Actors Courteney Cox Arquette (L), Jennifer Aniston (C) and Matthew Perry watching TV. Photo / Getty
For many, there's no better way to relax than by watching a whole TV series in one go. Or is there?
Yes, say scientists, who have found that watching one episode after another leaves people less satisfied - and unable to remember what happened.
In fact, the researchers predicted that it may actually 'drive viewers away from future programmes'.
Binge-watching is quickly becoming the normal way to view a TV series, with ten million Britons admitting to skipping sleep just to watch a show.
To test the effect that watching a series all at once has on viewers, Australian researchers from the University of Melbourne split 51 students into three groups to watch a six-part TV series at different frequencies.
The first saw it on a weekly basis, the second daily and the third watched all six hours at once.
The results showed that binge watchers remembered the most the day after seeing the show - but could remember the least over a longer time. Weekly viewers showed the weakest memory after 24 hours but the best memory of the programme long-term.
However, when it came to enjoyment, binge-watchers liked the programme 'significantly less' than those who watched it on a weekly or daily basis.
Overall, those who watched the series daily reported the greatest amount of enjoyment over time.
The research, published in the journal First Monday, stated: 'Binge watching may affect both sustained memory of viewed content and self-reported show enjoyment levels.
'This raises important questions for digital on-demand programme distributors concerning the balance between user preference and product satisfaction.'
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