I use a similar approach, but instead of TV, I use the build-in text to speech tool of Mac OS X (you can set up a keyboard shortcut[1] and then select any text and computer will read to you). I choose usually a longish-article, or sometimes a HN comments thread, and then a few minutes in I've dozed off.

It's a little tricky to choose the right length (i.e. not being awake enough to notice when it ends, but also not too long so it reads to me for hours).

I'm not sure if this is healthy... It works for me as a source of entertainment, but I can fall asleep without this too. I've heard that bringing a computer into the bedroom is definitely something not recommended for anyone seeking work-life balance.

[1] https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mApa60zJA8rgEm6T6GF0yIem...