11 Reasons To Have No TV in the Bedroom
I’ve had a TV in my bedroom since I was 8 or 9. I didn’t watch it in my room as much as a kid.
When I got to my teen years and into my adulthood, it was usually on most of the time.
Not long ago, my partner told me she didn’t want a TV in the bedroom whenever we owned a place.
As I’ve pondered on it, I find myself having the same thoughts. The name “bedroom” would seem to imply it’s a room designed for sleep. And of course for couples, intimate activities as well.
Yet for some reason we have a lot of things in it, including a TV, that distract from the main purpose.
Why families put a TV in a child’s bedroom?
I came across a study in an international scholarly journal called “Preventive Medicine.” They conducted interviews with different families asking about how a TV got in their child’s bedroom.
There were two common themes in the answers:
- “I didn’t think about it.”
- “Benefit to me.”
It’s amazing the idea of a TV in a bedroom has become so common that people don’t even think twice about it.
As far as the benefit people felt they had, the study didn’t specify what it was.
But people do seem to think of TV as educational for kids. It also provides an entertaining distraction when they need to do other things.
Thinking of why we do it as adults, I know for myself, I’ve had it in my room as another form of entertainment.
But if I didn’t have it now, I’d maybe miss it a little, but I’d probably get used to it. I’d know there’d be a number of benefits as a result.
If you’re on the fence, or need a little push to make the jump, here are a few reasons why you should get the television out of the bedroom.
- More focus on wellness
- Less sedentary
- Better for the kids
- More intimacy with your partner
- Increased conversation
- More space
- Less unnecessary purchases
- Less negative influences
- You’re restoring your bedrooms original purpose
- Increased reading time
- Save on your finances
1. More focus on wellness
The University of Minnesota School of Public Health did some research on the impact of bedroom televisions on older adolescents.
It found that they were less likely to engage in wellness activities. Among the activities that were done less included:
- eating fruits and vegetables
- enjoying family meals
- exercising
The study found that adolescents also engaged in poorer habits including:
- Eating more fast food
- Drinking more sweetened beverages
- Reading and studying less
It wouldn’t surprise me if all of these negative effects are true of adults too. The simple act of removing your television could mean a significant increase in maintaining your well-being.
2. Less sedentary
Plataforma SINC did a study on teenagers being more sedentary on weekends.
One of the interesting things found in the research was that TVs in the bedroom tripled the risk of exceeding the health recommendation of two hours of television per day.
As a result of the increased TV watching, there’s an increase in how much we live a sedentary lifestyle.
Research has long shown the risks of that kind of lifestyle.
It’s bad for the brain, bad for the heart, increases the risk of serious illness, and increases our risk of early mortality.
Eliminating our bedroom TVs will help us with being as active as we need to be for our wellness.
3. Better for the kids
There’s tons of studies on TVs in kids bedrooms being bad. I’ll just run down some of the negative effects for you.
Needless to say, if you have kids, they’ll be much better off without a TV in their bedroom.
4. More intimacy with your partner
In a National Bureau of Economic Research study, it was found that couples with TVs in their bedroom had 6% less sex.
So, no bedroom TV, more sex.
5. Increased conversation
I can recall times when me and my partner talked more in bedrooms without TVs.
It was in those moments we could just relax, focus on each other, and grow our connection deeper.
6. More space
While TVs have gotten less bulky with flat screens these days, they still tend to take up a decent amount of space in the room.
Without a TV, you can have more space to add in other things that bring you more joy.
7. Less unnecessary purchases
In an article in The Muse, it was found that people tend to spend more when they’re tired.
With a bedroom TV, as soon as you head there after a long day, you’ll turn it on and inevitably see a lot of advertisements.
You can decrease the risk of making any bedtime impulse buys by keeping the TV out, which will keep you from seeing the ads.
8. Less negative influences
Your TV shows you many images, sounds, and messages depending on what you watch. All of that influences your thinking, your emotions, and your actions.
While in some cases TV has influenced us in positive ways, often times, it’s influenced us in a negative way.
How Stuff Works did a fascinating article on the ways TV changed American culture. Some of the changes listed included:
- Made people cook less
- Made people more violent
- Increased obesity
- Hurt marriages
- Distorted body images
- Made us less informed
- Declined our family time
Now of course to be fair, TV has guided people into accepting minorities more, and in some cases improved people’s values.
Nonetheless, largely, TV has been a force of manipulation. While we can control what you watch, we can’t control the commercials we’re forced to see.
I recall one time watching ESPN and one commercial that I wasn’t comfortable with kept showing every break.
We can be in better control of the influences in our lives, and lives of those we love, by keeping TVs out of our bedrooms.
9. You’re restoring your bedrooms original purpose
As I mentioned earlier, the name in and of itself seems to tell us what bedrooms are meant to be used for.
They’re meant for all activities that generally happen in bed. That means sleep and/or sex.
The living room can be where everyone gathers to enjoy what’s on the television.
10. Increased reading time
Without TV in your room, you can spend more time reading, which can actually help you sleep more.
In an article on The Sleep Doctor, they noted a survey that found people who read before bed sleep better.
Interestingly enough, there were a lot of other benefits too:
- Higher income
- Better eating
- More active
- More likely to regularly see a health professional
- Increased life satisfaction
The article recommends you avoid reading on your blue light emitting devices. Instead, opt for paper books.
11. Save on your finances
It’s no secret that TVs can be expensive. They can cost hundreds or in some cases thousands of dollars.
You can save on your finances by not buying a TV for your room.
If you already have one in your bedroom, you can sell it, and then save it or spend it on something more meaningful.
Tips on how to watch less TV
Hopefully many of these reasons were convincing enough to just decide to not watch TV often.
But it can be hard to break from a habit you’ve held for a long time. Here are a few quick tips for watching less TV.
1. Find activities to do other than watching TV
There are so many other things we can do in this world besides sit in front of a screen and stare at it for hours.
Try spending more time on your hobbies or just getting outside more. It’ll be good for you.
2. Cut your cable subscription
One of the reasons it can be difficult to stop watching is because there’s so many options.
You cut your cable, you’ll drastically reduce the options, you’ll save money, and it’ll be easier to not watch as much.
3. Set time limits for your TV watching
Start with a time limit that’s achievable for you. You can decide you’ll watch TV for no more than 3 hours in a day.
Then, as you get good at that, you can reduce it to two hours. Then you can try one hour.
And soon enough, you can just not watching for an entire day.
After you’ve accomplished that, you can set a time frame that works for you. But just remember that no more than two hours is usually best.
4. Pursue your goals
All the time wasted staring at a TV, we could have accomplished some great goals in our lives.
Focusing more on doing things that help you achieve goals can be a great alternative way to use your time.
5. Get rid of it
If all else fails, just get rid of the TV. There are so many articles of people who’ve reported their lives being much better since they got rid of it.
Here’s a few that you can enjoy reading, and be inspired to take your TV out of the bedroom for good:
8 Things That Happened When We Got Rid of Our TV | Parents
Reasons I Don’t Own a TV | The Minimalists
I got rid of my TV and now have a (much) better life – The Business Journals