New Year, New You: How To Improve Your Binge-Watching Habits!

It’s holiday time, which means it’s time to stay inside, get cozy, and catch up on a multitude of shows!

The colder days signify less time to spend outside and ample time for binge-watching, which means this could technically be considered binge-watch season! Right now, many of us (myself included) are probably getting caught up on some good content that has released this year on TV and streaming services, and I’ll admit I’m immersed in it completely! There’s nothing wrong with that, per se, but you know New Year’s Resolution Time (and New Decade Resolution Time) is approaching soon (ugh), so there’s no better time to deal with those binge-watching habits than now!

Here are some tips on how to improve binge-watching habits!

(Try) to Limit the Watching

You are probably laughing at me right now, and of course I understand that, when a show gets good, sometimes you may need to watch it through because everything depends on it and your focus won’t be on anything but the suspense.

HOWEVER, a new you means toning it down just a bit! Just make sure you are not consuming too much terrific content per night or day. We don’t want binge-watching to interfere with accomplishing your other goals in life! After all, if you go through an entire season in one day, there’s nothing left for tomorrow, and frankly a year with the way some Netflix shows are usually released. If it’s a string of movies you usually binge-watch, may the power be with you to call it a day!

Get Your Sleep

Going off limiting the watching, make sure you are getting the proper sleep to function at work or school! You don’t want to be crashing at 3 or 4am the day before you have a long work shift or a big test. Though sometimes a show is so good that it MUST be watched, just make sure to receive the amount of sleep that you personally need to start a day refreshed. This may be hard to do at first, especially when you are so immersed in a show, but try sleeping at a time when you know you’ll get a minimum of 6 to 8 hours sleep.

Eat Healthy

Getting cozy under a blanket on your bed or couch for a binge-watch is something that’s ultra-relaxing. You may also add some popcorn or chips and a soda as a complementary snack.

Well, if one of your new year goals is to eat healthier, then it all starts during the (minimized) binge-watch session. Though they may not sound like the best options to chow down on when you are super into a show, eating healthy alternatives such as fruits or bars and drinking juice or milk is better. And hey, if reducing binge-watching and eating healthier are a couple of your New Year's resolutions, then you deserve a round of applause if you can do both at the same time!

Walk During the Session

If you have a TV or even a laptop, consider walking around (wherever it is you are watching) from time to time during binge-watch sessions. Though it may seem contradictory to the typical binge-watch, you are being more active rather than passive if you walk even for a little bit. Think about it, you are racking up those steps (if you monitor that), plus you are giving your body more energy to feel less sleepy (oops).

Binge-watching can be healthy in some aspects, who knew? Now watch away (within reason)!