10 Ways Binge-Watching TV and Gaming Could Be Harmful

Many people enjoy watching tv or playing video games some of the time. Others, though, take these actions to extremes. Sometimes, you may even find yourself binge-watching tv or being unable to quit playing video games. 

This is when these activities start to become a problem. 

Read on to learn ten ways that binge-watching and gaming can be dangerous for your health. 

Binge-watching tv and playing video games don't involve any substantial physical activity.

If you don’t get enough exercise, you can become overweight and — eventually — obese. Obesity comes with a lot of health problems, some of which can greatly decrease your quality of life.  

Too much gaming can lead to internet gaming disorder (IGD). This is a unique psychological problem with a number of symptoms including:

• An inability to control gaming habits
• Continuing to game even when it creates social problems
• Withdrawal from friends and other activities in order to game

Repetitive use injuries occur when you keep using particular muscles and tendons to the point where they become irritated and inflamed. The symptoms can become permanent if the repetition doesn’t stop. 

Injuries like this are very frequent in the fingers, hands, and arms of people that spend a lot of time playing video games.

Gamer's thumb and carpal tunnel syndrome are two common examples of video game-related injuries. 

Spending too much time in relatively solitary activities like watching tv and playing video games can take time away from the meaningful relationships in your life. 

Your relationships can suffer if you constantly prioritize gaming activities over loved ones.

When you choose to binge-watch tv and play video games, you’re taking time away from other important activities — like homework, studying, and other work.   

In school, this can lower your grades and hurt your future prospects.

Spending time outside is great for your mental health. You miss out on a lot of fun activities, settings, and sunlight by choosing to binge on indoor activities.

Binge-watching your favorite show might excite your brain so much that it’s hard for you to calm down and go to sleep. 

If so, you’ll be left feeling tired and irritable at work or school the next day. 

Research has shown that you’re more likely to binge-watch TV if you're feeling lonely or depressed. Unfortunately, these activities won’t help your emotional state in the long run. 

You normally don’t have the best posture while gaming or watching TV. These activities, however, can curve your spine.

This will cause problems like back pain. 

You’re much more likely to sit in a slumped-over position when watching tv and playing video games than when you’re actively engaged in other activities. 

Research indicates that this posture causes breathing problems in young men, and presumably other age groups and genders too. 

All of that being said, playing video games and watching TV isn’t always bad for you. They’re more likely to create health problems when you engage with them in excess.

There are even some possible positive benefits from the activities. For example, video games potentially improve your spatial reasoning skills, and a little bit of TV can be a good way to relax.