Which TV genres affect our sleep the most?

When we asked which genres people reach for before lights-out, three clear favourites emerged: from Line of Duty to Broadchurch, crime drama emerged as the nation’s top bedtime pick, especially among women (35%). Comedy follows as the nation’s second favourite, with shows such as Derry Girls or Abbott Elementary seeing huge popularity in recent years and is also the top choice for a quarter of men. Meanwhile thriller nail-biters like The Night Manager rank as our third favourite overall.

That means a lot of suspense and detective work swirling around Britain’s small screens. But sadly, some of our favourite shows come with a hidden sleep cost. Regular viewers of true crime documentaries are the hardest-hit: approximately a third rate their shut-eye as being “poor” and 51% sleeping fewer than six hours a night.

Crime drama fans aren't far behind, with 30% saying they usually sleep poorly and nearly half (47%) getting under six hours of slumber each night. Perhaps unsurprisingly when taking into account jump scares and nightmarish plots, regular nighttime viewers of horror tell a similar tale: just shy of a third say the quality of their sleep is poor, and 57% are losing sleep nightly.

Our findings highlight that while adrenaline and cliff-hangers may make great TV, they also keep the body clock on high alert when it should be winding down.

The good news is that certain genres appear to have a more positive impact on sleep, with sports documentaries such as Formula 1: Drive to Survive, The Last Dance, and Welcome to Wrexham in particular being the unsung heroes of nighttime viewing. The vast majority (69%) of those who watch sports documentaries in the evening describe their sleep as either very good or fairly good.

The reality divide
Many couples battle over who has the rights over the remote control and our research suggests that reality TV may be a source of these squabbles. The study found that while more women (19%) opt to watch reality TV before bed compared to men (15%), men are twice as likely to report that these shows disrupt their sleep. 32% of men say emotional programmes like Love Island impact their rest, compared to just 14% of women.

How much TV Britain really watches before bed
We’ve established that reaching for the remote and watching the wrong kind of show could be keeping us awake at night, but how much TV do we actually watch? With 84% of UK adults saying they settle down with TV or streaming after 5p.m., it’s clear this is a fixture of how most of us relax at night.

We’re not just talking a single quick episode either, as almost half of us (46%) admit to a three-to-four-hour stint most nights, while a dedicated one in eight clocks up five hours of viewing or more. But where are the binge-watch-capitals of the UK?

Newcastle and Southampton lead, as 17% of locals stream five-plus hours nightly and on the whole, average more than three hours of watching per night. Meanwhile Londoners defy the busy-city stereotype, as one in five rates their sleep as being “very good”, the highest score nationwide.

Nottingham struggles most with bedtime across the UK, with 11% managing only three hours (or less) a night on average. Interestingly, crime drama and thrillers are the top genres viewed by Nottingham residents, hinting that they should maybe give sports documentaries a try instead.