When many of us arrive home at the end of a long day, it’s hard to resist the temptation to collapse on the couch in front of the TV and zone out for a while. Many of us probably wish we spent more of our time reading, but oftentimes we are too exhausted to do anything other than stare at a screen.

The good news, however, is that watching the television doesn’t necessarily have to involve subjecting your brain to relatively mindless, albeit entertaining, prime-time programs. Watching television can be as educational as you want it to be-and if you happen to have satellite TV, the opportunities for learning are nearly endless.

If you are interested in science and nature, for example, you may want to flip to the Science Channel or the Discovery Channel. National Geographic has a number of shows relating to animals, nature, and science as well, in addition to its wide selection of programs about the environment, travel, culture, history, and much more.

Planet Green is a new channel devoted to educating viewers about going green and helping the environment. These channels are particularly stunning to watch in high definition! Science and nature are truly brought to life with the incredibly sharp and vivid images of HD television.

Those interested in history can tune in to the History Channel or the Biography Channel for movies and documentaries that recount the stories of great historical events and influential figures of the past. This is a great way to fill in all of those knowledge gaps from when you were zoning out in high school history class. If you’re looking to brush up on a foreign language, be it Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, or one of several other options, there are plenty of opportunities to do so with international programming.

Movies, sports, news, and music are available from countries on four continents around the world.

One other simple way to make your television-watching experience a bit more productive is simply to watch the news. There are of course various news channels and programs to choose from, and you may wish to switch between several of them in order to stay informed; this will give you a wider range of coverage and viewpoints. With satellite TV, your programming package most likely includes the option to select up to 60 satellite radio stations as well, many of which feature news programs. Keeping up with current events is always interesting and will prepare you for political, economic, and cultural discussions with friends and colleagues.

If you want to make your down time a bit more productive, you really have many options with the right TV programming package. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with occasionally indulging in your favorite TV drama or the sports highlights. If, however, you’re looking to make television watching a lot less mind-numbing and far more educational, you can! Whether it’s science, history, or current events you’re after, you will easily find what you’re looking for with the hundreds of channels and wide range of options available to you.