Then bring on the anxiety, restlessness and emptiness, am I right?
These conclusions come from Patient.info, which conducted a 2,000-person survey about what binge-watching television, Game of Thrones and otherwise, does to your health. The results were, in a word, bad.
Speaking to The Sun, Patient.info clinical director Dr. Sarah Jarvis summarized the findings of the survey:
We have long been aware of the physical effects that come along with being a couch potato, but we should also be conscious that if we don’t moderate our TV-watching habits it can also be highly detrimental to our, and particularly our children’s, mental wellbeing.
Those effects start with sleep. Per the survey, 27% of respondents admitted to delaying sleep for between one and a half to two hours in order to continue watching a show. A further 22% admitted they put off sleep for two-and-a-half to three hours. That’s some serious sleep loss. And once you finally go to bed after a good binge-watch, it can be harder be fall asleep. “It affects latency – the time it takes to get to sleep – as the bright light disrupts the body’s circadian rhythms by suppressing the evening rise of melatonin,” said Lisa Artis, from the Sleep Council.
And while light might be the main issue. Often the content may have an impact on sleep too. Violence, gore or suspense may leave you feeling anxious and could contribute to tossing and turning.
Thank goodness Game of Thrones doesn’t have any of that.
Despite the problems it can cause, the cycle of binge-watching can be hard to break on account of how much fun it is. “[W]hen something makes us feel good, we want to do it again,” said clinical psychologist Abigael San. “If we’re not feeling the disadvantage, then we’ll just keep on chasing the thing that makes us feel good.” Per San, this can lead to becoming “locked in a vicious cycle” of instant gratification as we give in to “this flood of availability.”
The survey went even deeper; 34% of respondents claimed to experience “feelings of emptiness” after finishing a show, while another 20% noted “low mood and depression.” Is everyone watching the Red Wedding on a loop or something?
There are ways to stave off this these effects, though. Dr. Jarvis recommends exercise, eating healthy, and spreading the binge out over a longer period of time rather than sucking them up all at once. So the next time you sit down to watch seasons 1-7 in one big gulp, at least consider taking a little walk in between episodes.
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