If you’re a fan of a nightly binge-watch session on the sofa (hey, who isn’t?), it might be worth rethinking exactly how much time you spend passively gazing at the TV.
A recent study found people who watched TV ‘very often’ during midlife showed smaller volumes in brain regions linked to memory and areas of damage in the brain’s white matter that are associated with ageing, cognitive decline and even dementia.
Senior author David Raichlen, professor of biological sciences and anthropology at USC Dornsife, said: “For years we’ve focused on how much people sit. Our findings suggest we should also pay attention to what they’re doing while they’re sitting.”
The researchers suggested the results aren’t just because of people sitting still on the sofa for ages, as other types of sedentary activities (like sitting to work) did not have the same associations.
What did the study involve?
They looked at data from 1,700 adults, with an average age of 53, who had enrolled in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study between 1987 and 1989.
Participants were asked to report how o...
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