Streaming platforms are changing the way we watch television. With access to thousands of TV shows, movies and documentaries, we can watch just about anything we want, mostly commercial-free, at any time, day or night.

Did you know binge-watching your favorite series could produce a "high?" It's true.

When you're engaged in an activity you enjoy, your brain produces dopamine — a chemical that promotes feelings of pleasure, excitement and happiness. The release of dopamine helps us feel good, and it results in a "high" similar to that induced by drugs and other substances with addictive qualities. Your brain craves more and more, and as long as you continue to binge, your brain produces dopamine.

No wonder 73% of people surveyed by Netflix reported having positive feelings when they binge-watch.

"Our behaviors and thoughts, when repeated over time, can become actual neural patterns and habits that are hard to break or change," says Northwestern Medicine Psychiatrist Danesh A. Alam, MD.

As a result, binge-watching can adversely affect your relationships, goals and commitments. You may struggle to manage how much time you spend watching TV, or you may find that you need to continually increase the time you spend watching TV to experience the same degree of satisfaction. You may become defensive, irritable or unreasonable when asked to stop, and you may even start lying to cover up your binge-watching.

Binge-Watching Can Make You Feel Isolated

Watching TV has traditionally been a way to wind down. It can bring temporary relief from the daily stress of work, school and parenting. With multiple streaming platforms and multiple ways to view a show, it's easy to zone out for hours at a time.

However, binge-watching makes it easy to disconnect from other people. In fact, there is a strong link between the use of digital technologies and an increase in loneliness among individuals. People may often feel a sense of melancholy or feelings of frustration and emptiness after watching multiple episodes of a TV show in a row.

Binge-Watching Impacts Your Sleep  

Staying up late to keep up with cliffhangers can have real-world consequences. Research shows that staying up late may make you feel frustrated at losing out on sleep. This frustration can interfere with your ability to sleep, leaving you feeling tired and drained the next day.

There are other negative health effects, including:

• Depression and anxiety. Research has found a strong link between binge-watching and mental health problems such as depression, insomnia, anxiety, stress, and loneliness.
• Back problems. Posture is an important part of spine health. Poor posture while watching TV can cause your spine to be curved or weak, leading to back pain and musculoskeletal issues.
• Lack of physical activity. If you're spending more time on the couch and less time exercising, your risk for heart disease, including stroke, is higher. 

Tips for Managing Binge-Watching

• Limit yourself to a certain (small) number of episodes, like two or three at a time. When you've reached your limit, turn off the TV and move on to something else.
• Set a time limit by deciding the amount of time you watch TV per night. Use a timer for accountability.
• Balance TV viewing with other activities, such as physical exercise, seeing friends and reading.
• Keep lights turned on in the viewing area and your home so you don't lose sense of time.
• Make it a social thing and invite friends or family members to watch TV with you. Chat with fellow fans about characters, plots and cliffhangers.

You may start out planning to just watch one episode, but if you burn through an entire season in one sitting, it may be time to reassess.

Learn more about addiction.