Sits may be a comfortable and practical way to spend a large part of your day, but a new study of the elderly suggests that this can cause brain and cognitive problems, regardless of the exercise you manage to adapt.
Research retorts the idea that session periods can be balanced by periods of being active, at least with regard to brain health in people aged 50 or over.
Study researchers, the University of Vanderbilt, the University of Pittsburgh and the National University of Seoul, think that too sitting or lying (known as sedentary behavior) can have an impact on the brain and increase the risk of different types of dementia later in life, including Alzheimer’s disease.
“The reduction in your risk for Alzheimer’s disease is not only to work once a day,” said neurologist Marissa Gobniat, from the University of Pittsburgh.
“Minimize the time spent seated, even if you do the exercise daily, reduces the probability of developing Alzheimer’s disease.”
The researchers recruited 404 volunteers, following their activity levels with portable devices during a week. Then, over the next seven years, cognitive tests and brain scanners were used to assess their brain health.
Even if 87% of volunteers responded to the recommended weekly directives of at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise, those who were more global showed worse cognition.
They have also shown more signs of neurodegeneration – including faster thinning of the hippocampus, part of the crucial brain for the memory function and one of the first areas to show damage to Alzheimer.
The association was not enormous, and does not prove the cause and the direct effect, but it was perceptible: spending more time seated seems to age the brain faster, and reduce this time, rather than exercising more, seems to be the best antidote.
Stronger associations have been found in those already at a higher genetic risk of Alzheimer’s, according to data.
“This research highlights the importance of reducing the sitting time, especially in aging adults to an increased genetic risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” said neurologist Angela Jefferson, of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
“It is essential for the health of the brain to take breaks to sit throughout the day and to move to increase our active time.”
Of course, these results are not a reason to give up a more vigorous exercise. We know that being active does wonders for our physical and mental health, and even small amounts of exercise can maintain the bright brain.
What is most important here is that the seated overtime were linked to certain types of wear in the brain. This is not the first time that sedentary behavior has been linked to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, but it is another important and complete set of data from which researchers and health professionals can draw.
“It is essential to study the choices of lifestyle and the impact they have on the health of the brain as we age,” explains Jefferson.
Research was published in Alzheimer’s and dementia.
