When the second season of “Stranger Things” dropped on Netflix, I was cozy in bed with my laptop, not a care in the world. I was sucked in from the very first second and didn’t stop until my mom popped her head in my room and scared the daylights out of me.

The biggest lie we tell ourselves is “one more episode.” We sit there, in our jammies with our favorite blanket, ready to watch maybe half a season of a new show. By 2:00 a.m, we are in a puddle of tears and sleep deprived.

With the easy access to streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu, it is simple for people to breeze through a show as soon as it pops up. We no longer have to wait week after week for a new episode and can always go back and rewatch our favorites. It makes our lives easier and pop culture more, well, popular. Without lengthy commercials, viewers are able to remain glued to their couch and stuff their faces with cheese puffs while not worrying about what to do between breaks.

The common misconception is that binge watching shows is bad for not only your physical health but your mental health as well. I am here to say you can sit your butt back in that chair and continue watching. There are absolutely no side effects to binge watching a delectable piece of television.

Research from Michigan State University shows that binge watching can have serious effects on your health due to inactivity and poor snack choices. But, I disagree. A reclinable chair or couch provides the perfect exercise. The sheer force from one of those leg rests popping out provides enough leg extensions to last a month. As for snack choices and eating habits, popcorn provides more than enough carbs. For fruit, have a large grape soda. For dairy and protein, pizza rolls can round out the basic food groups.

Binge watching is exercise for your noggin. Information is being instantaneously thrown at you and you absorb it like a knowledge sponge. How many categories does Monica from “Friends” have for her towels? 11. What is in the sugar bowl in “A Series of Unfortunate Events”? That you still need to watch for yourself. I’m not about spoilers.

Binge watching can help students with their sleep issues. Thousands of college students stay awake studying into the wee hours and are capable of functioning on less than two hours of sleep. Instead of studying, they could be doing something productive like finishing the latest season of “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” School teachers could also benefit. Instead of staying awake with gallons of coffee, tediously grading papers, they could be cozy watching “Call the Midwife.” The benefits of binge watching far exceed other nighttime rituals.

Back before streaming services existed, people would stay up reading books. Unless your superpower is super speed reading, books will take you hours to finish and there is no fast forward or skip option. If anyone thought binge watching started the insomnia craze, then they need to take a good long look at all the Tumblr posts where users state books kept them up all night.

Due to the accessibility of streaming services, all generations now can watch anything they please. It allows the younger generation to watch shows they did not grow up with like “The Twilight Zone” or “That ‘70’s Show.” Kids nowadays are so involved in ridiculous things like Fortnite that they miss out on the other adventures they could have while staring blankly at a screen for seven hours. On the flipside of this, the older generations can reclaim their youth while watching “Riverdale” and “Voltron.” This will definitely give them something to talk about over the YouTube videos blasting in their kids’ ears.

Binge watching really is the bee’s knees. While you stay up and watch these fictitious shows or biographies, you never truly feel alone. Binging is your friend when you have no one. It is your comfort in your most desperate moments. It takes you to magical, made-up worlds where you can get lost in places you could never go before. Binging allows your brain to wander and allows you to smile after a grueling day at work. It holds your hand through the good times and the bad and makes you laugh when you never thought you could again. Binge watching is a true blessing in disguise.