According to an article on MensHealth.com, TV is Killing You, believe it or not all those Jersey Shore reruns really are taking minutes off your life. The article stated that “a new British Journal of Sports Medicine study found that – on average – your life expectancy decreases nearly 22 minutes with every hour of television you watch.” This is actually more than a cigarette!

While it may not be the actual act of watching television that is killing you, it is more likely the result of an overall sedentary lifestyle. The majority of Americans spend their work days glued to a desk sitting down for up to 8 hours day, then come home to only sit in front of the television for their nightly DVR recordings.

So while sitting at our desks unfortunately can’t always be avoided, we can aim to reduce the time we spend sitting when we get home, including in front of the television. Now this doesn’t mean you have to miss all your favorite television series, there a few ways you can avoid sinking into the couch to watch television.

You can place your treadmill in front of the television; this will make not only give you a great workout, but you will be so engaged in your show 30 minutes to an hour will pass without you even realizing it! You can check out Fit Watch’s 10 Ways to Exercise While Watching TV for more examples of how you can get the best of both worlds.

As you saw from the image above, an hour of exercise has been shown to increase your lifespan by 2 hours! So you are able to extend your life while still getting in all your favorite shows! Just another great reason of why you should add exercise to your life. So make the Healthy Lifestyle Change and switch your couch potato habit for a workout during your next television watching night in!