When I was single and had the bed all to myself (well, never mind the bed, the entire bedroom, closet, bathroom, etc.), I always enjoyed silence and semi-darkness (I love night-lights) to fall asleep to. That changed entirely when I got married. Mr. YnB must have the TV on to fall asleep (funny though, he hates night-lights, they bother him...go figure). So, as a compromise, I get to choose the channel.
Rule #1. No news. ( I can't fall asleep to anything depressing.)
Rule #2. No sports. ( Baseball can be an exception, if the volume is low enough. For some unknown reason, I find it soothing.)
Rule #3. Sit-coms are numero uno.
Rule #4. If I like a show, it won't matter how many times I've seen the episode. Deal with it.
Rule #5. He has to turn the TV off at some point in the middle of the night. (The timer function on the darn remote has too many steps.)
Several years ago the show of choice was The Golden Girls. It was perfect. It fit all my criteria. And, to put it over the top, two episodes ran back to back from 11PM - 12PM. It was fool-proof. If I didn't fall asleep during the first half-hour, the second certainly did it. Even Mr. YnB liked the show. Then about 4 or 5 years ago the dang channel stopped showing it entirely. Sex and the City became the substitute. Mr. YnB put up with that show and probably watched each episode at least twice, until finally he put the kabash on it and told me I had to find something else (actually, I was growing tired of Carrie and her obsession with Big, anyway). Then, came Everyone Loves Raymond, one of my all-time favorites, but after a couple of years that ended, too. Now the selections are pathetic. I absolutely hate Family Guy which seems to be on every other channel during that crucial time frame. That 70's Show is not my cup of tea either. Friends and Will & Grace are options, but I'm so over those two shows. Seinfeld is acceptable even though I can recite practically every episode while sleeping. But, I did make a discovery a couple of weeks ago! Up at our weekend getaway, The Golden Girls plays on the Hallmark Channel, practically all night long (at least it seems that way)! What a find! Unfortunately, at home we don't receive the Hallmark channel. Strange, since we have a much larger cable package (but different provider) at home, than at the lake.
So, that's what I deal with every night when I lay my head on the pillow to go to sleep. What about you?
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
23 comments:
Long ago when I was married, my youngest son showed signs of becoming the confirmed night owl he now is. At the age of four he would sit up in bed between my husband and me, the two of them watching television while I went to sleep.
I remember half waking up around 2:00 am to the sound of my husband snoring and the television blaring one of those terrible late night Aussie chat shows. Groping around for the remote, I switched it off only to hear an indignant little voice say "Hey! I was watching that"
In case any of your blog readers are Australian - it was Derryn Hinch he was watching. I don't know what the USA/UK equivalent of our Derryn might be but trust me it's not something you'd think a four year old would find entertaining
i can't sleep without the tv on. i'm usually watching something i recorded during the evening. when i fall asleep, the dvr plays it over and over again until make it stop.
ok.... all i have to say is AMEN on all accounts. i can watch a show repeatedly if i like it (aka friends, STC, or golden girls). same with movies.. and music is the worst. if i find a song i like i will listen to it for like 3 weeks straight. Golden girls always makes me feel young again, forreal. it reminds me of when i was little.. and its like, so mellow and nice. always puts me in a good mood. same with family matters or home improvement.
NM...that's happened to me as well. I'll wake up in the middle of the night, go take a pee, hit the off button on the TV before getting back into bed and the hubby goes "hey, I'm watching". But, that's too cute that it was your 4 year old that would say it to you!
N...I don't have that convenience, unfortunately.
BD...high five!!
Once I have seen a sitcom once...I can't ever watch it again.
get sleepy around 11:00 pm, turn out lights, go to bed (won't divulge too much here) then go to sleep.
Worst move I ever made was buying a TV/DVD combo for the bedroom.
MrsN can't go to sleep without having watched the TV, and I can't stand the stuff that she watches.
'Friends' I absolutely detest, and she has all 7352 seasons of it on DVD. I did used to like it when it first started, but after 2 seasons things get stale and samey and (IMHO) should be ditched.
Same goes for Scrubs, 2 and a half men, and anything else that I used to like before seeing it ad infinitum.
I now give her chance to watch the telly for an hour or so, while I stay downstairs and waffle on to you lot on the computer.
Personally, I don't believe in having a television in the bedroom. I was against lamps too for a number of years but came around after some nagging from Aggie (my late wife.)
