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Editorial
Even binge-watching TV can be dangerous
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
If you're tire of convention coverage, you might be tempted to binge watch those old episodes of "Orange is the New Black" or "House of Cards."
You might want to go for a walk or play a round of golf instead, according to some studies.
First there was a University of Texas at Austin study that found a connection between binge-watching and depression, lack of self-regulation or loneliness.
The study, conducted through an online survey of 237 self-identified binge viewers, didn't conclude the activity caused those undesirable results, only that they were associated.
A more recent study was more clear: binge watching increases your risk of death froma blood clot in the lung.
Researchers in Japan, a country not known for heart disease, studied more than 86,000 people, age 40 to 70, who were asked how many hours they spent watching television and then were followed for 19 years.
During that time, 59 of them died of a pulmonary embolism.
Compared to those who watched less than 2.5 hours of television a day, the risk of dying from pulmonary embolism increased 70 percent for those who watched 2.5 to 4.9 hours a day. For each additional two hours of television viewing, it was 40 percent greater, and 2.5 times higher for those who watched five or more hours a day.
Since streaming wasn't even invented when the study began, it's a safe bet health problems will increase as the practice becomes more common -- provided binge watchers don't become Pokemon Go converts in the mean time.
Tablets, laptops and smartphones will have to be factored into future studies as well.
Whatever your sedentary activity, it's a good idea to get up an move around every so often.
After an hour or so, stand up, stretch, walk around and relax your leg muscles for five minutes. Drinking water may help as well. It's also a good idea to give your eyes a break at the same time.
It will probably be only a matter of time before a study explores the dangers of the new virtual reality headsets that gamers are adopting, and those studies will doubtless find problems.
Let's hope "real reality" regains its rightful place in nurturing a healthy lifestyle.