By N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe

September 16, 2022 (IANSlife) Many people recognise the obvious negative impact that watching Netflix until the wee hours of the morning has on our sleep, but one expert believes that the way we watch may have a greater impact than we realise. Sleep expert Kiera Pritchard from Eachnight Mattresses suggests that simply indulging in a few episodes of your favourite show before bed could be enough to disrupt your regular night’s sleep and leave you feeling lethargic the next day. 

“For many people, watching television in the evening has become a nightly tradition. Households typically have TV screens in multiple rooms of the house, so it is hard to escape the temptation to watch a few episodes of your favourite show right before bed. However, unlike tablets, laptops and phones, most modern televisions still do not come equipped with a blue light reduction option as standard. This means you are unable to moderate the amount of blue light emitted from the screen, which then enters your eyes during your evening viewing", says Kiera, “This blue light is particularly disruptive to your sleep because it simulates the effect of daytime sunlight, which normally plays a key role in regulating your wakefulness throughout the day. Blue light hitting the back of your retina during the evening signals to your circadian rhythm that it is still daytime and suppresses the release of the hormone melatonin - delaying the onset of sleepiness. This means that even if you give yourself ample sleep opportunity, it will often leave you feeling more awake when you later lie down and try to sleep."

The good news is that you don’t have to cut out Netflix completely. Kiera says, A few simple changes to the way you watch can help to improve the quality, and quantity, of your sleep throughout the night. 

Install a blue light filter 

One simple switch that everyone could be making, is watching your shows on a laptop rather than a TV in the evening. Many laptops and tablets now offer a ‘Night Shift’ mode which can be scheduled to automatically turn on and off at certain times of the day. This limits the amount of blue light that would otherwise be emitted from your screen and subsequently impact on the quality and quantity of your sleep. If your devices don’t offer this feature, an alternative is to install a blue light filtering software such as f.lux, which reduces the blue light emitted from your screen in a similar way.” 

Keep screens out of the bedroom 

Your bedroom should be your sanctuary for sleep, so while it may be tempting, it is best to keep all form of electronic screens out of your room, including your mobile phone. Watching Netflix in bed can create a state of what is called pre-sleep arousal. Exciting shows and movies that stimulate and engage the brain before bed, can leave you in a psychologically aroused state for some time after you have switched off. It is important that your bedroom remains a place that you associate with relaxation and rest. Try to have one room in your house where you normally watch TV and use your phone, to help maintain this positive association.

Set a cut off time 

I would recommend a cut off time of one hour before bed, for all screens and electronic devices. Not only does this allow you to get in the correct mindset for going to sleep, but it is also a realistic amount of time most people can stick to. As previously mentioned, using devices right up until bedtime can stimulate your brain and run you the risk of staying up much later than you had planned.

Turn off autoplay 

When an episode finishes on Netflix, it automatically plays the next episode to encourage you to stay on the app for longer. However, this five second window often isn’t enough time to decide to switch off and go to bed. Turning off this feature can be crucial in helping to maintain boundaries for when you should go to bed, as it reduces the chance of trying to squeeze in another episode. “You can turn off this feature on Netflix by going to, ‘Manage Profiles’ and selecting the profile you want to edit. Untick the option that says ‘Autoplay next episode in a series on all devices’. 

Avoid watching intense content before bed 

Try to keep things light-hearted in the lead up to bedtime. Opt for shows like ‘The Office’ over more intense shows like ‘Breaking Bad’ before bed. The things you fall asleep thinking about can have an influence on your dream content, leading to disturbing dreams or even nightmares. Furthermore, watching disturbing things on screen could trigger traumatic or upsetting memories of your own, which may play on your mind as you fall asleep.

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N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe can be contacted at lothungbeni.h@ians.in