You’ve sat down, snack bowl is full, and your favourite TV show is paused ready for the off. But did you know that binge-watching your favourite show could be damaging your health?

Binge-watching, or rather the act of streaming your favourite show in one sitting, has become easier to do thanks to well-known streaming sites.
Spending hours catching up on Games of Thrones, Chernobyl or Love Island has become the norm and a favourite pastime for some.
This may sound magnificent but in actual fact it could be having a negative impact on your health.

With the excess of content available, time for fitness, socialising and sleeping has been replaced – worrying health professionals globally about the implications of binge-watching.

Although research on binge-watching is in its infancy, some studies have highlighted the issues caused by a sedentary lifestyle.

Most recently, a report from Queen’s University and Ulster University highlighted that sitting down is worse for your health than smoking – stating that it could be linked to obesity, an increased risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer.
And let’s not forget the increased risk of blood clots which are caused by extended periods of sitting down.

Sitting clots your health

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a blood clot that develops within a deep vein in the body, usually in the leg.
In most cases it can be treated. If it is not, it can lead to a pulmonary embolism (PE) which happens when the DVT breaks off and moves into the lungs depriving the body of the oxygen and blood supply that it needs and causing permanent tissue damage.
A scary situation and one our director is not unfamiliar with.

When you sit for long periods (more than an hour), the blood flow to your lower limbs is dramatically reduced. This can cause blood clots to form.

There are other risk factors to bear in mind though.

Changes in the clotting mechanism of the blood can also be caused by pregnancy, some drug treatments and genetic disposition.

In addition to this, clotting can be more likely after surgical procedures, trauma or inflammation.

Move more

You can reduce your chances of developing a blood clot by keeping your weight at a healthy level, staying active and exercising regularly.

You should drink plenty of water, wear loose fitting clothes and move around at regular intervals (preferably at least every hour) throughout the day.

A product called the RBR legflow™ is also in production and has been scientifically proven to help improve the blood flow from the lower limbs of individuals when seated.

This allows you to carry out simple foot exercises while binge-watching your favourite show drastically reducing your risk of DVT.