Watching TV Takes Years Off Your Life

Your parents were right. Watching TV will totally usher you into an early grave — and even an hour a day can have an effect.

According to the Guardian, an Australian study found that watching 2 hours of TV a day — the average for Aussies — lowered life expectancy by 1.8 years for men and 1.5 years for women. Six hours a day shaved off 4.8 years. And perhaps most chillingly, every hour someone watches after the age of 25 shortens his or her life by 22 minutes. So basically, every episode of Mad Men subtracts the equivalent of a half-hour comedy from your life expectancy — let’s hope it’s Friends.

The study authors say TV watching may be dangerous because it involves sitting, which we’ve learned will also kill you. This brings us to an interesting loophole: the study excluded hours of TV watched while doing something else, like “the cooking or the ironing.” So it’s possible that watching TV while carrying out household tasks could be less dangerous than just vegging out. At least, that’s what parents will no doubt start telling their kids: folding the laundry during Gossip Girl could save your life!