Study reveals the 10 most stressful shows on television right now

In this fast-paced modern world we live in, barely a day passes without some kind of stress cropping up. Just think about it: when was the last time you went 24 hours without fretting over missing your train to work?

Or paid for something without worrying about whether you'd have enough left to cover your rent? Or managed to survive a dinner with your in-laws without someone bringing up politics and causing a huge family debate?

Seriously, living in 2019 is truly anxiety-inducing.

Even so, nothing compares to the nail-biting experience that is watching your favourite character suffer some kind of turmoil in a TV show - all while you sit there, helpless and covered in popcorn.

Credit: Pexels

But, of course, some shows are more stressful than others - and Buzz Bingo has done some research on which ones top the list.

By analysing three days’ worth of tweets for online shows, and tracking social media activity for after three episodes of certain TV shows, the researchers were able to identify the top 10 most stressful programmes airing and streaming at the moment. And here they are...

10. True Detective

Credit: HBO

9. Westworld

Credit: HBO

8. Peaky Blinders

Credit: BBC

7. Black Mirror

Credit: Netflix

6. Pretty Little Liars

Credit: Warner Bros

5. The Walking Dead

Credit: AMC

4. Breaking Bad

Credit: AMC

3. American Horror Story

Credit: FX

2. Making A Murderer

Credit: Netflix

1. Game of Thrones

Credit: HBO

Some items on this list aren't exactly surprising (let's be real here, we all sit there screaming at the TV every time David Benioff and D. B. Weiss kill off another main character in GoT), but it's perhaps a bit of a shock to see Breaking Bad still having such an impact so many years after it first aired, and not everybody would consider Pretty Little Liars to be all that stressful.

What's more, the top 10 words used in tweets talking about Game of Thrones gave an even more detailed insight into why people are getting so worked up over the show.

They are, in order from least to most frequently used: death, crying, cry, scared, brutal, heartbreaking, traumatised, screaming, saddest, horrible. Not exactly the cheeriest of phrases, by any means.

Of course, we could say that - if you wanted to avoid stress in your life - you should maybe take a break from watching the shows on this list. Realistically, though, we know that's not going to happen.

Instead, we'd encourage you to watch in moderation, and maybe treat yourself to a nice, relaxing bath afterwards. Oh, and stay off Twitter!