New research shows that binge-watching television can adversely affect your health. Binge-viewing involves excessive watching of back-to-back TV shows in single sitting. It has become prevalent across world with advent of online streaming and downloading services. Researchers from University of Michigan in USA and Leuven School for Mass Communication Research in Belgium surveyed 423 people aged 18-25 on their TV-viewing habits. Their research found that binge-viewing greatly interrupted sleep patterns. Co-author Professor Jan Van den Bulck said: "Our study signals that binge-viewing is prevalent in young adults and that it may be harmful to their sleep."
researchers asked participants about their sleep quality, levels of fatigue and prevalence of insomnia. They also enquired about their frequency of binge-watching programs on televisions, laptops and desktop computers. Over 80 per cent of participants reported binge-watching, with 20 per cent doing so several times week. Binge-watchers are 98 per cent more likely to experience poor sleep quality. researcher said: "Bingeable TV shows have plots that keep viewer tied to screen. We think they become intensely involved with content and may keep thinking about it when they want to go to sleep." She said this caused people problems when trying to sleep.
