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Did you know that watching too much TV can be the end of a happy life? Have you ever considered the downsides of watching too much TV? Just think… you are sitting and not being active. You are not burning calories and potentially adding to weight and circulatory issues. I don’t know about you but when I watch TV, I eat a lot of junk food. And what about the stress TV can generate? Sometimes after watching the news, I can barely think straight.
Beverly, age 67, agreed to be interviewed for one of our books on women and aging. She shared that she added up the amount of television she watched in one week and just about fell over. Monday-Friday she watched 5 hours a day and then on the weekend up to 6 hours with football and movies for a whopping total of 37 hours. She panicked when she discovered she was watching over a full day of TV each week.
She confessed she had to do something to address the revelation of wasting her life in front of a TV:
"Once I say I am going to do something I follow through no matter what. So I made a rule for myself, No more than 2 hours a day. That’s it… no more than 2 hours. That was very difficult. The hardest part was finding something to fill up the remaining (37-14 = 23) hours I had to spare. Cutting down on TV reminded me of when I quit smoking; lots of nervous energy with nothing to do.
While trying to break away from so much television, I read some really good books, got back to tending my garden, baked some new recipes, and signed up for a photography class. I tried to find things that involved being engaged rather than passively sitting in front of a TV. It’s been almost a year now and I feel so much better about my life. I have more friends, am happier and more positive about life, and think my mind is sharper than ever. I can truthfully say, that cutting down my TV time was one of the most challenging things that I have ever done in a very long time. But I can also confess gaining back (23 x 365) = 8,395 hours per year in my life where I'm in control and engaged has been a real plus for me. Maybe next year, I’ll start cutting back on my wine intake… Nah!" ~ Beverly (67)
