sleeping with the tv on

[calibrajay]

Hi guys,

I have found myself unable to sleep at night without the tv on. If the tv switches off at night for a few minutes or looses signal I seem to feel more rested in the morning. Although I cannot fall asleep either without the tv on or knowing it will turn off.

Does anyone know the affects of this? Does sleeping infront of the tv affect my panic attacks or anxiety? What other affects does sleeping with the tv on have? Has anyone else had this problem.

Jay

[leonardomonkey]

Hi Jay

I have slept with the tv on for years, it keeps my mind occupied while i fall asleep, otherwise my mind gets off its leash and runs riot. I don't know if there are side affects off it. I put mine on the two hour timer and very rarely wake when it goes off.

Leo

[HeatherMc]

Hiya

When I was really acute back in Feb I couldn't turn off the TV as I was too alert to just switch off and relax but the last couple of nights I have been able to do this dunno if this is an improvement but I know lots of people who leave the TV on my husband is one of the worst offenders.

Don't worry about it

Heather

[Lindalou64]

Its Fine I Been Leaving The Tv On Way Before I Got Anxiety And Still Do I Just Cant Fall Asleep With Out And Some Are Opposite So I Dont Think Theres Anything Wrong With It, Linda

[Tweek]

I always sleep with the TV or something playing on my PC like a comedy or a movie. I can't just lie there in darkness and just fall asleep, my mind starts thinking about all kinds of sh... sugar lol like someone said above it gets off it's leash. Sometimes the things on TV or whatever creep into our dreams.

That could be a "side effect" if you want to call it that. It's just like sleeping and someone talks to you while you're asleep, trying to wake you or whatever and you dream about them talking to you but in the dream land, like in a wooden hut or in the supermarket or whatever you dreamt of... and when you open your eyes they're gone, because it was ages ago and you have no sense of time when asleep.

The human brain is the most complex thing we know of... full of mystery. It also records everything you see, hear, smell, taste, touch, so leaving the TV on will do something to us. Probably make us into manchurian candidates! lol Or at the very least if adverts come on you have no defense and they just program you to crave their products! lol

[milly jones]

hi hun

i went thru a phase of needing the radio on to fall asleep to keep my brain occupied rather than focus on worries.

i also get tinitus and the backgound noise of life annoys me so it disguises that too.

take care

milly xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

ps i find music annoys me, rather have words like radio 4, im old lol

[Granny Primark]

If im very anxious I leave the tv on. It stops me thinking and worrying so much.

[never2late]

Back in Feb. when I was not doing too well with anxiety, I would leave the clock radio quietly tuned to a talk radio station all night. The volume was just enough to be able to hear it. I would wake up several times during the night, and it was nice to have, and hear, voices and something to focus the mind on.

For several months now, I've tried turning it on many times and can't seem to stand it. I'm usually out like a light in just a few minutes lately, anyway.

I guess it was comforting in some ways during those cold, dark winter months of anxiety-ridden nights. The human voice can be that way (comforting) -- even a strangers. I guess it's just "human" to feel that way about it.

[Adz84]

I always fall asleep watching tv. Always have and always will. I just put it on a 1 hour timer. If i'm feeling anxious i always watch some comedy i love, like the office, curb your enthusiasm, peepshow, i'm alan partridge something really funny to take my mind off my thoughts :)

[Adz84]

I always fall asleep watching tv. Always have and always will. I just put it on a 1 hour timer. If i'm feeling anxious i always watch some comedy i love, like the office, curb your enthusiasm, peepshow, i'm alan partridge something really funny to take my mind off my thoughts. I can't just lay down and turn off.

[pooh]

Im the opposite I cant stand electrical equipment in the bedroom. My b/fs ps3 is in the bedroom and if he is playing it even with the sound off i go nuts lol Ive suffered on and off extreme nightmares since childhood. The coping mechanisms i developed for thesse are what i tend to adopt when lying in bed falling asleep if i am feeling anxious.
Harnassing the power of your imagination can be an amzing tool and much better than the crap on tv lol

Pooh xx

[lesleya]

I fall asleep with the tv on too watching a comedy film or dvd to cheer me up and distract me, the light from the tv comforts me too as i dont like the room totally dark if i wake up during the night...which i always do.
Feel sorry and guilty for my husband though because he could only sleep in a room totally blacked out and not even a ticking clock in the room when i met him...poor man has had to get used to the bedside lamp and tv on. Mind you if im zonked he sneaks the remote control out of my hand and turns it off...then gets lip service if i wake up..lol
My mum used to leave our passage light on and the bedroom door ajar all night when i was little, plus i shared my bedroom with my 2 sisters so we'd giggle and chatter till late so i think thats why i cant sleep in the quiet and dark.

[Anxious_gal]

I sleep with the radio on, it calms me because I'm not focused on myself.

[noonoo]

I'm like that too since my first attack, I haven't slept without the tv on since April. I also sleep with the light on now and my mum turns it off every morning.

I don't even watch the tv, just knowing it's on somehow calms me. I put a DVD on and when it's finished I always wake up, look at the tv and fall straight back to sleep again.

xxx