Why hospitalized patients are drawn to cable news

Mel Magazine

"As much as TV news can make us feel like trash when we’re healthy, it may have the opposite effect on sick people," says Lauren Vinopal, adding: "Scientists have demonstrated how practices like therapy, meditation and affirmations can positively influence our physical health. They’re often, however, impractical for someone in the hospital who has a greater statistical chance of dying than surviving. But in such cases, just thinking about the future in general — by doing something like watching the news — may be enough to improve a individual’s health, a process psychologists refer to as prospection."