I used to be against puttingTVsin my bedroom, with or without a partner. Mostly, though, that was out of habit. While I liked having something playing to help me fall asleep, music and podcasts were generally enough, and often preferable. The closest I got to TV shows was tuning my AM/FM radio as far as I could to the left, which let me listen to audio from a local TV station back in the analog days. If I was lucky, I’d fall asleep to old Barney Miller episodes.
My wife helped change my opinion on that, and now I feel a little strange if there isn’t a TV available, or at least something TV-like, even if it’s just myiPhoneor asmart display. Your mileage is going to vary, so it’s a legitimate question – should you put a TV in your bedroom? There are benefits and downsides, some of which you may not have thought of.
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The pros of a bedroom TV
It’s not just about late-night comedy
Some people wind down best by watching TV, often with their partner. Really, that’s what late-night talk shows were created for – most people aren’t checking out Stephen Colbert orThe Daily Showjust before they head out to an EDM concert. The right shows can be a way of bonding with a partner, or simply reducing anxiety, which is all too common in the modern world.
Even if you don’t use a TV to wind down, though, your bedroom can often be the most comfortable place to watch something, be it YouTube videos, the news, or a sprawling fantasy epic. Indeed, some people just can’t fathom watching a three-hour movie on their couch, no matter how many snacks they have. I prefer being on a couch, myself, but that’s something I’ll get to in the next section.
One advantage people sometimes miss is the ability to put on ambient sounds and visuals, like that one “forest” scene from the Director’s Cut of Aliens. There are quite a few YouTube channels specializing in this, my personal favorite beingNomadic Ambience. That’s because it doesn’t use CG imagery or sound loops – it’s real content from real places, whether that means an Icelandic waterfall or a Tokyo cityscape. If our son is ever scared and sleeping in our room, putting on a rainstorm video will help him fall asleep in minutes. Sometimes I need that, too.
One advantage people sometimes miss is the ability to put on ambient sounds and visuals.
Along similar lines, a TV can double as a music player if you don’t have a dedicated stereo system. There’s even a good chance it can double as a smart speaker, letting you ask questions, adjust smart home accessories, and check security cameras without pulling out your phone. Some people do have privacy concerns about voice assistants, but those can usually be addressed by limiting commands to your remote control.
A bedroom TV may be almost mandatory if you’re sick or injured for a long time. Sure, there are other ways of passing the hours – games, reading, or just trying to sleep whenever possible – but those don’t always work. If you’ve just spent two hours playing Control on yourSteam Deck, watching an episode of The Righteous Gemstones may be a welcome change of pace.
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The cons of bedroom TVs
Don’t disrupt your sleep
The biggest issue is, of course, the potential impact on your sleep schedule. Exciting or disturbing TV content can make it difficult to wind down enough, leading to fewer hours of sleep, which makes it tough to get through work or school the next day. My own schedule is especially sleep-sensitive – on top of writing for eight or nine hours every weekday, my main hobby is weightlifting. Whether I stay up late can mean the difference between complete exhaustion or maxing out deadlifts with energy to spare.
you may roll over and attempt to sleep with a TV still going, but then it becomes vital to crank the sound and brightness down to reasonable levels. For some people, no level is going to be reasonable – an active TV is still going to keep them awake. That’s why I prefer watching bedtime videos on my Nest Hub instead of the TV, since all I have to do to make things pitch black or a little quieter is roll over in the opposite direction.
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The biggest issue is, of course, the potential impact on your sleep schedule.
In a relationship, a TV can potentially manufacture problems as well as solve them. You risk ruining your partner’s sleep, not just yours, and there’s the potential for fights or resentment not just over that, but over who gets to watch what and when. Healthy relationships require active engagement by both people.
Personally, watching movies in the bedroom often feels wrong from a cinephile’s perspective. I prefer to make movies an event, which means choosing the biggest screen with the best sound, and as few distractions as possible except for snacks and sodas. I can enjoy a bedroom movie – don’t get me wrong. But if I’ve just rented Dune: Part Two, for example, I’m going to feel shortchanged by watching it on a smaller bedroom screen with a pile of unfolded laundry a few feet away.
Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)
The Google Nest Hub (2nd generation) is an excellent smart display with all the same features as the original, along with some extras, like gestures, sleep tracking and audio improvements.
What’s the ultimate verdict?
It may be up to your self-control
My own inclination is to recommend against installing a bedroom TV if it’s not already a part of your life. Aside from saving money, you’ll likely preserve healthier sleep habits, not to mention a better relationship with your partner if you have one. Just ensure that any late-night bonding involves fun or learning about each other – you’re going to produce stress if you attempt to sort out personal or financial problems when your partner only wants to get some rest.
TV viewing can exist in a healthy context. Simply be careful about what you watch at the end of the day, and set a hard limit for when it’s time to roll over and sleep. If you decide to keep your TV on overnight, keep the volume and brightness low enough that no one will be startled awake.
Ultimately, if you do get a TV, you may always make a conscious decision to leave it off if it’s creating issues. If it becomes a bad habit, it could be that you need to work on self-discipline – not so much on finding better shows to watch.
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