I ran into a friend yesterday on my way to work and we struck up a conversation about how his boyfriend wants to put a TV in the bedroom and he was against it. We had an interesting talk about the pros and cons- I pointed out how maybe they could only use it for movie nights. He countered that his boyfriend has different TV habits and would keep him up,
but he also pointed out how the idea for the TV was to spend more time together as my friend goes to bed earlier. I am not sure where they ended up on the subject, but it is an interesting debate for most people!
I got a television in my room when I was a kid- it was a 13" box of pure excitement for me as NONE of my friends were cool enough to have one. I also had an auto-turnoff feature where it shut off automatically at 10:10 so I couldn't watch it after bedtime (FYI- I have seen the first 10 minutes of every Tarzan episode). As I grew into a teenager the alarm got taken off and I spent later and later into the evenings watching TV. I had a lot of issues sleeping as a teenager, and I used TV as a way to delay my frustration at not being able to sleep. To this day I wonder if the TV was more of the
cause of my insomnia, vs a cure.
In University I did not have a TV in my room (like I had money for cable!), but I do remember watching a lot of movies and staying up late playing computer games. However, I often had later classes in the morning so it usually wasn't detrimental.
After University I ended up living with a roommate. I did have a TV in my room, but I don't recall watching it late into the night. I DO remember my roommate watching TV/playing video games in the living room and THAT keeping me up!
Living on my own, I take a pretty strict stance on my sleeping routines. There is NO television in my bedroom now! Well, technically....I am in a studio so there is a TV in the same room, but I never watch it from bed. I also never use my computer in bed (I read before bed off my Ipad, but I don't browse the web, check FB, or twitter). Sometimes my phone ends up in bed with me, but I often text whoever I am chatting with that I am going to bed and goodnight!
And you know what? I have been sleeping amazingly these past few years. I think designating my bed as a "sleeping zone" helps my brain get ready to shut down. I have my nightly routine and 9 nights out of 10 I just drop right off into sleep within 10 minutes of hitting the pillow.
So I think that I am the type of person who shouldn't have a TV in the bedroom. I need my sleep and I need a relaxing sleep routine to help me get it! However, I do believe that this is an individual decision and it may work great for some people!
Do you have a TV in the bedroom? Do you like ir?
I've only ever had a tv in my room once, in our second rental, which was a flat-share. And I hated it. One roomie would always be upstairs watching one tv while the other would be in the lovin room constantly playing video games on theirs. You'd think that having their own separate spaces & TVs would would keep them occupied but my experience was that just by having a tv in your bedroom it was like an unspoken invitation for roomies to "drop in" whenever they were bored or feeling chatty or whatever.
ReplyDeleteNot to mention the whole "I want to go to sleep but the flood light of someone watching it or playing games is burning my retinas." Thing.
I'm definitely in the "no TV in the bedroom" camp.
Lmao "lovin room" should be "living room" my autocorrect seems to have some interesting ideas haha.
DeleteSuuuuuure Martina. Not sure what kind of flat you were living in... ;)
DeleteI do not have a TV in my bedroom, and I am totally with you. I love the bedroom being a TV-free zone. It is for sleeping and reading for me. This used to be a really big issue with my ex and I, because he could not fall asleep without watching TV and I had a really hard time falling asleep watching TV. I like it to be dark and quiet. And if he forgot to put the sleep on I woke up to strange people talking in my dreams. It caused a lot of disagreements.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived on my own I had no TV in my room, and when I moved in with Evan I was ECSTATIC when he said "I think the bedroom is a TV-free zone." Could not agree more. I am so happy about that.
Ya I cant sleep with a TV on either!! The light and noise are too distracting
DeleteI only got a TV in my bedroom when I was about 23, with no cable. It was only for movies! I don't have one anymore, and I don't miss it. I don't even have cable at home...fine by me :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was living at home I had a tv in my room (as I didn't want to socialise with my parents and watch what they were watching, most of the time anyway) and I also did all of my work outside of work (grading papers etc) in my room too. It just never felt like a relaxing place. When I bought my own place I was determined that there was going to be no tv and no work in the bedroom. And for the most part, it's awesome! I sleep well and it is definitely more relaxing. Sometimes it's annoying though, when I would love to be curled up watching a movie in bed, and now I have to curl up on the sofa :-(
ReplyDeleteNo TV in our room!
ReplyDeleteGrowing up I had a TV in my room until I was a teen. My TV was old and never got replaced once it died.
My dad has a TV in every room in his house. My mom always had one in the living room and her room.
In college all of my roommates had their own TV in their bedrooms- we shared a "common space" as a living room and also had a TV there.
All my life I've been surrounded by cable and TVs! Now we only have one TV and it stays in the living room. Up until recently, we used it mostly for watching Netflix shows/movies. We wouldn't turn it on until our son was asleep. On the weekends my son would watch a show or two but for the most part it stays off. Instead we always have music in the background =)
I don't think I'd let my son have a TV in his room when he's older. For me, I remember being a kid and using it as a way to disconnect from my parents and I think there may be healthier ways of finding and making use of personal space/time.