The Scotsman has a pretty comprehensive article on the many ills of television: autism, obesity, myopia, ADD and more--all the fault of television. What makes this scare article a little different from the others is that it zooms in on the production of melatonin, a hormone responsible for regulating sleep and also linked to the onset of puberty. Melatonin production can be suppressed by too much exposure to bright lights, and television may just be a bright enough light to affect it. Exposure to anything that affects melatonin production may not only cause erratic sleep, but might affect the immune system, the body's ability to ward off cancer-causing cell mutations, and could affect a child's natural timeframe for puberty. There are also significant links to excessive television watching and a person's metabolism, as well as links to Alzheimer's Disease.
And I wish that were the gist of it, but there's oh, so much more. Dole out the television judiciously, won't you?
