2023-10-03 07:31:01
by Cristina Marrone
Organized physical or sporting activity is not enough to guarantee brain health: sitting for more than 10 hours increases brain risks. All the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle
When we sit at our office desk we should program an alarm that requires us to get up. There are now many studies that have highlighted how inactive people are more exposed to diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases and tumors. A work of a few months published on Jama Cardiology had concluded that people who sit for more than 8 hours have a risk of mortality and heart attacks, heart failure or cardiovascular diseases between 17% and 50% higher than those who spend less than 4 hours sitting. Now another study just published on Jama found that people who sit for a long time at home or at work are at a higher risk of developing dementia than people who sit less. Researchers have reported that the negative effects of sitting too much apply even to people who exercise regularly if they remain at a desk for much of the rest of the day.
How the study was carried out
In the study scientists from the University of Southern California and other universities involved almost 50 thousand people, including men and women aged 60 or over (none suffered from dementia) whose data are preserved in the large archive of the Biobank of United Kingdom which collects data on the lives, health and deaths of thousands of Britons. Many of the participants wore a sophisticated activity tracker for a week that minutely measured their movements, and stillness, throughout the day. With the help of artificial intelligence algorithms capable of interpreting the trackers’ readings, the scientists identified every minute of the volunteers’ day: when they moved and when they sat or stood still, but did not sleep. The scientists then monitored the people’s medical conditions for the next seven years, analyzing hospital documents and medical records that indicated any type of dementia.
Extreme levels of sedentary lifestyle are not that unusual
Researchers have found strong correlations between sedentary lifestyle and brain health. If you sat for more than 10 hours a day (and many of the volunteers did), your risk of developing dementia over the next seven years was 8% higher than those who sat for less than 10 hours. In fact, the risk of dementia was 63% higher for people who spent at least 12 hours in a chair. It’s not so impossible to spend 10-12 hours sitting. It happens at work, in the car while commuting, at lunch and dinner, underlines David Raichlen, professor of biological sciences and anthropology at the University of Southern California, one of the authors of the work. These extreme levels of sedentary behavior are where we see a much higher risk of cognitive and memory decline.
Physical activity does not compensate for 10 hours of sedentary lifestyle
Surprisingly, the researchers noticed that not even practicing physical activity brought any benefits. People who did physical activity or sport but then sat for 10 hours or more were as prone to dementia as people who did not exercise, the authors said. The study is associative and cannot prove that sitting causes cognitive decline. There is not even a clear explanation of why the two things are connected. Just hypotheses. Cerebral blood flow may be affected by sitting, reducing the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the brain, the researchers hypothesize. Furthermore, sitting for hours, perhaps in front of the TV, promotes behaviors that are negative for long-term health, such as eating poorly and having unhealthy snacks.
Move more often, even if you do physical activity
The real enemy of inflammation, cardiovascular health and cognitive decline is sedentary lifestyle, confirms Gianfranco Beltrami, vice president of the Italian Sports Medicine Federation, who underlines how few studies evaluate the health consequences of sedentary lifestyle. Practicing a sport in a structured way is not enough for our health if we remain inactive for the rest of the day, says the sports doctor. And this also applies to children and adolescents: Playing three or four hours a week of football or basketball does not bring great benefits if for the rest of the hours you sit at school, at the computer or at the play station, taking into account that in a week there are 168 hours. It is therefore better to try to move more often, even when working or staying at home.
Active breaks in the office
Take active breaks
, especially in the work environment, can be a solution to limit the risks of poor health. In general terms, active breaks of 10 minutes every hour of continuous work, or 3-5 minute breaks every half hour, are recommended. It is possible to work both by strength training (to do 20 squats it takes 2 minutes) and with ergonomic exercises.
But what can be done to break the sedentary routine?
– Use stairs whenever possible
– Walking while talking on the phone
– Hold meetings while standing
– Go to work on foot (or get off one stop earlier if you use public transport)
– Get up from your chair whenever possible
– Work while standing
October 3, 2023 (modified October 3, 2023 | 07:23)
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