These days we have what I call a TACD (TV and Computer Downtime) sleep cycle. Light is part of our body’s sleep cycle. When I was a child and my parents got their first TV, everyone wanted to come and watch it. The kids would lie on the floor in front of it. Dad would yell, “get back, you’re gonna hurt your eyes.” Dad also noticed that if we watched TV before bed with no downtime, we seemed to take longer falling asleep. He figured the TV put our minds in high gear. Raising my children, it seemed to have the same effect, which lead me to study sleep patterns.

The sleep cycle will stay in high gear more if you’re in front of a computer, ‘cause you’re closer to light. Light is what keeps our bodies in wake-up mode or alertness. If you are at least 15 feet away from the TV, your wake cycle may overwhelm the light. Turning down lights then makes sense an hour before bed. Separate yourself from your computer. The slightest early morning light kicks us out of the sleep cycle, eliminating the much-needed 7-8 hours of sleep to stay healthy. Three cheers to my daddy who got it right; downtime before bed…