that insomnia is one of the significant factors in a person losing focus; sleep deprivation can cause an individual to exhibit symptoms similar to attention deficit disorder if they go untreated . Understandable then, it can be said that one of the causes of individuals preferring to sleep with their television off is that they have grown accustomed to being focused throughout the day, and have something they know they must focus on. The sleep is vital to their performance and they realize this, therefore, they know they must take every action possible in order to get the most restful sleep for the longest amount of time possible.
In sum, there are many speculative causes concerning why an individual would enjoy sleeping with their television turned off. Biologically, it is because we as humans are wired internally to sleep in quiet, dark spaces. This means that those who are highly educated will simply understand it is better to sleep with the television off because it will be darker and quieter. Healthier individuals are more likely to have friends and hobbies outside of the home, as well as lead lives that are more satisfying. Nighttime will be for sleeping, and they will feel the need to recharge; they will not want to watch television as they fall asleep because they know they need sleep to complete another activity-filled day and so they will also enjoy sleeping with the television turned off. Less depressed individuals will naturally have less to feel bad about, a better natural sleeping schedule, and will not feel the need to distract themselves from anything, as many depressed individuals feel the need to do. Thus, they will also enjoy sleeping with the television turned off. Finally, focused individuals will soon learn they can operate at maximum capacity if they do everything they can to get the most out of their hours of sleep, which means going to bed at a reasonable time, and keeping things quiet and dark. Because they are focused and will have the natural desire to succeed, the natural willingness to sleep with the television off will follow soon after. Though there are most likely many other reasons why an individual would prefer to sleep with their television turned off, these are the few that can be speculated upon based on research given by common people.
References
Custers, K., & Van den Bulck, J. (2012). Television Viewing, Internet Use, and Self-Reported Bedtime and Rise Time in Adults: Implications for Sleep Hygiene Recommendations From an Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 96-105.
Insomnia: Restoring restful sleep. (2009). Retrieved from Harvard Health Publications: http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/insomnia-restoring-restful-sleep.htm
Kubey, R., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2013). Television and the Quality of Life: How Viewing Shapes Everyday Experience. London: Routledge.
Lights Out for a Good Night's Sleep. (2014). Retrieved from National Sleep Foundation: http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-news/lights-out-good-nights-sleep
Smith, M., Robinson, L., & Segal, R. (2014, October). How to Sleep Better. Retrieved from Helpguide.ord: http://www.helpguide.org/articles/sleep/how-to-sleep-better.htm
