Is rewatching your comfort shows this holiday season good for your health?

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T’is the season of all things jolly and merry, and with all good food, great wine, and loud chatter and laughter – the holiday vibe is just setting in.

Safe to say, this probably is the most awaited time of the year when the family houses turn into a habitat of endless joy and fun!

This holiday season is also one of the best times to sit and enjoy good content with hot chocolates or wine glasses in hand, as the binge-party is the ‘it’ thing in town!

Studios even release new content specifically for the holiday season so that people can enjoy those together.

However, despite having an array of new content to binge on – some people are more inclined to go back to their specific old shows, even though they have watched it 2382947 times before.

Why?

Watching new content can be entertaining and exciting. Exploring new plots, new characters, new perspectives can draw to us to discovering and indulging into the world of untapped content. We tend to live vicariously through those new people, in those new places and plot twists. And yet, many of us find ourselves putting down the new content only to resort back to the old, familiar shows we have watched 3473879 times already!

It can be a favourite holiday movie, or an all-time-adorable comedy special, or even a corny rom-com we know all the dialogues of!

While comfort TV rewatches can obviously make you feel cozy, according to psychotherapist Jill Lewis, MA, LCSW, there are several ways they can be a mental health boost.

Lewis, who is based in Atlanta, explained to The Post, “There’s actually a lot of safety in the sense that people already know that’s going to happen. They know the ending, so they don’t necessarily have to invest as much mental energy and they get to enjoy it a little bit more. A lot of people also find them like a security blanket — the familiarity, the safety. It feels good, it’s like a hug.”

When someone says their rewatch is self-care, they’re not kidding. With so many stressors in everyday life, returning to a show that you’ve already seen can provide a sense of security and offer a way to mentally power down.

With a new show — especially something like a crime drama — you can feel “much more heightened,” tense, and more reactive because you don’t know which emotions will hit you, but watching something you’ve already see can actually be physically calming.

Lewis added, “It calms our nervous system because we know what’s coming. The mind-body connection gets to not think so much, and we get to just be. It’s more relaxing, and I don’t think our mind has to work so hard to pay attention. Then by default, that helps our bodies calm, be less active, be less tense.”

Benefits of re-watches:

Rewatching your comfort shows can have a number of health benefits, including:

Stress relief: Familiar content can help you relax and focus on positive emotions.

Re-energization: Watching a comfort show can re-energize you and help you regain a sense of self-control.

Emotional regulation: Rewatching a comfort show can help you manage anxiety by providing a sense of safety and comfort.

Sense of control: Rewatching a comfort show can provide a sense of control over your life.

Connection to the past: Rewatching a comfort show can connect you with your past.

Rewatching a comfort show can also be less effort for your brain because it’s familiar. The familiar characters and narratives can provide a break from making decisions and help you immerse yourself in a world where you know what will happen.