Everyone has their own way of relaxing. Some, enjoy watching TV to unwind after a long day at work or to kill some free time. A TV is typically found in the living room but it is also to common to find TVs in the bedroom. There are different opinions as to whether a TV should be placed in the bedroom or not, including children’s bedroom. The following are some ideas you may want to consider before making your choice.
One of the reasons why having a TV in the bedroom might be a drawback is, that it may easily lead to a decrease in communication between different family members. If a couple goes to bed early to watch TV, they will not have time to catch up and communicate with each other. When different family members have a TV in their own bedroom, family time may be non-existent as everyone will retreat to their own room. Nonetheless, it is also important to note that if the family is gathered around a TV in the living room yet everyone is occupied doing other things, e.g. using their smartphones, communication will still be lacking. Thus, for family members and couples to improve their communication, distractions such as technological devices should be put aside.
Research suggests that when children have a TV in their bedroom, they are more at risk of becoming overweight (Gilbert-Diamond et al., 2014). This is because children sit down for longer periods to watch TV whilst also increasing snack intake. As children grow older, they might prefer to spend more time in their bedroom on their own, leading them to watch more TV and to engage in unhealthy eating habits.
Some couples may enjoy watching TV programmes or movies together and use this time to cuddle. However, when this is done in the bedroom, couples may have sex less often (Lucas & Wilson 2018). This is because TV creates a distraction from focusing on intimacy as the couple is busy watching TV. Once the programme is over, the likelihood is that both partners will be tired and will therefore switch off the TV and go to sleep.
Watching TV before going to sleep might also disrupt your sleep. This is because you remain awake to watch a TV programme till late. Thus, you do not get a full night’s sleep and wake up feeling tired the following morning. Also, the blue light emitted from electronic devices can also be directly linked to sleep disturbance since it suppresses the production of melatonin (Bradford, 2016). Melatonin is a natural hormone found in the body which controls daily sleep-wake cycles.
In conclusion, every individual has their own way of doing things and what works for one person might work for the other. In this blog, different reasons were highlighted as to how having a TV in the bedroom may have a negative effect on a person’s life. However, if a person has good self-control over when to watch TV in the bedroom, different benefits may be experienced. Having a TV in the bedroom can help individuals to relax, to generate white noise to fall asleep and to reduce conflict over what to watch since different TVs would be available in the household.
References
Bradford, A. (2016). How Blue LEDs affect sleep. Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/53874-blue-light-sleep.html
Gilbert-Diamond, D., Li, Z., Adachi-Mejia, A. M., McClure, A. C., & Sargent, J. D. (2014). Association of a television in the bedroom with increased adiposity gain in a nationally representative sample of children and adolescents. JAMA pediatrics, 168(5), 427-34.
Lucas, A., & Wilson, N. (2018). Does Television Kill Your Sex Life? Microeconometric Evidence from 80 Countries. NBER Working Paper No. 24882
Dr Marilyn Muscat is registered as an Educational Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council in the United Kingdom where she trained. She works with children, adolescents and their families to understand more about educational, social and emotional well-being concerns that they have and to help them improve upon their difficulties. She can be contacted on marilyn@willingness.com.mt or call us on 79291817.