From the ArcaMax Publishing, Health & Fitness Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/healthtips/s-561465-238058
SEATTLE (UPI) -- Television watching may determine a person's bedtime
and this may contribute to not getting enough sleep and a chronic
sleep debt, U.S. researchers said.
Dr. Mathias Basner and David F. Dinges of the University of
Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia said the study
included data from 21,475 people aged 15 or older who completed the
American Time Use Survey between the years 2003-2006.
The study examined the activities participants undertook two hours
before and after bedtime.
The study, presented at Sleep, the 23rd annual meeting of the
Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Seattle, found that
television viewing was by far and away the dominant pre-sleep
activity, accounting for almost 50 percent of pre-bedtime.
Sleeping less than 7-8 hours daily impairs alertness and is associated
with increased obesity, morbidity and mortality, but despite this
fact, up to 40 percent of Americans sleep for less than the
recommended time per night, the researchers said.