Study reveals what it means if you keep rewatching same TV shows over and over again

Ever wondered if rewatching the same TV shows over and over again or continuously reminiscing about old times with friends could be a sign of poor mental health? Well, think again.

If there was a Guinness World Record for how many times someone has watched Friends - and then rewatched it and then rewatched again - I would probably win the title.

Many of us have that one show which we can't help but return to, particularly when times are tough. A show which acts like that comfort blanket or teddy we had when we were younger but alas is no longer socially acceptable to have propped on your bed aged 30 - how stupid eh?

But why do we always return to the same shows we grew up with time and time again? Or reflect on past memories with friends?

Well, a study has broken it down and pinpointed a feeling we're supposedly chasing, just how much of an impact it truly has and why, despite having previously held negative connotations, it could be much more positive than we realize.

What is nostalgia?

A 2013 study - titled Nostalgia as a Resource for Psychological Health and Well-Being and published in ResearchGate - pinpoints the feeling of 'nostalgia'.

Now, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, nostalgia is 'a feeling of pleasure and also slight sadness when you think about things that happened in the past'.

Indeed, while it can be heart-warming and sweet to take a trip down memory lane, many often do it and are unable to not also feel a tinge of sadness in what's been and gone or end up comparing it to where they are now.

And if you look even further back in the 17th to 20th century, nostalgia was even seen as being 'considered ill' - a Swiss physician describing it as a disease which manifested in symptoms such as anxiety, crying, homesickness and even irregular heartbeat, insomnia and disordered eating.

However, the study has since looked at nostalgia and whether it could actually be 'an important resource for psychological health and well-being'.

Being nostalgic may be much more positive than previously believed (Getty Stock Images)

How can nostalgia manifest and impact people?

The study looked at two different content-analysis studies - the first which invited readers to submit written narratives about their own personal nostalgic stories and the second, seeing undergraduate students asked to similarly write about their own experiences of nostalgia and how doing so made them feel.

"According to these ratings, participants experienced significantly more positive than negative affect," the study notes.

It also looked at how frequently people feel nostalgia - a total of 79 percent of participants reporting saying they experience it at least once a week and 17 percent saying once or twice a month.

New analysis of the studies also provokes the question of whether previous readings about nostalgia bringing about distress are wrong and whether nostalgia is actually used as a tool to cope with distress - i.e. anxiety or stress.

Loneliness was ascertained as triggering nostalgia, alongside feelings of meaningless.

The study notes: "Taken together, these recent studies converge in demonstrating that psychological threat generates nostalgia. Thus far, negative mood, loneliness, and meaninglessness have specifically been implicated as nostalgia triggers. This raises the question of nostalgia’s functionality: Once elicited, what does nostalgia do for individuals?"

You go on that trip down memory lane (Getty Stock Images)

Nostalgia's impact on mental wellbeing

The analysis suggests nostalgia appears to 'heighten positive mood' and and 'increases positive self-regard' and even boosts 'a sense of social connectedness'.

Researchers also consider nostalgia as holding 'existential meaning' - memories of the kind often concerning 'cherished life experiences shared with close others' and helping with 'perceptions of meaning in life'.

The study argues nostalgia is subsequently 'an important resource for maintaining and promoting psychological health', with a 2023 survey finding that looking back on nostalgic memories gave people comfort or reminded them of what was important in their lives (via The American Psychological Association).

The study resolves: "In all, counter to the assertions made in previous decades and centuries, research has obtained no evidence that nostalgia is psychologically problematic.

"[...] Therefore, nostalgia is a psychological resource –not a liability. This raises the prospect that nostalgia could serve a protective function for those at risk of poor psychological health and a restorative function for those already suffering from psychopathology."