Why Your TV Binge-Watching Is Bad For Your Health
Is binging on anything ever really a good idea?

Did you know that excessive Netflix-and-chillin’ could kill you? A new study shows that (just in case it wasn’t obvious) sitting in front of a TV for hours at a time can be hazardous to your health.

“Our prospective cohort study suggests that prolonged television watching is a substantial risk factor for mortality from pulmonary embolism,” the authors of a study published July 26, 2016, in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.

What in the World Is Pulmonary Embolism and Why Is It Ruining Date Night?
A pulmonary embolism is sudden blockage in a lung artery, which can occur when a blood clot travels to the lung from a vein in the leg, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

In other words: A clot block.

As the study shows, however, a PE is no joke. It can kill. The mortality rate from PE for people watching less than two and a half hours of television per day is 2.8 (per 100,000).

The rate jumps to 4.8 for those watching two and a half hours to almost 5 hours. The rate then increases to 8.2 for those watching over five hours.

Signs and symptoms of PE can include unexplained shortness of breath or other problems breathing, chest pain, coughing, coughing up blood or an irregular heartbeat, according to NIH.

Additionally there could be signs of deep vein thrombosis (a blood clot that originates in a vein deep in the body) in the form of “swelling of the leg or along a vein in the leg, pain or tenderness in the leg, a feeling of increased warmth in the area of the leg that’s swollen or tender, and red or discolored skin on the affected leg,” the agency notes.

The Japanese Collaborative Cohort Study

“Watching Television and Risk of Mortality From Pulmonary Embolism Among Japanese Men and Women,” was derived from the responses of 86,024 participants (36,006 men and 50,018 women) in the study — which started in the late 80s in 45 regions of Japan and involved 110,585 participants aged 40 to 79.

Sorry to bear bad news, binge-watchers, but you certainly shouldn’t be sitting for stretches longer than two and a half hours; in fact, some experts suggest you get up at least once per hour. Others suggest standing and stretching your legs every 15 or 20 minutes.

There may be a date-night compromise: Alternate your activities between Netflix-and-chill sessions and Pokémon GO sprints — or some other activity that gets your blood pumping.

Your in Health,

Dr. Jack Belitz, DC

PS exercise in front of the TV is a great thing to do. Here are some ideas:

1) Get in a crouch position like the Olympic runners about to start a race with your right foot forward and you left foot behind you. (if you want to get advanced, make the back foot straight back and off the ground. Have your left hand touching your right toe and your left arm back behind you. Then alternate the positions bringing you left foot forward and your right back and your right hand touching your left foot and your left arm back. You can use a timer or commercial breaks to time this exercise.

2) Lunge: stand feet shoulder with apart, hands on hips, keep your back straight, put your right foot forward and bend both knees, then stand back up with your right foot back even with your left. then put your left foot forward and bend. Make sure you keep your back straight and feel the muscles in your legs and bottom doing the work.

3)Push ups you can do standard or you can try raising one leg and then the other

4) Glute bridges: Lay on your back, feet flat on floor raise your bottom off the floor keeping your shoulders on the floor so there is no strain on your neck repeat

5) Squat jumps. stand feet shoulder with apart. bend at your knees down. then jump up extending your arms out and up.

6) March. Stand shoulder width apart you can stand in front of a chair and hold on or in the middle of the room. then march with your knees going as high as you can. Time yourself and do your best to add time each week.