Watching a couple hours of TV a day can have major effects on your brain. So what would happen if you quit cold turkey?

Fast Company | Stephanie Vozza

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The average adult watches 2.8 hours per day of television, according to the American Time Use survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Another study puts this number higher, at four hours and 15 minutes each day.

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A lot of research has been done around TV viewing and children, and Adam Lipson, a neurosurgeon with IGEA Brain & Spine, says one of the best studies is from Tohoku University in Japan. “They noted thickening of the frontopolar cortex, which is related to verbal reasoning ability, and also correlated with a drop in IQ in proportion to the number of hours of television watching,” he says. “In addition, they noted thickening in the visual cortex in the occipital lobe, and in the hypothalamus, which may correlate with aggression.”

Studies involving adults have tied television watching to Type 2 diabetes, depression, and even crime, adds Lipson. “Many of the studies report adverse effects with television watching greater than one hour per day,” he says. “There have been EEG studies that demonstrate that television watching converts the brain from beta wave activity to alpha waves, which are associated with a daydreaming state, and a reduced use of critical thinking skills.”

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“TV increasingly traffics in violent programming to keep the viewer in a state of constant fear,” says Wheeler Winston Dixon, Ryan professor of film studies at the University of Nebraska. “TV also acts as a pacifier, a sort of virtual escape, but it is one that never satisfies, and only leaves the viewer wanting more of the same emptiness.”

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Yet, TV isn’t all bad, says Braverman. “There are tons of programs that challenge brain, such as shows about history,” he says. “Life is not about learning every second. TV is a tremendous potential source if properly handled. The problem is that it’s a difficult instrument to control. Some things have more destructive qualities, and TV is one of them. Just like sugar is a deceitful food, TV is a deceitful presentation of life.”

Braverman has a formula for how much is okay: “Everybody needs an hour of aerobic exercise every day,” he says. “If you work out for an hour, you can watch TV for an hour. Work out for two hours, and you can watch for two hours. Never watch more television than the amount of time you exercise.”

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