Insights into the wonderful word of respiratory, sleep medicine and wellness.

The newest big streaming service, Disney Plus, has just hit Australia, delivering content like Snow White, Star Wars, and everything in between. And while there’s plenty to love and enjoy about the platform, it’s release brings an interesting question to the fore; how does our streaming influence our sleep? Image Credit: UnknownThe CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings, has actually said that he considers sleep to be the company’s biggest competitor. And some studies show that as many as 45% of Americans have stayed up all night to binge watch a show in the past. Are health and entertainment really so at odds that we have to sacrifice a good night’s sleep just to watch our favorite shows?Well… no, it’s just that people choose to. And the reason they choose to, is likely because they don’t fully understand the effects of sleep deprivation. Whether at school, work, or even just at home, insufficient sleep will mean mood swings, a short temper, and an inability to focus on tasks and conversations.And long term, the effect can be far more serious.Ironically, not sleeping actually makes it harder to enjoy the shows you watch in the first place.It is possible to keep up with the Kardashians, as well as a healthy sleep schedule, and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine has some helpful ideas as to how:– Set an episode limit each night before you begin watching– Take a break between each episode to get out of the “auto-play” loop– Download episodes on your smartphone to control how many you watch at once– Schedule time on the weekend to catch up on your favorite shows– To minimize the alerting effects of brightly lit screens at night, use one of the apps for your computer, tablet and smartphone that filters blue light after sunset– Stream videos to your TV instead of your mobile device at night to reduce exposure to brightly lit, handheld screens– Avoid using mobile devices while in bed– Turn off all screens at least a half-hour before your bedtimeSleep is important. Really important. Even more so than finding out what happened after the cliffhanger of that last episode you watched.If you, or someone you know, is giving up their beauty sleep in favour of sleeping beauty (or has trouble sleeping for any other reason), then please talk to your GP, and get in touch with us to find out how we may be able to help.Sleep Well – Live Well–Sources: https://aasm.org/sleep-or-netflix-you-can-have-both-when-you-binge-watch-responsibly/https://www.tuck.com/streaming-content-and-sleep/This blog post is from Keystone Medical Media, a sub-entity of Keystone Content.