Researchers link sedentary behavior to thinning in brain region critical for memory
Sitting too much is linked to changes in a section of the brain that is critical for memory, according to a preliminary study by UCLA researchers of middle-aged and older adults.
Studies show that, like smoking, too much sitting increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes and premature death. Researchers at UCLA wanted to see how sedentary behavior influences brain health, especially regions of the brain that are critical to memory formation.
UCLA researchers recruited 35 people ages 45 to 75 — 25 women and 10 men — and asked about their physical activity levels and the average number of hours per day they spent sitting over the previous week. Each person had a high-resolution MRI scan, which provides a detailed look at the medial temporal lobe, a brain region involved in the formation of new memories.
The researchers found that sedentary behavior is a significant predictor of thinning of the medial temporal lobe and that physical activity, even at high levels, is insufficient to offset the harmful effects of sitting for extended periods. This study does not prove that too much sitting causes thinner brain structures, but instead that more hours spent sitting are associated with thinner regions, researchers said.
Also at Bustle.
Sedentary behavior associated with reduced medial temporal lobe thickness in middle-aged and older adults (open, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195549) (DX)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 16 2018, @09:43PM (4 children)
TFA says "sitting" but summary says "inactivity". Seems the authors were careful with wording so it's annoying to have someone change it to make a headline. C'est la vie en science! Anyway, I prefer lying down to sitting when I work (easier on the back) so I don't think this applies.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 16 2018, @11:09PM
"Carrying light loads around the house linked to swelling of the brain"
(Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Monday April 16 2018, @11:47PM (1 child)
I lie a lot too -- it's one of my favorite positions -- and my brain is in GREAT shape. Dr. Jackson gave me a brain test and I got a perfect score! 30 out of 30.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday April 17 2018, @02:35PM
Telling lies is not a position.
Anyone who is like a stable genius would realize you meant that you got a perfect score of 30%.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 17 2018, @01:49AM
Are you a whore?
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 16 2018, @09:47PM (3 children)
"physical activity, even at high levels, is insufficient to offset the harmful effects of sitting for extended periods."
If excercise doesn't solve your sedentary lifestyle, then you are fucked my friend. It's like that Bill Hicks joke about droughts: if rain doesn't solve your drought crisis then.... you're fucked.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 17 2018, @02:18AM
Some have noted that, in SoCal, we have 4 seasons:
earthquake, drought, fire, and mudslide.
After a protracted spell with no rain, stuff gets dry and catches fire easily.
With the ground cover burned away, when the rains do come, there's not much to sop up the water and what's uphill turns to sludge and comes downhill.
So, "solve" isn't necessarily all that applicable a word.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Wootery on Tuesday April 17 2018, @02:37PM
Makes me wonder: which is worse for your life expectancy, office work or military service?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 17 2018, @03:42PM
Does that count as activity, inactivity, or the 'vigorous activity' they mentioned not helping resolve the condition?
I wonder how much time they spent 'experimenting' with that to determine if it does/doesn't help...
(Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Monday April 16 2018, @10:06PM (3 children)
So this is how you become a manager? :P
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 16 2018, @11:12PM (2 children)
Reminds me of this:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/oukoe-uk-brain-tiny/tiny-brain-no-obstacle-to-french-civil-servant-idUKN1930510020070720 [reuters.com]
(Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Monday April 16 2018, @11:22PM (1 child)
His I.Q. isn't great. But I would love to hire that man. Because so many servants are AMAZINGLY RUDE!
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 17 2018, @12:03AM
If you're looking for AMAZINGLY RUDE, then a French public servant is probably what you want.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 16 2018, @11:24PM
https://www.livestrong.com/article/183732-abnormalities-in-the-temporal-lobe/ [livestrong.com]
(Score: 4, Insightful) by legont on Tuesday April 17 2018, @12:22AM (3 children)
I briefly scanned the article and did not find the answer. I am willing to bet that watching TV vs coding AI will make the difference.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by Virindi on Tuesday April 17 2018, @12:49AM
Excellent hypothesis.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 17 2018, @11:11PM
Unlikely. When you're moving around your eyes are constantly and fully providing you with different information. When you're sitting looking at the same place most of your surroundings aren't changing thus the important data feed from your eyes is significally less. Your brain doesn't need to pay as much attention to your visual input and has less data to store in memory. You know what your cube walls look like and you reconstruct it from a small source of memory whenever you need to recall it. Your brain doesn't store an entire new copy of your cube wall every time your eye sees it.
The brain doesn't waste resources on things it doesn't need* so if you're constantly not providing new, massive amounts of input for storage into memory there's less of a need for excellent memory storage abilities.
*What isn't used slowly degrades until gone. Often used things constantly gets reinforced. Thing of your brain as a road network. The smaller roads crumble to dust while the most used routes turn into speedy highways ('muscle' memory).
(Score: 2) by linkdude64 on Wednesday April 18 2018, @11:58PM
Or even just reading...?
I used to say, "I don't really read much anymore..." thinking of books, but then I realized that every single day I am reading (content of varying quality, admittedly) online for around 4 hours on average. It is only while eating that I'm content to just watch something - other than that, all of my time is spent reading and writing. I imagine it has to be slightly better than pure content consumption, and still better for those with standing desks.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 17 2018, @01:56AM
So that's why the jews do "sports" playing golf. It increases brain activity when walking to where the ball is. It is hard work making money sitting in an air conditioned office watching their net worth increase.
(Score: 3, Touché) by corey on Tuesday April 17 2018, @02:40AM
I was interested until I saw they analysed only 35 people. I could get a bigger sample size talking to people at work.
(Score: 3, Funny) by ilPapa on Tuesday April 17 2018, @03:59AM
I make sure I get up from my computer at least once very hour, to freshen up my highball and have a smoke. I've been doing this for years, so now when I'm done I'm barely winded.
You are still welcome on my lawn.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by digitalaudiorock on Tuesday April 17 2018, @01:06PM
That is, the studies that the press latched onto. I remember this big "sitting is as bad as smoking even if you exercise" fad. Nobody reported when more extensive studies begged to differ:
https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/44/6/1909/2572591 [oup.com]