- 4 hours ago
This video explores the phenomenon of falling asleep in front of the TV and examines whether dogs and cats are truly interested in watching television.
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00:00Yeah, yeah, I know. We've all heard that there are many reasons why falling asleep in front of your TV
00:05screens might not be the best thing to do if you want to get a good night's sleep.
00:10But it turns out it's not all that bad. Some experts suggest there may even be some advantages to dozing
00:17off while watching your favorite TV show.
00:21For instance, if you don't turn up the TV too loudly, those noises in the background may help you fall
00:27asleep faster.
00:27Think of your TV as a white noise machine. If you've done some research on ways to improve your sleep,
00:34you've surely heard of white noise before.
00:37It's like the sound of the wind blowing or the rain falling. It's a mixture of different sounds at different
00:43frequencies, all happening at the same time.
00:47Sometimes, these types of sounds are used by people to help them sleep, block out other sounds, or concentrate better
00:54on their tasks.
00:55If the volume on your TV is low enough, meaning you're not able to understand the dialogue precisely, it might
01:02help if you have a problem falling asleep.
01:05Moving on. Our TVs emit less blue light than other devices.
01:10In other words, if you choose between scrolling through your phone or watching an old movie, you're better off with
01:16the second option.
01:18Exposing ourselves to blue light close to bedtime can affect our circadian rhythm.
01:23This is a natural, internal process of a lot of living organisms.
01:27It's like our body's activity monitor, letting us know our schedules for falling asleep and waking up in the morning.
01:34It also helps to synchronize our bodies with the environment and the amount of light we're exposed to during the
01:40day.
01:40Too much blue light later at night tricks the body into thinking it's still bright and early, and there may
01:46be things to do, so it keeps your brain alert.
01:50If you're one of those people that finds it hard to sleep in pitch black darkness and complete silence, it
01:56might help you to re-watch some old movies.
02:00Especially ones you've seen many times in the past.
02:03When we have a bad day, we often turn to TV shows or movies that make us feel better.
02:09And there's a real, scientific reason for this.
02:12A study found that watching familiar stories can help us feel better and have better control of our emotions.
02:19If you need to sleep with a TV on, it's okay, but it's important to choose wisely.
02:24Pick shows or movies that you know well and that are calm instead of action movies or news channels.
02:30You can also set a timer for your TV to turn off after you fall asleep, which will reduce the
02:37amount of blue light you get at night and reduce its bad impact on the quality of your sleep.
02:44Let's say you've only recently discovered your passion for a snooze fest in front of the TV.
02:50Well, it may be a sign of aging.
02:53Recent studies have shown that as we grow older, we tend to choose comfort over style or practicality.
02:59So, it's no wonder some people just start falling asleep on their living room couch at some point in their
03:06life.
03:06It's more comfortable and involves less of that complicated bedtime routine.
03:11That doesn't make it healthy, though.
03:14You might wonder, though, why watching TV makes you sleepy?
03:18Many people say that when they watch TV before bed, they fall asleep before the show or movie even starts.
03:25Doesn't that mean watching TV is actually helping us sleep, not making it harder?
03:30The answer is a bit more complex.
03:34The reason why some people fall asleep instantly once they turn on the TV is that our brains make special
03:40waves called alpha waves when we watch something on the screen.
03:44Let's see what these waves are.
03:47For starters, your brain is always busy with electrical activity.
03:51This happens because the cells in your brain called neurons talk to each other using electricity.
03:57When some neurons send an electrical signal to other neurons, we call them brain waves.
04:03Why waves?
04:04Because when scientists use a special test called an electroencephalogram showing the electrical activity in your brain, it all looks
04:13like waves.
04:14There are five different types of brain waves that go from slow to fast.
04:19Alpha waves are right in the middle.
04:21Your brain makes these waves when you're awake, but not focusing on anything in particular.
04:26They help us relax and feel dreamy.
04:29When watching TV, it's partly because of these pictures we see on the screen.
04:35Remember, though, it's important not to rely too much on watching TV before bed.
04:40If you always watch something before sleeping, it can be hard to fall asleep without it, even if you're in
04:46a place where you can't watch it, like during a power failure or when camping.
04:51To avoid relying too much on the TV, you can gradually watch less and find other ways to relax before
04:58bed, like reading or meditating.
05:01Having different ways to help you sleep will make it easier to doze off no matter where you are.
05:08Thankfully, there are things you can try if you can't fall asleep without a TV.
05:12You'll just have to test them out to see what works best for you, but it may take some time.
05:17For example, some people have a personal sleep diary where they can write about things that help them fall asleep.
05:25But if you really need some background noise to fall asleep, you can try ASMR channels on YouTube.
05:32These channels usually have calming scenes with relaxing sounds, like a crackling fire or soft rain.
