Why It's Okay to Watch Re-Runs

 Do you have a favorite TV show or movie that you love to watch over and over? I do. One of my favorite movies to watch is A Perfect Murder with Michael Douglas. It's suspenseful and a spine-tingling good mystery. Even though I know "who did it" and how the movie ends, I don't care. I start watching it and I get wrapped up in the story. It sucks me in and the world melts away. I feel the same way about The Thomas Crown Affair.

One of my favorite TV shows is Friends. I have the entire series on DVD and it doesn't matter that I just finished Season 10, I'll flip back to Season 1 and start all over again.

But is it a good idea for you to be sitting and watching your favorite movie or TV show re-runs? Is it turning your mind to mush? Is it bad for you?

Not hardly. According to research stated in the Why It's Okay to Watch Reruns article, watching your favorite shows restores will power and self-control.

How amazing is that? No more guilt about snuggling in and watching Friends!

From the article: "Self-control is a limited resource," says Jaye L. Derrick, PhD, a researcher and professor at the University at Buffalo who led two studies reported in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science. Contrary to what many people think, she explains, self-control — be it to resist an afternoon snack or complete a project — is not necessarily an innate trait or disposition. The amount a person has fluctuates from day to day. "So if [people] do something effortful, they have less [willpower] left over to do other effortful things."

Surprisingly, watching new episodes or movies didn't have the same restorative effect. Probably because you're using your mind to try and figure out what is happening and how the story is going to end. With re-runs, you already know, so your mind is relaxed.

By building close relationships with your favorite fictional characters, you're creating a bonding experience that has a will power restoring effect. The comfort level you have with your favorite characters allows you to say or react in ways that you may not with real relationships. 

Have a favorite re-run or movie? Watch it and let the guilt slip away. Remember, this only works for re-runs, not new episodes or movies. So, don't use it as an excuse to become a couch potato.

Do you have a favorite movie or TV show? Let me know in the comments.