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According to a new study that was published in the Circulation magazine, if you sit on a chair or couch for a long interval of time, like in the case of binge watching, you may develop serious health complications such as pulmonary embolisms and strokes.
Long periods of inactivity coupled with reduced blood flow lead to the apparition of clots in the pelvis or the legs. Sometimes, these clots dislodge themselves and start traveling through the arteries. When they reach the lungs, they get stuck causing the patient to develop a pulmonary embolism, a disorder that is often fatal.
Unfortunately, not many hospitals are equipped with the necessary devices that are able to detect a blood clot in time to save the patient’s life.
The above-cited study was conducted by a team of Japanese researchers on a sample of 86,000 individuals in Japan. The volunteers had ages between 40 and 70. At the beginning of the survey they were asked the approximate amount of time, they spend in front of the television on a daily basis.
After this initial assessment, the participants were followed by the researchers for a period of 19 years. During that time, almost 60 participants died due to a pulmonary embolism.
It seems that the risk of developing a deadly clot increased with 70 percent in the case of the patients that spent between 2.5 and 4.9 hours in front of the television every day.
The results are even more disconcerting seeing as the average American spends more time in front of a TV than Japanese people, especially now since streaming services like Netflix are offering a wide array of shows and movies.
Apart from the fact that binge-watching is America’s newest popular pastime, the study doesn’t include the amount of time people spend sitting down in front of their computers. It may be that the numbers of individuals affected by their sedentariness are even higher in the United States than in Japan.
In order to prevent the development of a blood clot, doctors advise you to:
- Avoid binge watching, and if you can’t, then try to sit up once an hour and move your feet for five minutes.
- Drink plenty of fluids.
- Watch out for the warning signs: chest pains, shortness of breath, and your limbs falling asleep more often than before.
Image source: Wikipedia