05:39There are different ASMR channels to choose from.
05:43Some even have sounds and scenes from popular TV shows or movies.
05:47You won't have to worry about getting too involved in a story and not being able to fall asleep.
05:52If you have a smart TV that can play YouTube as well, you can turn off the TV screen and
05:58just listen to the sounds.
06:00Your phone might be useful too, just not in the way you'd expect.
06:05If you want white noise but don't want to watch TV, there are apps you can install on your phone
06:11that help.
06:12These apps have different sounds like falling snow, thunder or birds chirping.
06:17Some apps can turn off by themselves so you can sleep without worrying about them draining your phone all night
06:24long.
06:25Be careful when choosing an app because some of them may be pricey and you may be charged for extra
06:31features.
06:32If possible, try some app with free sounds first to see if it's good for your sleeping needs.
06:39Here's quite a retro alternative to the soothing noise of a TV.
06:43Radio.
06:44It can be a good way to help you sleep by listening to different sounds.
06:49Some people might like talk radio, while others prefer classical music.
06:54With online radio, you can listen to many different things on different devices.
06:59Try listening to different types of shows at bedtime and see how they make you feel.
07:04If the show is too interesting, it may not be the best choice for sleep.
07:09Try listening to the radio a few times to see if it works for you.
07:14Some radio stations have fewer ads if you're willing to pay a fee.
07:20Fans are also considered a helpful background noise that makes it easier for many people to fall asleep.
07:28Sure, some people prefer silence when they go to bed, but others find it helpful to have a low hum
07:35like a fan to block out other sounds,
07:37like someone moving around at night or a neighbor starting their car early in the morning.
07:44Using a fan can also help keep the room cool.
07:48For good sleep, the temperature in your bedroom should be around 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
07:54Some people might like it a little warmer or cooler, but most doctors say that 60 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit
08:01is a good range for a comfortable sleep.
08:04If your house doesn't have air conditioning, a fan can be a useful tool to control the temperature too.
08:11So every evening, right before you're about to switch off the television and go to bed, your pooch enters the
08:17living room.
08:17It sprawls out on the floor and seems to be watching TV?
08:23In 2012, in the UK, a company producing dog food created an unusual commercial.
08:29It was made to attract dogs' attention.
08:31The ad used special high-frequency sounds.
08:34They were inaudible to the human ear, but dogs could hear them very well.
08:39The idea was simple.
08:40A pooch gets so entranced by the commercial that owners can't but notice it.
08:45And the next dog food they buy is the advertised product.
08:49In theory, the idea sounded promising.
08:52In reality, most dogs showed no reaction whatsoever.
08:56Meaning ads can't probably manipulate pets as well as they influence people.
09:01But even though this experiment was a failure, dogs still do find watching TV interesting.
09:07You may have noticed your fluffy companion react to animals, moving objects, and other images appearing on the screen.
09:13It's almost as if they see the same things you do.
09:18If we talk about colors, TV and reality don't look different to dogs.
09:23They see the world in shades of yellow and blue and can't pick out green and red hues.
09:28Plus, canine vision is somewhat blurred.
09:32Dogs process what's happening on the screen in a different way than you do.
09:35When you watch something, your brain needs 16 to 20 video frames per second to detect movement.
09:42For your pooch, this number must be more than 70 frames per second.
09:46Let's say your pet is seated in front of an old TV.
09:49In this case, what the animal sees looks like a flip book.
09:53If it's a modern television, your pup is likely to be much more interested.
09:58Because modern TV sets have a faster video frame rate.
10:01As for the content itself, dogs react to the same stuff that would attract their attention in real life.
10:07It can be squeaking toys, commands, and other dogs barking, growling, yipping, and whatnot.
10:14If the TV screen isn't showing anything related to dogs, though, your pet will probably remain completely uninterested.
10:22Other pets, like cats or parrots, also seem to enjoy an occasional TV show or two.
10:28Many parrot owners are sure their birds love watching TV.
10:32They get excited when a particular commercial is on.
10:35They can even start flapping their wings, dancing, or whistling.
10:39But what do they see on the screen?
10:41A parrot's vision is different from yours in several ways.
10:45For one thing, its eyes are on the sides of the head, not facing forward.
10:49It helps the bird to see a larger area and protect itself from enemies.
10:53But even though parrots have a broader vision,
10:56they can't perceive depth well enough.
10:58It means that images on a widescreen TV look much flatter to them than they do to you.
11:04When you're watching TV, you see one constant image.
11:07But for parrots, the screen is constantly flickering at a fast speed.
11:12And the coolest thing?
11:13These birds can see ultraviolet light, but the human eye can't detect it.
11:18And how about cats?
11:21These animals are natural hunters.
11:23That's why they most often react to the images of rodents and birds.
11:27In one study, more than 100 cats watched TV for three hours a day.
