Too much of sitting is bad for your brain. This holds true not only for the aged but also for the middle-aged group. A preliminary study conducted by UCLA (University of California Los Angeles) with people aged 45-75 years discovered a link between sedentary lifestyle and changes in the brain pattern (vital for memory retention) leading to dementia.
Dementia is a set of symptoms affecting different aspects of thinking and brain functions that deteriorate with aging. Around 47.5 million are battling with dementia worldwide which is likely to shoot up to 75.6 million by 2030. Not only long hours of TV watching may initiate the damage but spending hours in desk work pose an equal risk for dementia. [https://www.medicalnewstoday.com]
The recent study found that those spending long hours sitting had less gray matter in their brains (medial temporal lobe MTL) even if they engaged in regular physical activities like brisk walking, cycling, jogging etc.
The message is clear – Keep on moving
Thirty-five people included in the study were asked to list their physical activities performed every day and the average hours spent. Each participant had to undergo a high-resolution MRI scan to get a detailed view of the Medial Temporal Lobe (MTL).
The researchers found that sedentary lifestyle had a significant effect on thinning of MTL even if they engaged in physical activities. The beneficial effect of the physical activities could not offset the negative effects of prolonged sitting.
The study does not prove that prolonged sitting is thinning out the MTL but these two can be closely associated. The researchers are yet to determine the role of gender, body weight and race in thinning of brain volume due to long hours of sitting.
Sedentary habits may initiate thinning of the brain:
Another previous study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease concluded the predisposition of physically inactive older adults in developing dementia is at par with the genetic predisposition. Both sedentary lifestyle and genetics can be equally blamed for dementia.
The brain is the most complex structure of human body constituting an intricate network of neurons and blood vessels working in unison helping us carry out normal functions every day. Brain health can be quantified in terms of brain volume and thickness. As we age, the brain shrinks resulting in cognitive decline posing higher risks of dementia.
But today, dementia cannot be assigned totally as an age-related outcome as middle-aged people with sedentary habits are equally at risk of this disease. On the contrary, the sedentary habit may cause an onset of dementia at a much earlier age.
Earlier studies have correlated physical activities with higher volume of the hippocampus. The temporal lobes are located near temples and are responsible for our cognitive functions. Episodic memory, which is related to our day to day functions like remembering sequential activities are linked to hippocampus deeply seated in the temporal lobes located on either side of the brain.
Damage in nerve cells due to aging results in cognitive decline disturbing the thinking pattern and memory retention power and a person gradually develops dementia. Dementia can be caused by a number of diseases but the most common one is Alzheimer’s disease that affects the hippocampus region of the brain responsible for memory and navigation.
Sedentary lifestyle may nullify the protective function of healthy genes:
The apolipoprotein E (APOE) e4 gene constitutes one of the highest risk factors for Alzheimer’s. Adults possessing one copy of this gene are at 3 times higher risk of developing this disease while those possessing 2 copies are at 8-12 times higher risk.
But in a research conducted at McMaster University in Canada suggest that risk of dementia may be at equal for sedentary older adults. In the study of analyzing physical activity and dementia risk with or without APOE e4, 1646 adults free from dementia were selected and were followed up for 5 years.
The researchers observed that adults without APOE e4 gene lacking physical activity were more likely to develop dementia than those who exercised regularly. With APOE e4 carriers, physical activities did not contribute much in lowering the risk.
These findings conclude that in spite of carrying healthy genes, the risk of dementia is almost similar to physically inactive older adults. It can be concluded that by avoiding physical activity, they may be inviting this degenerative disease.
With no absolute cure for dementia available till date, it becomes imperative to stress more on lifestyle factors to prevent early aging of brain. Though it has been proved that physical exercises are essential to maintain a healthy brain but unfortunately no specific exercises could be identified. But specification is not that important if you desire your brain to keep ticking as long as you live. Get out of your couch as frequently as you can and keep moving.