When you’re a parent, there often isn’t much time to enjoy your favourite television shows, so when you do get an opportunity you want to fit in as a much as you can.

But before you embark on your next child-free television binge, there’s something you should know:

Recent studies have shown that binge watching television has been linked to higher rates of both depression and anxiety.

One study, from the University of Toledo showed that binge watching an entire season, or even multiple season, of your favourite show could lead to a number of negative mental health issues. In fact, considering that researchers class anything more than 2 hours of television in a day (hardly an excessive amount by most public standards) as a binge, it’s something we should all be thinking about.

The Rise Of Binge Watching

Binge watching is a relatively new phenomenon in the modern world, which has become more pronounced in recent years with the rise of internet streaming TV companies like Netflix, Stan and more. These on-demand streaming services give consumers uninterrupted access to an enormous library of television shows and movies, with nothing stopping them from watching as much as they like.

Interestingly, a 2013 survey conducted by Netflix themselves revealed that a whopping 73% of respondents considered binge watching to be a socially acceptable, and even normal behaviour, with 61% admitting they binge watched regularly.

The Issues Of Binge Watching

The study from the University of Toledo showed that people who binge watched television rated themselves as more depressed and anxious compared to their peers who watched much lower levels of television. It’s hardly the first study to show similar findings. Another one in January of 2015 indicated that binge watching television was also linked to increased feelings of loneliness and much lower levels of self-control.

What we cannot say for sure is what came first. The co-author of the University of Toledo study, Dr. Monike Karmarkar noted with interest that “we do not know which came first” saying that it might have been that “depression, anxiety and stress let them to binge watch” or that “binge watching led to depression, anxiety, and stress”.

So is it just that people who are lonely, depressed and anxious are more likely to binge watch? Or is it that the act of binge watching can somehow, perhaps through social isolation and solitude, create a person who is depressed, stressed and anxious?

At the moment, there’s no way to know for sure. This recent study, as well as those that have come before it, remain limited in their scope. Most did not take into account any other aspects of the lives of the participants, such as diet or exercise, nor did they take into account other life factors that might have impacted the results.

Too Much Of Anything

For now, we think its safe to follow that old adage:

“Too much of anything is good for nothing.”

Just as drinking too much, eating too much, working too much and stressing too much is bad for our health, so too is watching too much TV. If you find yourself depressed, stressed, anxious or generally glum after a long day (or night) on binge watching, then listen to your body. Take some time to do something different, enjoy something different, and experience something different.