Evolve > Sleep >How Binge-Watching TV and Netflix Affects Your Sleep
TV shows and sleeping at night
If you’ve ever stayed up for one hour more to complete your favourite TV show, you’re not alone. With the amount of content available on the internet, it’s easy to get addicted and involved into a TV show! However, staying up late to binge watch TV on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar doesimpact your ability to fall asleep at night!
How binge watching TV affects sleep
TV shows and movies are stimulating. Watching TV before bed engages your brain causing a flood of thoughts to enter while you watch. If you’re watching just one more episode of Succession at night, your brain is active and awake, rather than preparing to wind down for the day and switch off. This leads to you staying up late at night long after you’re done binge watching. The content you’ve consumed is replaying in your head and you’re processing what you’ve watched and the emotions it brings.
Blue light emissions of screens. TV screens, cell phones and computer screens emit blue lights. These light emissions reduce the production of melatonin in the body, which is the hormone responsible for creating restful sleep. As a result, you end up staying awake in bed rather than falling asleep faster or sleeping better.
Your brain requires downtime. Your brain is active and awake, processing all the content you’ve binge watched. For a while before sleeping, the brain requires the transition for awake and active to rest and downtime. By watching TV and keeping your eyes wide open trying to fit in the last episode of Ozark, you’re denying your brain of the downtime it needs. Thus, it is unable to properly switch off. You’d be better off watching a couple of episodes and then avoiding screens for an hour or so before you fall asleep. As a result, you will sleep better. There are simple ways to sleep better at night, including meditation for sleep.
This lack of good sleep at night due to binge watching can cause sleep deprivation, daytime sleepiness, affect your mood and even lead to increased stress and anxiety. Moreover, lack of regular sleep affects your sleep cycles of deep and REM sleep as well. Remember, it’s okay to watch TV and movies at night, but whatever you do, do it in moderation.
If you’ve trouble sleeping because of your TV habits, learn how you can fall asleep with ease after a Netflix binge. Try out Evolve’s audio on sleeping post a Netflix binge.
Evolve has a range of sleep guided audios that allow you to switch off for the day and help repair your body as you sleep. The Evolve app is now live globally on Android & Apple, click here to try for free!
