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Your sleep debt will likely increase -

Sleep debt is determined by calculating the difference between how much sleep you need and how much sleep you actually get each night.

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Your sleep debt will likely increase -

Most adults need at least seven hours of sleep, so if you watch TV a little bit longer at night, you will increase the debt. This is not good news for your overall health.

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Your sleep debt will likely increase -

A high sleep debt has been linked to a number of health issues, including hypertension, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Sleep debt has also been linked to an increase in risk of car accidents and falls (particularly in older adults).

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Your melatonin levels can decrease -

TV sets emit blue light. This type of light is known to disrupt your circadian rhythm (sleep-wake cycle).

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Your melatonin levels can decrease -

The way blue light does this is by suppressing the production of melatonin, which is the hormone that signals your body that it’s time to hit the sack.

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Your melatonin levels can decrease -

A 2022 systematic review found that exposure to blue light might have “negative effects such as the decrease in sleep quality and sleep duration.”

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It disrupts your REM cycle -

Watching TV late at night may “lengthen sleep onset and reduce rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.”

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It disrupts your REM cycle -

REM sleep has a number of restorative functions, including processing emotions and consolidating memories. This is the sleep phase where we experience vivid dreams. Deprivation of REM sleep can affect how we regulate emotions and how our memories work.

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It disrupts your REM cycle -

Watching TV just before falling asleep will affect how long it takes for us to doze off, but sleeping with the TV on will also prevent us from having a deeper, restful, and restorative sleep.

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Your brain gets stimulated -

Watching TV will stimulate your brain. The increased brain activity will make it harder for you to relax. Numerous studies have shown how using electronic devices before bedtime can negatively affect how long it takes to fall asleep, as well as sleep duration and quality.

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Your brain gets stimulated -

Your brain will continue to be stimulated when you fall asleep with the TV on. Both the images you watch before falling asleep and the sounds you listen to while you’re asleep affect your sleep.

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Your brain gets stimulated -

A 2016 study published in the journal Dreaming found that the content we watch also influences our dreams. E.g. those who view violent content are more likely to have dreams containing violence.

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It may affect your weight -

A 2019 study found that the risk of obesity was higher for women who slept with some form of artificial light, including a TV.

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It may affect your weight -

The study, which included 43,000 women aged 35–74, found that those who slept with a TV (or light) on were 17% more likely to have gained around 11 pounds (approximately 5 kg) or more during the study.

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It may affect your weight -

A more recent study, from 2023, also showed that those who slept with light at night were 40% more likely to become obese when compared to those who slept without any light. This data, however, applied to older participants.

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It may affect your weight -

Weight gain happens for a number of reasons, including how the disruption of the circadian rhythm affects ones’ metabolism.

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Your blood pressure may increase -

Sleeping with the TV on can put you at a higher risk for hypertension. The light and sound is more likely to disrupt sleep and alter hormone production, which consequently may lead to hypertension. In summary, sleeping less may increase blood pressure.

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Your blood pressure may increase -

In fact, watching TV on its own, regardless of what time of the day, has been linked to high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.

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It may affect your mental health -

A 2010 study done on hamsters found that those exposed to dim light during sleep began to show changes in the hippocampus, which translated to symptoms of depression. A study done previously on mice reached the same conclusions. But do these results translate to humans?

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It may affect your mental health -

A 2022 systematic review looked at how increased screen time causes a decline of physical and psychological health. It found that screen time (including TVs and smartphones) affects “the quality of sleep, anxiety causes, feelings of depression, and issues related to self-esteem, as well as physical effects in individuals.”

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It may affect your mental health -

Bing-watching TV in general can have an impact on levels of stress and increase feelings of anxiety, depression, and lead to insomnia, concluded a 2021 study published in Psychology Research and Behavior Management.

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It may reduce stress levels -

With the negatives covered, let's now discuss the advantages. Indeed, sleeping with the TV on may have some benefits for some people. One of them is the ability to unwind and reduce stress levels by watching a show or movie that we enjoy.

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It may reduce stress levels -

Several studies have found that cortisol (the stress hormone) levels decrease and feelings of calmness increase when we watch something we like on TV.

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It may reduce stress levels -

This is especially true for shows and movies we’re familiar with. Opt for a light-hearted show or comedy as opposed to live news and action movies. Lower stress levels will have a positive impact on sleep and life in general.

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White noise may help your sleep -

Your TV set is a source of white noise. This type of ambient noise may help you fall asleep faster.

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White noise may help your sleep -

A 2017 study found that exposure to white noise “significantly reduced sleep onset latency by 38% compared to normal environmental noise.”

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White noise may help your sleep -

Falling asleep while watching a concert on TV might actually help sleep quality. This is particularly true for classical music.

Sources: (Health Digest) (Health) (Sleep.com) (Healthline) (Sleep Foundation) (Mayo Clinic) (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) 

See also: The best sounds to help you fall asleep

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