
The Binge-Watching Dilemma: Navigating Between Pleasure And Health
If you are like me, you have must watch go to shows. We look forward to each and every new episode, but sometime that love for a show and the hours you clock watching it can get out of control. It happens to the best of us.
It happened to me this weekend. I had a whole day to do nothing and just lay in bed and zone out. I have a bad habit of watching the trending movies and shows when I can't find anything.
So, I stumbled across this show on Netflix called Younger. Right away I like the title, and it has Hillary Duff in it so it could have gone either way. Turns out I loved it. When I fall in love with a show or series, I always have to see what my commitment is. How long will this show steal my time and suck me in. After watching 3 seasons of said show I had decided this was not healthy to lay here and rot away. So that got me thinking. How impactful is this on my health? As it turns out binging our fav shows is actually pretty bad for us.

Binge watching can actually lead to negative health effects like a decrease in physical activities, disrupts our sleeping patterns, leads to social isolation, and can actually lead to numerous mental health concerns. Mental health concerns as in it could it potentially increase depression, disruption of sleep patterns, and even anxiety especially if you are a chronic binger.
Watching anywhere between only two - six episodes of a TV series in one sitting is a behavior known as binge watching. It can have such a negative impact on your health. Before you settle in for your next binge, here are three health considerations you should know. Did you know binge watching your favorite series could actually produce a somewhat "high?" Well, now we do because that is it a fact.
When you're occupied in an activity you love, your brain produces dopamine — a chemical that promotes feelings of pleasure, excitement and happiness. When that release of dopamine hits us, it helps us feel good, and your brain craves more and more, and as long as you continue to binge that show, your brain produces dopamine.
So maybe the best thing to do is to not watch a whole series in one sitting. Space it out. For your health and your sanity.
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Gallery Credit: Michele Bird
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