There’s nothing quite as relaxing as jumping into bed to binge-watch your favorite Netflix show. You have your snacks next to you and before you know it, the show’s already done. Some of you might commend yourselves for this accomplishment, but little do you know that you’re slowly deteriorating your health. Don’t believe it? Then take a look at some of the ways that binge-watching is damaging your health.

1. You Suffer from a Lack of Fresh Air and Vitamin D

The sunshine vitamin plays a crucial role in maintaining our bodies. Without it, your entire body is thrown out of whack including your mental state. Depression and mood swings are some of the earliest symptoms of a vitamin D deficiency. And your skin suddenly acting up could be blamed on low vitamin D levels as well. Also, spending too much indoors messes with your circadian clock – it regulates your sleep, appetite and energy. So at least make an effort to step outside a few times a day for some fresh air.

2. Binge-Watching Also Means Binge Eating

At this point it’s not only the shows that you’re binging. Maybe you find yourself making more trips to the kitchen in between episodes. And your clothes don’t fit the same anymore. But why are you suddenly eating so much? For one, binge eating is usually triggered by negative emotions such as sadness, anxiety and boredom. And remember that spending too much time indoors leads to low vitamin D levels which can in turn trigger depression? Exactly. You need to nip this bad habit in the bud before it gets out of control.

3. Your Body Gets Stiff from Lack of Movement

Let’s be honest, when you’re binge-watching the only time you get up is to: 1. use the bathroom, 2. get the remote and 3. to refill your junk food stash. But if that’s all the movement you’re engaging in, then you’re doing your body a huge disservice. Our bodies are designed to be active and sitting for over eight hours every day with minimal movement carries a death risk similar to smoking or obesity. You’re also putting yourself at risk of heart disease and even death. To counteract this, it’s best to get your body moving every 30 minutes or so.

4. It Can Dull Your Brain

Sure, movies and TV shows are entertaining, but having your eyes glued to the screen for over three hours does more harm than good. Children especially are prone to this as many parents let them indulge in a few hours of television time after school. You could be using that time more productively by engaging in intellectually stimulating activities like playing board games or simply reading. So, make an effort to cut down on your binge-watching hours, unless you’re fine with your brain getting duller.

5. You Find It Difficult to Focus on or Work on Other Tasks

When you’re binge-watching a show for hours, it’s not always easy to simply switch back to reality. Even while you’re out with friends or doing something important, you can sometimes find your mind obsessively wandering about what’s going to happen next. This can be super distracting and annoying, especially if the task requires your full attention. You don’t want your attention span getting shorter, do you? Then it might be time to cut down on binge-watching so you can have a clearer mind.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, an article about how love is celebrated around the world seems fitting. While most westerners buy flowers, chocolates and bring their dates to dinner, there are some cultures that express their love in different ways. Here’s a list of some of the strangest celebrations on planet Earth. 

1. Ghost Weddings 

China is one of few countries that has a variety of odd wedding customs, one of which has been practiced for thousands of years. Ghost wedding is a marriage ceremony between two recently deceased people who were both single at the time of their departure. Typically, the bride’s family requests a price and dowry which sometimes includes jewels, houses, and the likes. Once accepted, the ceremony takes place at the cemetery and concludes with the bride being moved to her new husband’s tomb. Although still practiced today, living people are now allowed to be betrothed to departed singles.

2. No-Valentine for You

Valentine’s Day has become one of the most celebrated observances in the world, but you should be careful where you celebrate it. In countries like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, Valentine’s Day was banned because leaders feared that citizens, influenced by the Western celebration, would be led astray. In 2012, 5 men who decided to break that law, each received a 39-year prison sentence and 4,500 lashes for publicly drinking and dancing with women. Belgorod, a city in Russia also put rules in place for such celebrations as they believed that the holiday promoted an ungodly atmosphere.

3. Marry the Tree, then Cut it Down

Marriage is a serious commitment, and some cultures take it very seriously. So seriously that if a woman is born under the wrong star, it is believed that they are cursed and will be the end of their husbands. In India, Manglik women born under the wrong astrological stars are required to marry a peepal or banana tree in a ceremony called Kumbh Vivah or Tree Vivah. After the ceremony, the woman must chop down the tree before marrying her human fiancé in order to break her curse. 

4. Shoot Your Bride

Most grooms tend to want to keep their brides safe, but the Yugur tribe in western China has a different idea. The grooms are encouraged to shoot their fiancés with a bow and arrows, but the arrowheads must be cut off, of course. Once that has been done, the grooms shoot their brides with the blunt arrows then break it in order to certify that their love will last a lifetime. The following ceremony lasts two days, one at the bride’s home and the other at the groom’s. 

5. Burn It

Many believe that there is a random element to love but the French took the belief a little further when trying to match people up on Valentine’s Day. The custom called “La loterie d’amour” or “Lotter of love” required singles to go to their houses (which all faced each other during that time) and call out until they were paired. If a man was not pleased, he was allowed to abandon her and hope for better luck in the next lottery. The women who were abandoned would build a bonfire and burn the images of their men, all the while saying nasty things to them. The practice was later banned as many feared that it would result in disorder.