11:32The felines were split into five focus groups.
11:36Each group had its own program to view,
11:38which ranged from the footage of people and animals moving to a blank screen.
11:42The average time the cat spent watching TV was a bit more than 6%.
11:47The most popular were the shows about animals.
11:50If your cat likes staring at the screen from time to time,
11:54try not to let it alone in front of the TV.
11:57The chances are your pet's hunting instincts will take over.
12:00And when it pounces to catch a bird flying on the screen,
12:04your television will end up on the floor.
12:07All in all, it might not be bad that our pets have such limited screen time.
12:12But this whole TV watching situation makes me think,
12:15how do different creatures see the world around them?
12:18Fish's eyes are not that different from ours,
12:21but they're covered with a protective film.
12:23Otherwise, fish wouldn't be able to see clearly underwater.
12:27Like in the human eye, there are rods for black and white vision
12:30and cones for color vision in the fish's eyes.
12:33Some fish species, like tank-dwelling goldfish, can also see ultraviolet.
12:39Fish's eyes are also designed in such a way
12:41that everything located nearby looks bigger than it really is.
12:46Snakes have rather poor vision.
12:49That's why they have to stick out their tongues
12:51to get an idea of what's going on around them.
12:53On the bright side, snakes can spot thermal radiation amazingly well.
12:59All living creatures emit this kind of radiation.
13:02At night, this natural ability is 10 times more effective
13:06than any modern night vision device.
13:09But during the day, snakes can only react to movement.
13:13Rats and mice don't have perfect vision either.
13:16It's quite blurry, with bad depth perception.
13:19These rodents perceive colors a bit like people with red-green colorblindness.
13:24Everything looks bluish.
13:25And the colors they do see are kind of faded.
13:28Also, rats and mice are likely to connect smells with what they see at the moment.
13:34They mostly perceive the world with the help of their whiskers through touch.
13:39Move over!
13:40Cows can see the world in much less vibrant colors than most people.
13:44Only a few hues look bright.
13:46The rest are faded.
13:48These animals also don't see things clearly enough.
13:51It's because they can't focus their eyes as fast as people do.
13:55Plus, cows need more time to process visual information.
13:59They have poor depth perception because of their limited vertical vision.
14:04It's 60 degrees versus 140 degrees in humans.
14:08You might have noticed cows stop before walking across shadows.
14:12That's because they can't tell whether it's a shadow or a ditch or a hole in the ground.
14:18Horses can see almost 360 degrees.
14:21But they have two blind spots.
14:23A small one directly in front of their noses and the other behind their tails.
14:28Horses don't see colors as bright as we do.
14:31Their color deficiency makes it hard for them to spot some objects.
14:35They also can't distinguish red colors.
14:39People can see more hues than bees.
14:41But bees have a broader range of color vision.
14:44You base your color combinations on blue, green, and red.
14:48And bees on blue, green, and ultraviolet.
14:52These insects don't have special photoreceptors to see the red color.
14:56But they can distinguish yellow, orange, and a unique color called bees purple.
15:01That's a mixture of yellow and ultraviolet light.
15:04Bees see color five times faster than people.
15:07Their color vision is not only the speediest in the animal world.
15:11It also helps them find natural landing strips, invisible to people.
15:16Flies' eyes don't move.
15:18But their spherical shape and the way they stick out of the bugs' heads
15:22gives flies an almost 360-degree vision.
15:25These insects can't focus and are short-sighted, just like some people I know.
15:30But the coolest thing about how they see the world?
15:33It resembles a mosaic.
15:36Thousands of teeny images that together create the whole picture.
15:40Flies are so jumpy for a reason.
15:42Even though these bugs don't see well, they're great at picking up movement.
15:46This ability helps them flee in the blink of an eye.
15:50Um, that's flee as in get away, not flee as in the bugs on your dog.
15:54Are we clear?
15:56Good.
15:57Moving on.
15:58Sharks see the world in monochrome.
16:01These creatures are a bit short-sighted.
16:03But sharks only need the sense of sight once they're closing in on their soon-to-be dinner.
16:09And in dim light, a shark can see almost ten times better than you do.
16:15Garden snails' eyes don't focus or see colors.
16:18But these slow creatures can make out other living beings coming close.
16:23Snails also know how to navigate toward dark, safe places.
16:27All thanks to their ability to analyze the difference in light intensity.
16:32Adult giant clams don't move.
16:35They attach themselves to a rock or coral and watch the world through hundreds of tiny pinhole eyes.
16:41Those are situated along the edges of their soft bodies.
16:45Clams can distinguish three different colors.
16:48But unfortunately, they can't combine the information they receive.
16:52That's why they see bright and colorful but totally shapeless images.
16:56But that's no slam on the clam.
16:59And they're also delicious.
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