Watching series is great fun. You immerse yourself in another world and go completely along with it. It often broadens your imagination and is relaxing. Too much binge watching leads to an addiction, no matter how crazy that sounds. These are consequences of excessive binge watching. Make sure it’s not that bad for you!
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Cognitive decline
Cognitive decline includes everything that your brain has to deal with. Components such as your memory, intelligence, language and concentration deteriorate. One part of the brain receives stimulation, causing the rest to deteriorate. To ensure that the other parts of your brain do not deteriorate, it is smart to play a game between watching series. Memory games such as memory, sudoku, word searches and puzzles are good ideas. Reading and exercise also help improve your memory, intelligence, language and concentration.
In addition to binge-watching series affecting your brain, it also has consequences for the series. You remember the storyline of the series worse and only remember the highlights. That’s why it’s smart to watch one episode every day, for example. This way you will remember the series better and enjoy it longer.
Sitting too much
It has been known for some time that sitting for long periods of time is not good for you. Sitting for too long increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Your back is also more likely to hurt because you sit in the same position all day long. Furthermore, sitting for too long is also bad for your legs. Your legs swell and there is a possibility that you may develop varicose veins. Sitting too much can also make your bones weaker.
In many offices they try to ensure that people sit less. Standing meetings, short walking breaks and some companies even invest in adjustable desks. The low position is for sitting behind it, the high position gives you the option to stand. This way you don’t have to sit every working day, but it can be varied.
Bad diet due to binge watching?
We often associate binge watching with bad food. Tasty snacks such as pizza, chips or fried snacks. Your hands are busy while you watch. For many people this gives more concentration. It is also popular to drink energy drinks or coffee while watching. After all, you are supposed to stay awake and remember everything that happens. Binge watching a lot will keep you eating and drinking bad things. This in turn may cause diabetes or other health problems.
Eating late is a bad idea anyway. Your body moves less at night. If you snack during the day, you will burn it off sooner than at night. Because you move a lot during the day, your body has more opportunity to process the energy from food. That is not possible at night.
Sleep
Your sleep rhythm deteriorates due to a lot of binge watching. Your sleep schedule changes from the normal 8 to 9 hours of sleep to probably only 3 to 4 hours. This is because the episodes often end on a cliffhanger. This makes you click on ‘next episode’, even though it is already time to go to sleep.
Little sleep doesn’t just make you tired the next day. Your body recovers while sleeping. By sleeping late and little, your body does not have time for this. You will then enter a loop. You sleep late through the series. The next night, if you want to sleep on time, you won’t be able to. Your brain is still on, because it is used to focusing on a series. Because you can’t sleep, you decide to do something else, such as watching a series. It is important that you break this cycle and fix your sleep rhythm.
Social life
Watching excessive series ensures that you rarely go outside. Often only for necessary things. Nowadays they even deliver groceries to your home. As with other addictions, you often draw in and isolate yourself. This lifestyle has a negative impact on your mental health. People who already suffer from loneliness and depression only get deeper into their problems. People with little self-control are also more susceptible to binge watching. So keep in touch with friends and family and make sure you leave the house regularly.
