I’ve had notoriously poor sleep for a number of years now. One of my best friends (I’m fortunate enough to have two) is a genuine insomniac. I’ve been reading more and more lately about how the light from TV screens and computer monitors screw with our natural circadian rhythems, and io9 reports on yet another piece of research supporting that theory. (Or jump straight to their source.)
In their forthcoming article for the Journal of Labor Economics, “Cues for Timing and Coordination: Latitude, Letterman, and Longitude,” authors Daniel S. Hamermesh, Caitlin Knowles Myers, and Mark L. Pocock look at the brief fight between American’s natural timing cues—the circadian rhythms determined by the sun—and the man-made cues brought on within the last century, mainly by the creation of time zones and the television broadcast schedule. In this relatively brief time, they find, the markers for how we structure our day have been dramatically altered.
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For their study, the authors turned to data provided by the unprecedented Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey (ATUS), which enabled them to observe how Americans split their time between their three most time-consuming activities: work, sleep, and television watching. After merging ATUS with sunrise and sunset data, the authors found that while natural daylight patterns have some effect on people’s life patterns, the demands of global business—market openings, etc—and regular television schedule demarcate the boundaries of most Americans’ lives. [snip] Hamermesh, Myers, and Pocock conclude that while the “natural cue of daylight has some effect on timing…the entirely artificial cue of the timing of television programs has still larger effects.”
My friend’s father was (and probably still is) in the habit of watching late-night tv, and often fell asleep in front of the tv. His son picked up the habit and often does the same thing. Now he has a little boy of his own. I wonder how well he’ll sleep when he grows up.
While I don’t stay up late watching TV, I do stay up late doing work for 12 to Midnight on the computer. TV or computer monitor– the negative implications for the circadian rhythem are the same. Unfortunately there’s not much I can do about it other than start going to bed at 9 pm and getting up at 4:30 AM. For some reason, that doesn’t seem very appealing either.
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