Bitter Enemies? Netflix vs. Sleep

We hear a lot about all the different things competing for our time when we “should” be sleeping. Heck, we spend a fair amount of time talking about it here at Sleep Satisfaction.

One of the main culprits for most of us is screen time. Everything from social media to surfing the web to watching videos, programs, movies – or whatever – on our various screens.

Since screen time seems to be one of sleep’s greatest competitors, perhaps it shouldn’t be much of a surprise, then, to hear that Netflix’s CEO, Reed Hastings, believes that sleep is his company’s greatest competitor.

Not Amazon Video. Not Hulu Plus. Not YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or Snapchat.

Nope. It’s sleep.

The official Netflix Twitter account even tweeted this a couple of minutes after he made the comment at their first quarter earnings call in April.

Wow. A $42-billion company vs.sleep?

I haven’t heard anything about Mr. Hastings and Netflix declaring actual war on sleep yet. I wonder what that would look like…

Free Starbuck’s Gift Card with each month’s Netflix Membership!*
*must be redeemed after 9:00 pm

We’ll send you a 200-watt light bulb every 6 months with your membership!

Get our new Netflix-at-Night app!
We’ll play a loud claxon horn every 10 minutes and zap you with a mild electrical shock
every 60 seconds so you won’t miss out on a moment of your favorite show!

I doubt we’ll be seeing anything like that. Let’s hope not.

I do love my screen time – Netflix included – and I don’t want to give it up. I also know that I need my sleep. I’m pretty sure that, with a little discipline, good judgement, and allowing myself the pleasurable downtime I love, they can coexist quite nicely in my allotted 24 hours each day.

Bitter enemies? I don’t think so. Perhaps not the best of friends, but friendly suitors for my attention. Some nights, sleep will attract me first. Other nights, Netflix will keep me up late.

And I think that’s just fine.