Reducing TV Time May be Good for Your Health

While it may feel relaxing to sit and watch TV right before bed, several studies have shown that watching too much TV before sleep can interfere with a good night’s sleep.  Instead of winding us down like we think it is doing, it turns out too much TV ends up stimulating brain activity and firing up the brain causing a restless, interrupted night’s sleep.  Moreover, a restless night can result in getting less than the prescribed 7 or 8 hours recommended by doctors and leave us in a sleep deficit, which is especially bad for seniors.  

Researchers have discovered other problems with older adults watching too much TV.  According to the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, developed by the National Cancer Institute, it found a correlation between seniors who watched 5 or more hours of TV a day and a loss of mobility.   The study was comprised of 340,000 men and 226,000 women between the ages of 50 and 71 from six states and two US metropolitan areas.  “After performing a multivariable logistic regression analysis and adjusting for factors known to increase the risk of mobility disability, the researchers found that ‘greater TV time was significantly related to increased disability within all levels of physical activity’.”   Another negative linked to watching 3.5 hours or more of TV each day was a decrease in verbal memory.

Both of these problems could be due to a number of reasons including the fact that if someone is watching that much TV every day they are not doing other healthier activities.  Researchers explain the TV in itself may not be that bad but the sedentary nature of TV watching and the fact that the person is not doing other things like playing board games; reading, socializing with friends, or engaging in a hobby may be just as problematic. 

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Source: medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319170