We all know that sitting for long periods of the day is bad for your general health. Maybe you’ve thought it’s because your heart and circulatory system are not getting a good work out and it makes you feel sluggish. Or maybe sitting for long periods hurts your back and gives you a sore neck and shoulders. But there could be more bad news for sitting for extended periods. I recently read a study (UCLA 2018*) that looked into sitting and the thinning of a part of the brain which forms 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. Medial temporal lobe thinning can be a precursor to cognitive decline and dementia in middle-aged and older adults.”
What a scary thought; sitting affects our memory as well as our body. But it’s something that has crossed my mind before.
I used to massage an older lady who had very few physical issues and even fewer mental deficiencies, particularly given her age. Unfortunately she opted for an elective surgery that left her unable to walk very well or be steady on her feet. She sat in her chair most of the day and night. The physical issues were obvious, but what surprised me most, was the decline in her memory and cognitive function, which finally resulted in dementia. She may have been older, and it could’ve happened anyway, but before the surgery she was as sharp as a button. Even without research, I always believed there was a link between her sitting all day and her cognitive decline.
But back to the study. The study does not prove that too much sitting causes thinner brain structures, but instead that more hours spent sitting are associated with thinner regions. In addition, the researchers focused on the hours spent sitting, but did not ask participants if they took breaks during this time. In my view this could be a critical factor. It made me wonder if just a few minutes of Refreshercise during the day could reverse this possible brain thinning?
If you put the “brain thinning” research together with the way the brain wants to take a natural break about every 90-120 minutes, it is easy for you to work out when you can help your brain form memories. Every 90-120 minutes the brain wants to save information, rather like a computer saving your file every so often. This is known as the circadian rhythm, and we go through the same cycle we go through during our sleep. REM (rapid eye movement) during sleep plays an important role in learning, memory function, consolidating and processing information. If we just keep powering through the day without taking a regular time-out for our brain to save information, this could be contributing to thinning our brain.
But let’s not be too glum, because we can do something about it. Get out of that sedentary position! Whether you choose Refreshercise movements, a short walk, a five minute dance around your living room (more applicable if you’re working from home!) or anything that involves movement during the day, your brain will thank you for it.
Reference:
Praha Siddarth, Alison C. Burggren, Harris A. Eyre, Gary W. Small, David A. Merrill. Sedentary behaviour associated with reduced medial temporal lobe thickness in middle-aged and older adults. April 12, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0195549