I was mentally preparing for the zombie apocalypse all night last night. I went to bed at my usual bed time- my alarm set for 5:30AM. There was nothing out of the ordinary, except that season premiere of AMC's The Walking Dead was on TV last night.

What is it about zombies that keeps me from sleeping? I have much more real problems to worry about like writing blog posts, raising three kids and the government shut down, so why do zombies keep me up at night?? Does watching my favorite TV characters slaughtering zombies trigger a primal survival instinct that pushes my brain into overdrive all night? 

It seems the answers to these questions are a lot less exciting than AMC's prime time lineup:

1. It's the light emitted by the TV, smart phone or tablet, and not the brain-eating zombies, that keeps you up at night. The light supresses a hormone, called melatonin, that helps you fall asleep.
2. TV before bedtime keeps you awake later. Not only are you more likely to stay up past your bedtime to watch the end of Cujo, but even if you make it into bed on time, it will take you longer to fall asleep. This leads us to answer #3...
3. Sleep deprivation is more likely to cause nightmares than scary TV or movies. 80-90% of people will experience nightmares at some point in their life, including most adults. The more sleep deprived you are, the more likely you are to have nightmares.
4. Stress causes nightmares, not the writers of The Walking Dead. 

I'm not about to give up watching the Walking Dead or the Halloween movie marathons that are starting this week. Instead, I'm going to make a few Halloween Season modifications to my sleep routine:

1. Turn off the TV 30 minutes before I plan to go to sleep.
2. Read something less gruesome before bed (Tuesdays with Morrie?). 
3. Keep to my normal sleep routine. Get my 7 1/2 to 8 hours a night.
4. When all else fails, read this wiki: How to Go to Bed After Watching a Horror Movie in 12 Steps.

Sweet Dreams!