Watching TV disrupts your sleep – but not in the way you think
It's nothing to do with the light...
We all know watching TV for hours and hours isn’t necessarily great for you or your sleep – but scientists in China have discovered another – very unexpected – reason why.
It makes you need to wee in the night.
The team, from Wenzhou Medical University, found people who spent more than five hours watching TV or videos during the day were almost 50% more likely to suffer from nocturia – the need to use the bathroom regularly throughout the night.
The link was described as ‘intriguing’ by the team, but they were unable to establish the exact relationship between TV and wee.
However, they suggested that excessive TV was an unhealthy habit that could lead to issues such as obesity and diabetes, which are both ‘established risk factors for nocturia’.
In addition, they noted that ‘TV watching typically aligns with beverage consumption, leading to an elevated fluid intake’.
The study, published in the journal Neurology Urodynamics, followed 13,294 participants in the US aged 20 or over between 2011 and 2016. Around a third said they experienced nocturia, which was determined by asking how many times they went to the bathroom in the night, from zero to five or more.
When combined with their viewing habits, the data showed those who watched TV or videos for five hours a day or more were 48% more likely to experience nocturia – even when other factors, such as weight, were controlled for.
‘As individuals increasingly engage in screen‐based activities, a comprehensive understanding of the impact of extended TV and/or video time on patterns of nocturia is crucial for both healthcare professionals and public health practitioners,’ the team wrote.
‘For individuals who engage in prolonged TV and/or video time, healthcare professionals can offer behavioural intervention recommendations, encouraging appropriate screen-time management.’
The team only focused on TV time, not computer screen time, something that many more spend hours in front of daily.
However, they did highlight a study that revealed TV screen time is linked to a greater risk of heart problems, but screen time is not.