Matthew Spector
Palomar College
Abstract There is plenty of research on whether or not watching television has an effect on the effectiveness of sleep. However, there is contradicting research, so the results are inconclusive. In order to study the effects of TV on sleep, I watched TV for half an hour before bed for a week straight, and recorded how tired I felt in the morning. I then recorded how I felt in the morning for a week without watching TV before bed. The results seemingly showed that I was less tired on average on the mornings that I didn’t watch TV. Still, there are many factors that may have altered how well I slept besides just the television. Therefore, these results are likely not conclusive.
Introduction
It doesn’t come as a surprise that the amount of televisions in bedrooms is raising. Television is the most widespread communication system of modern society (Nag, 2012). It’s not uncommon these days to have a television in your bedroom. However, studies show that watching TV before bed can have a negative impact on your sleep (Nag, 2012). It has also been found that televisions result in later bedtimes. The results support the idea that sleeping patterns are influenced by television (Custers, 2012). Contradictorily, conflicting research also shows that reducing media use might NOT be important for sleep hygiene advice to adults (Louzada, 2004). This self observation is an attempt to find out if watching TV has an effect on sleep.
Methods
The purpose of this study is to see if watching TV for a half an hour before bed has an impact on quality of sleep. For the first week, I will record how tired I feel when waking up without watching TV before bed. For the second week, I will watch TV for half an hour before bed, and then record how tired I feel when waking up. It is hypothesized that watching TV before bed will have a negative impact on the
References: Custers, K. (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, 10(2), 96-105. Louzada, F. (2004). Sleep-Wake Cycle in Rural Populations. Biological Rhythm Research, 35(1/2), 153-157. Nag, C. (2012). Impact of television on sleep habits. Biological Rhythm Research, 43(4), 423-430.