Screens dominate modern life, whether that’s the phones in our pockets or computers at work, but for the past 10 days, I’ve had to live without one particular screen, my TV, and doing so completely changed my evening routine.
I must admit, this wasn’t by choice, I didn’t decide to try out the tech-free life for a week. Instead, my living room TV decided that it didn’t want to turn on. Cue copious amounts of panic and a phone call the following day to arrange a repair.
Mercifully, the TV was still under warranty but I was still left waiting a total of 10 days while the repair company came to collect my TV, repair it and ship it back.
How not having a TV changed my routine
I should note that my girlfriend and I do have a TV in the bedroom – this is the 21st century after all – but as she tends to go to bed earlier than me, I’ve not used said TV in the 10 days our living room TV has been out of action.
Previously, our evening routine would involve eating dinner with an easy-going sitcom playing in the background before sticking on a show that demanded more of our attention. Once my girlfriend headed up to bed, usually at about 10pm, I’d often stay down for another hour or so to play some video games or watch a show she wouldn’t enjoy.
However, with no TV to distract us, we’ve had to find other ways of keeping ourselves entertained.
We’ve broken out some board games on a couple of evenings over the past week which has made a nice albeit competitive change of pace but the most major difference – certainly for me – has been that I’ve read a lot more.
I usually take forever to get through a book. It’s taken me well over six months to get through the first half of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring but in the last 10 days, I’ve raced through the second half of it and am preparing to make a start on Frank Herbert’s Dune after buying it following the release of Dune: Part Two.
The lack of TV has also meant that I’ve been going to sleep earlier too. As I have no reason to stay up later, I’ve been heading to bed at a similar time to my girlfriend.
On top of that, as I’ve been looking at the page of a book instead of a screen, I’ve found it much easier to actually fall asleep as well.
Will I go back now my TV has been repaired?
I’ve certainly missed the TV over the 10 days it’s been out of action and there are several shows I’ve been dying to watch – Shogun, Fallout and Star Wars: The Bad Batch if you must know – and I must admit I’m looking forward to being able to delve into them over the weekend.
But it has to be said that I have enjoyed reading more, especially before bed. Scientists say that exposure to light from screens can suppress the release of the sleep hormone melatonin which can hinder your ability to fall asleep.
I’ve definitely noticed that reading has helped on this front and I would definitely like to try and keep reading before bed as part of my evening routine, especially as I’m excited to start a new book.
So while I definitely can’t live without my TV, I think that going forward, I’ll endeavor to spend less time sitting in front of it and watch with a little more moderation in mind.
