Sitting too long is not only bad for the heart and waist, it can also harm the brain. Quoted from Business Insider, Saturday (14/3), someone with more sitting time has a thinner brain structure in the brain region associated with memory. The theory is derived from a new study published in the journal PLOS One.
Thinning in that part of the brain could be a prefix for a decline in cognitive abilities, dementia or Alzheimer's, according to researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In the study, they write that high physical activity is not enough to offset the effects of this inactive behavior.
The UCLA scientists behind the study recruited 35 middle-aged and healthy adult adults between the ages of 45 and 75. Researchers asked about the level of physical activity of the participants and how much time they spent sitting during the workweek.
To assess people's brain health, researchers performed high-resolution MRI scans of participants' brains. They can see near the medial temporal lobe (MTL), the brain region that is essential for memory formation.
Contrary to what some previous researchers have found, participants' level of study has no significant effect on MTL. However, sedentari or sitting behavior that takes too long to impact.