Brain Function

EEGs done while people are watching T.V. tell us that the higher functioning of the brain shuts down when you watch T.V.

Watching television has been described as the cognitive equivalent of chewing gum; it requires no thought. Indeed, the time to even process fast-paced visual images is so limited as to make true thought, or reflection, impossible.

Instead of desirable beta waves, the brain emits alpha waves, which indicate a state of hypnosis. Reading, for example, causes the brain to emit beta waves.

The lower, or limbic, brain, also known as the reptilian brain, is engaged by the T.V. This is the part of the brain wherein emotion and action reside. Our ancestors used their lower brains to scan for, and respond to, danger in their environment. When you watch T.V., your lower brain doesn’t distinguish between fact and fiction and your neo-cortex, or higher brain, which could tell the difference, is not functioning.

Therefore, when the engaged lower brain sees the fast-paced flickering of the television set itself, your "fight or flight" response kicks in. Adrenaline is released into your system, your heart rate accelerates and your blood pressure rises. Since you remain physically passive as this happens, subsequent motor excess results. Motor excess as a direct result of watching television causes difficulty sleeping, diminished ability to concentrate, problems sitting still, and increased anxiety and stress.

More brain development:

Mylenation of neurons continues until age 9 or 10. At that time an enzyme is released in the brain that literally dissolves poorly myleinated neurons; i.e., the ones that haven’t been used repeatedly. (Remember, pathways are created by repeated sensory experiences with the environment).

 

What do pediatricians say?

The AMA (American Medical Association) recommends ZERO hours a day of "screen time" (t.v., computers, video games) for children who are 0-2 years of age. Pediatricians would probably NOT recommend that babies watch "Baby Einstein", no matter how scientific it sounds.

Scary Statistics:

American children today will have spent more time watching T.V. than they have in school by the time they’re eighteen. The only thing they do more is sleep.

In North Carolina, fourth graders watch an average of four hours of television a day. 25% of them watch six or more hours a day!

Students in the 6th and 12th grades in California who were heavy viewers scored lower on reading, written expression, and math achievement tests than did those who watch little or no T.V.

More Scary Statistics

There is a direct, negative correlation between number of hours TV watched as a three-year-old and reading ability at age seven.

The number of hours children watch at both ages one and three is significantly associated with attentional problems at age seven, according to a study published April 2004 in Pediatrics.

Television viewing is DIRECTLY linked to childhood obesity.

Prolonged viewing of television leads to anxiety and depression in adults as well as children.

 

 

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