Hubby and I started binge-watching Homeland over the holidays, sometimes five or six episodes in a row. And perhaps not coincidentally, that’s when I started having problems getting to sleep at night!
Homeland is intense. It’s about the CIA chasing terrorists and it launches when a marine who’s been held captive for eight years in Iraq returns and is believed to have “turned” into a bad guy who’s planning to do something terrible on US soil. It stars Claire Danes as a CIA agent who’s also dealing with keeping her mental illness (bipolar) in check, Mandy Patinkin as her mentor/boss and Damian Lewis as the suspected terrorist.
A couple of Saturdays ago, I tweeted about looking at two men with suspicion as they joined up and took off together in a grocery store parking lot. But there was a revelation behind the humour. The intensity of the show sticks with you! And even though I’ve had sleep issues all my life, I think this program is a stimulant that’s affecting my ability to wind down early. So like chocolate, coffee and so many other things, we’ve started limiting our time with the show. No more Homeland two hours before bedtime! It’s actually helping.
Next up to binge-watch is Making a Murderer. From the sounds of it, we’ll have to cut that one off at 3 pm or risk not getting any sleep at all!
I may be one of the few who thought MaM was way too long. Of course, I’m used to Dateline wrapping things up in an hour. It’s very detailed – and I LIKE details. But anyway…SO glad you’re on the Homeland express. It’s just so good I was screaming over the holidays over Season 4!
There is scientific evidence that watching TV or working on your computer just before bed time will disrupt your sleep. It is recommended that you turn off the TV and computer at least 60 to 90 minutes prior to going to bed. TV’s in the bedroom are an absolute NO NO. I suspect that the more intense the show, the sooner you may need to turn it off.