Health experts warn about the dangers of binge watching television

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – After a long day of work, many people go home, sit down on the couch, turn on the TV and watch hours of their favorite shows before going to bed. This is called binge watching and studies show it’s becoming a normal behavior, but it could lead to health risks.

Comedies, dramas, TV shows, and movies. So many options, so little time.

“How many hours a day would you say you watch TV?” 41NBC’s Amanda Castro asked. “Between sleeping, I’d say five or six,” El Binon, a Macon resident said.

Whether it is for relaxation, entertainment, or to stay informed, studies show watching television for hours at a time is becoming the new normal. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 96% of Americans watched an average of three hours of TV a day last year.

“Does that shock you?” Castro asked. “No,” Erin Comer, an exercise physiologist at Wellness Center, Navicent Health said.

Comer realizes motivating yourself to by physically active can be tough.

“Nobody wants to get up, it’s strenuous and it’s not as comfortable as sitting on the couch,” she said.

The internet is making it easier to spend hours in front of a screen. Netflix says 65 million people subscribe to its service and watch more than 100 million  hours of TV shows and movies a day. The company defines binge watching as watching multiple episodes of the same show in one sitting. A recent study found nearly three-quarters of TV streamers feel good about this behavior.

Comer says all of that time on a couch could lead to health problems.

“It leads to heart disease, gaining weight and getting obese and it’s heavy on you so you’re more tired often,” Comer said.

She adds the hours you spend a day sitting, in front of a computer at work, while driving, or sleeping, can also add up.

“You’re not moving, you’re not using the muscles in your body that are made for moving, your heart is not pumping,” Comer said.

You could also hurt your eyes when you look at screens for long periods of time.

“We tend not to blink as much so you get some dry eye issues with a lot of people,” Dr. Russell Chambless, an optometrist Chambless Eye Care said. “It’s hard to remember to blink when you’re concentrating on a near task.”

Dr. Chambless says he sees patients every day who complain of eye strains and headaches.

“Sitting there four to six hours at a time is just not healthy,” he said.

Almost everyone watches television. Whether you catch your favorite shows on a TV, a computer, or a tablet, health experts say it is all about limiting your screen time and taking breaks.

“Every 20 minutes, that’s three times an hour, take a break for 20 seconds looking off in the distance 20 feet or more,” Chambless said. “That relaxes the eyes.”

You also want to be physically active.

“Whatever gets you up and your heart rate moving and you breathing a little bit harder,” Comer said. “The minimum you should have to see health benefits is 150 minutes a week, which is equivalent to about 30 minutes for five days a week.”

Health experts aren’t saying you should drop the remote completely. Instead, find that balance between laying on a couch and working up a sweat at the gym.

Experts add exercising instead of watching TV will also relieve stress as well as decrease your risk of depression and cardiovascular disease.