How to Keep Things in Moderation

TV and Internet

Many adults spend 80 to 90 hours a week in front of screens. Research suggests they interact with one another 40 percent less when there’s a TV on in the room, says Glenn G. Sparks, a communications professor at Purdue University, in West Lafayette, Indiana. “We’re learning that intimate social interactions benefit our health, and too much screen time sabotages that,” he notes.

 The middle ground: You may work in front of a computer all day, but at home try not to tune in to more than three hours of TV and computer time daily. “Turn off all screens during meals,” Sparks says, and take the TV out of the bedroom, since it can “hinder your ability to fall asleep.”