Binge-watching ‘The Walking Dead’’ You might feel like a zombie yourself

ANN ARBOR-Binge-watching is a great way for young adults to catch up on multiple episodes of their favorite television series like "The Walking Dead" or "Game of Thrones," but it comes at a price. New research by the University of Michigan and the Leuven School for Mass Communication Research in Belgium found that higher binge-viewing frequency leads to poorer sleep quality, more fatigue and increased insomnia, while regular TV viewing does not. "Our study signals that binge viewing is prevalent in young adults and that is may be harmful to their sleep," said co-author Jan Van den Bulck, U-M professor of communication studies. Binge viewing, in which people watch an excessive amount of the same TV program in one sitting, has been on the rise as more American households use streaming services and digital video recorders. Researchers surveyed 423 adults between the ages of 18 to 25 in February 2016. They were asked about sleep quality, fatigue and insomnia, as well as the frequency of binge watching programs on a TV, laptop or desktop computer for the last month. Most of the sample (81 percent) reported that they had binge-watched.