Last night Jason was enjoying the All-Star game and while flipping channels at the commercial break he saw a promo for the evening news. “The fourth Madison murder this year! Is this a growing problem? Are you safe?” Something tells me that watching that news clip would’ve helped me sleep like a baby last night. (catching the sarcasm, here?)
There’s a huge distance between being informed and fear mongering. Not to be a media basher, but the reality is that bad new sells.
Here’s a sampling of the top news stories in Madison last night…
Murder on Madison’s South Side, Abduction Investigation, GM to Speed Up Closure of Janesville Plant, On the Menu: Higher Prices?, Madison Bus Driver Could Face Felony Charges.
Not that I’m advocating denial here, but do we need this negative programming right before our night of rest? It’s no surprise that there’s a major connection between lack of sleep and stress levels. With that in mind, I share with you the following…
Top 5 Ways to Sleep Well at Night
1. Do not watch the news.
2. Do not watch the news.
3. Do not watch the news.
4. Do not watch the news.
5. Do not watch the news.
Jason and I rarely ever watch the news. I get my news from USA Today’s breaking news email alerts. Everything else, locally, that is newsworthy certainly finds it’s way to my ears without my help- grocery store check-out lines, the talk from people after church, or headlines on the newspapers I step over on my daily walk.
Do yourself a favor and limit your intake of fear. It goes a long way on your journey to fight Adultitis.
This is classic adultitus. During some of the recent heavy rains we had, we watched the news more than usual. Whenever we’d turn the tv to the news channel, the kids would say “arghh, boring”. It’s a great example of kids vs. typical adults. Adults go for boring and stiff. Kids go for fluid and exciting.
So, I really like what you’ve said here – turn off the news! Do something fun instead, right?
Speaking as a meteorologist on television, I’d have to say I agree: local television news has changed so much in the last 10-20 years to reflect the FLASH and BANG approach. Nowadays, it’s all about what amounts to the worst part of the days events.
Good night and good luck.
AO
So very true with the new’s.