On Sunday night I watched TV in bed. I divulged (nearly) a full episode of the final series of Orange is The New Black. No spoilers please, three episodes left to go.
This was quite the novelty for me as it’s been months and months since the screen in the bedroom was on. My husband James and I have just rearranged the room reminding us the little white box in the corner was something other than a dust trap. (Speaking of rearranging bedrooms, is this a thing other adults do?! Dragging furniture around the room made me feel like I was thirteen again. Though this time I was manoeuvring a king-size bed not a single and my dressing table no longer groans under the weight of Body Shop Dewberry perfume).
Felix hasn’t got a consistent pattern to his nights; sometimes we’re still hotfooting across the landing countless times to settle him. As I never know what the night holds I like to be in bed by 10pm, though this has been slipping recently. Remember this post? Well, the last few weeks I’ve been staying up later, no energy to do anything other than watch TV but too lazy to stop the next episode lining itself up.
So rather than go old turkey, this week I’ve made a promise to have my eyes shut by 10pm. To kick the week off I headed upstairs at 9pm on Sunday night. James was out for the evening so with fresh sheets and a make-up free face I climbed into bed and practically giggled as I reached for the remote control.
There’s no shortage of articles telling us how detrimental screen time can be before bedtime, with devices stimulating the brain and disrupting the creation of melatonin. I know Naomi credits her good quality sleep with using her phone’s eye-comfort setting before bedtime. But ladies, this felt good! Was it because slipping beneath the sheets with a box set was a one-off? I wasn’t allowed a TV until my mid-teens and remember how rebellious it felt to watch late-night TV lying on a friend’s pullout bed. In my book, watching TV in bed goes hand in hand with TV dinners on a Saturday night. It felt strangely nostalgic.
While I’ve decided bedroom TV viewing will probably stay a rarity (all that research can’t be wrong), I do recommend a break from the usual routine once in a while. Even the most mundane activities can become a cheeky treat. You’ll be pleased to know I was quite productive last night and ticked off heaps of admin. However, I can assure you that did not feel like a treat.
To end, I’ve got a few questions for you. Where are you watching your favourite programmes? Anyone else like a bit of bedtime TV?
With autumn sweeping in and the electric blanket fired up, what are you watching? Anyone else really looking forward to the BBC adaptation of His Dark Materials?
I do watch tv before bed every night, but downstairs on the settee. I hate TVs in the bedroom. Watching tv in bed always makes me feel weirdly tense, headachey and sweaty?! 😂 I don’t know what it is but it means there is a tv ban in our bedroom. I guess the screen downstairs is probably just as bad but I’m one of those lucky people who falls asleep instantly.
We’re currently watching weeds on Netflix and I’m sort of enjoying it. I’ve never watched it before and some of the jokes are inappropriate these days. I suppose it’s good to see how much attitudes have changed for the better. We usually have a few series on the go and I like to search for a series to watch by myself because I find myself wanting to watch the next episode of a programme but it’s disloyal to my husband and our joint viewing 😄
I hadn’t heard of that adaptation but I’m interested now. And tell me more about electric blankets! I’ve always written them off as a strange invention but they’ve caught my eye this year. Are they expensive to run and are they safe? Would you put one on a child’s bed?
Electric blankets are fab!!!!!! I did feel like an old granny when I bought it but wouldn’t be without it now. I just put it on for a short time to warm up the bed before getting in – and it’s bliss. And, yes they’re perfectly safe to use – you can even leave them on the lowest setting throughout the night (but that’s usually not necessary).
Give it a go. Come on over to the warm side!
Jade I too thought electric blankets were very odd, and just for Nans but it’s a total game changer. We’ve got an A rated one so it’s reasonable to run (think it’s a few pence a night). I just put it on for a blast before bed to heat it through and then leave it on low for another hour. It’s dual control so James can have it as hot or cool as he likes.
I don’t think I’d have one on a little one’s bed until you were confident they’d be able to manage the control and turn it off.
Thanks for the replies, I am really interested now! I usually turn all of the heating off once the kids are in bed and getting into bed in our freezing cold bedroom is an unpleasant shock. Do you actually put them inside a duvet cover?
My mother-in-law has one that you put over you like a traditional blanket but most of them go under the sheet and heat you from below x
I clearly need to do my research. Thanks for the info. I’m an electric blanket noob, as my son would say. Dual control sounds very exciting. I’m going to discuss this with my husband tonight and I am VERY excited. You never think you’ll age, do you? 😄
I do watch telly every night – multiple series on the go – but always on the sofa. I’m not really a fan of telly in the bedroom – mostly I would always get cozy & fall asleep and then get woken up by the tv in the middle of the night still going!
I have to say my most indulgent viewing is often of the weekend – when i wake up if i don’t read in bed I’ll go down and watch some telly under a snuggly blanket on the sofa with coffee to hand…and if its a really miserable day out it might well turn into a pj day binge-watching whatever my series of the moment is 😀 Can you tell I am single with no children 😀 😀
Sunday rainy afternoons with a blanket are amazing!
Well you know how much I love a bit of tv in bed (and at the same time I know how BAD it is for me.) We both love a box set (GLOW, Mindhunter Season 1, Hip Hop Revolution, Keeping Faith, Stranger Things etc etc) but after we’ve watched an episode I like to go and indulge in some mindless trash; Real Housewives and Below Deck anyone?! To do this I always sidle off to the bedroom with my iPad which feels so so wrong but so so right. Having just made a huge career change though I might now have more energy to actually walk around at night instead of falling face down into bed.
Ha! Never got into Real Housewives but Below Deck is brilliant!
Lauren, you just have to find the right one. I love the Beverly Hills, New York and Orange County ones but can’t take at all to Atlanta, New Jersey, Sydney etc…. There’s a ‘housewifes’ programme for everyone x
Wow. I never realised there were that many housewives!