Imagine spending hours on the couch, feeling good about the morning’s workout. You ran, you lifted, you stretched. You believe you’ve done enough to protect your health. But new research says that may not be true.
Sitting for extended periods, regardless of exercise, can harm the brain. Even the most active older adults face the risk of faster brain shrinkage if they sit too much.
What? 😭
Sitting for hours shrinks the brain
The study showed that even those who exercised for 150 minutes a week still experienced brain shrinkage if they sat for long hours. Memory declined, and the hippocampus lost volume.
Participants wore wrist monitors that tracked every move. On average, they sat for 13 hours a day. That’s a lot of time spent sitting – at the desk, on the couch, in the car. And it took a toll.
Those who sat more had thinner brains in areas linked to memory and Alzheimer’s disease. Reducing sitting time might help protect brain health.
Why sitting hurts the brain
When you sit for a long time, blood flow to the brain slows down. This means the brain gets less oxygen and fewer nutrients, which are essential for keeping brain cells healthy.
With less blood flow, the brain struggles to maintain strong connections between its cells. Over time, this can cause the hippocampus – the part of the brain that manages memory – to shrink.
Sitting can also lead to more inflammation in the body. Inflammation involves chemicals that can harm brain cells. For people with the APOE-ε4 gene, which is linked to Alzheimer’s, this inflammation could cause even more damage to the brain.