Anyway, even if I had a t.v. in my bedroom I'd be hesitant to leave Golden Girls on while I dozed. I wouldn't want to be waking up in the middle of the night to find Bea Arthur staring back at me. It would scare me to death.
All the best
Don
Mrs. Indy needs to have a disturbing crime drama on. She's so conditioned that if someone plays the Law & Order "chunk-chunk" during the day she instantly falls asleep like a narcoleptic.
Bear...the 10th time is the funniest! :-)
Lynn...that's a nice ritual! wink, wink
NS...I've done that a few times....Let Mr. YnB fall asleep to whatever he chooses, while I entertain myself with you guys! The only downside to that is I end up having to deal with the snoring when I get into bed.
Don...no lamps in the bedroom? Didn't that create a few problems when "out" of bed?
Indy...that's too funny!! I miss you, my friend!
I hate the TV in the bedroom. Mrs D can't fall asleep unless it's on. And guess who has to turn the bloody thing off once she starts snoring? - Muggins, here !
Worse of all is when she has been out for the evening.
If I come home in the early hours of the morning, I slip into the house quietly, get undressed in the bathroom, slip into the bedroom without putting the light on, then spend about 10 minutes inching slowly into bed so as not to disturb her.
Not so when Mrs D comes home!!!
She bangs the front door, setting the dogs barking, she switches every light in the bedroom on, turns the TV on (loud) then pisses off to the kitchen where she spends 15 minutes taking her makeup off. Then she comes back, falls on the bed, bounces around like it's a trampoline, whilst getting undressed, all the time delivering a non-stop commentary on her evening. Then when she gets into bed she's fast asleep within minutes, leaving me to go round the house turning off all the lights she's switched on, close the dogs back in the kitchen, turn off the bedroom lights and the f*cken TV. Then lie wide awake, listening to her snoring and wondering what the penalty is for manslaughter !!!
Dunc....Us women are so unthoughtful! My hubby says the same about moi. But you love us anyway! ;-)
Everyone has to be in their place. The girls need to be asleep and the dogs need to be inside and laying down. Unless my husband is still awake then he's good about making sure all is well in our little world. No nightlights but yes to a ceiling fan and a floor fan. Even if the house is at a freezing 68 degrees. Oh and I can not sleep with a TV on.
68 degrees ???
That's a heatwave in the U.K.
Why not buy a few DVD's with shows that you like?
I read before bed. Right now I'm reading "Animal Spirits"
If you're looking for something to send you off to sleep other than watching TV - this is sure to do the trick
http://tinyurl.com/nhxden
Duncanr, my husband feels the same way as you, only I put on like 2 lights, and the living room TV (which can be heard in the bedroom), on "normal to low" and my hubby screams about how unthoughtful I am. I'm going to have to tell him about your wife!!!
as for tv, in the bedroom- no way!!!
it would drive my brain insane. I have to have tv-free time for about 30 minutes before sleeping. I usually read in the bedroom.
BD...I love a cold house at night as well.
Dunc...sleeping in England is absolute bliss! BTW, I did go to your blog and I did leave a comment!
Geo....we might have 9 TV's in our house but only one DVD player and it's not in our bedroom!
M2....I only wish I didn't have to go to sleep with the TV on. It was a major adjustment for me when we started living together. That's why there had to be some ground rules. He absolutely can not fall asleep to silence (except when we're in England for some reason).
See I stop watching after the 8th...never made it to ten.
Sitcoms I can no longer watch:
Mash, Friends, Seinfeld...
I might be able to get away with a rare Brady Bunch or Gilligans Island though.
LOL. That is so funny. My wife has to have the TV on in order to fall asleep. I haven't been able to go to bed when I want to for about two years now. I have to wait tell she falls asleep and then make a sligh move for the remote, being careful not to wake her.
Welcome Soup!! I see what you mean (if you are in the Eastern Time Zone) because of your timestamp (1:09 AM)!!
Bear...try and watch them two more times and you'll see!! ;-)
I have discovered educational DVD's by the Teaching Company to be conducive to sleeping. There are NO COMMERCIALS. Also good for dozing/sleeping is LinkTV and PBS...both of which provide exceptional programming and no annoying commercials (of course, there is the usual plea for contributions interspersed thoughout the programming, but no ShamWow or freecreditreport.com guys).
Welcome EH!! Yes, I would agree that anything educational at that time of night would put me to sleep! :-)
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