On a cold winter's day, there is nothing better than wrapping up in a blanket and sitting on the couch while you binge-watch a television series or two on Netflix. However, if you are indulging in this pleasure on more days than you'd care to count, then you may be inadvertently putting your body under unnecessary strain. As someone who has noticed an increase in occurrences of headaches lately, here are three reasons why your binge-watching days need to be reduced.
Back Pain
There are two main reasons why binge-watching television leads to back pain. Firstly, when sitting on the couch for long periods, it is not unusual for the body to slump. When your posture is bad and your body slumps, the weight of your body puts pressure against your spine. Additionally, continual slumping and bad posture cause the muscles to move out of place to the point that they are no longer keeping the spine aligned straight. Secondly, a lack of movement causes muscle weakness and wastage because the muscles are not getting used. The more active the body is, the stronger your muscles are. Back pain contributes to headaches because the base of your skull is pained due to the pressure on the spine and muscles.
Neck Pain
Neck pain is another reason why you experience headaches after watching a lot of television, and poor posture is one of the reasons why neck pain happens. A stiff neck is also experienced when you fall asleep on the couch and your head is not properly supported by a pillow. Once you wake up, the neck is sore because the muscles have been stretched out of place for a long time. While your neck is stiff and your muscles are sore, this tension radiates upwards and causes headaches.
Eye Strain
Long periods of television watching cause eye strain. If you watch your television in a dark room, then you are adding to this problem because your irises are open for an extended amount of time, and this allows a lot of light to enter. The increased light causes headaches because it irritates the inner working of your eye, and this irritation causes pain signals to be sent to the brain.
Make an appointment with your local chiropractor to address both your back and neck pain issues. Your chiropractor will fix any issues within your skeleton, teach you exercises to strengthen the surrounding muscles, and put an end to those headaches for good.
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