"Turn off that TV, it'll rot your brain!" has been repeated in households for generations. The word "rot" is clearly an exaggeration, but new research suggests that heavy television viewing may still have meaningful consequences for brain health.
A recent study published in Alzheimer's and Dementia: Journal of the Alzheimer's Association found that adults who said they watched television "very often" during midlife later showed smaller volumes in brain regions tied to memory. They also had reduced frontal and occipital lobe volume and more damage in the brain's white matter, changes that have been associated with aging, stroke risk, cognitive decline and dementia.
"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," says David Raichlen, professor of biological sciences and anthropology at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and a senior author of the study.
Importantly, the results did not appear to be explained by inactivity alone. Other sedentary behaviors were not linked to the same brain patterns, suggesting that the type of activity a person does while sitting may be more important than researchers once assumed.
