Sitting for long hours may shrink the brain, even in people who exercise. The hippocampus, crucial for memory, loses volume faster.

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.

The study, led by researchers from Vanderbilt University’s Memory and Alzheimer’s Center, tracked older adults for seven years. They examined how long participants sat, how often they moved, and how much their brains shrank over time.

The results were troubling. Exercise didn’t fully counteract the effects of prolonged sitting. The more hours spent sitting, the greater the brain decline.

  • abobla@lemm.eeEnglish
    10·
    2 days ago

    I got curious about what would be the healthy amount of siting on a day and ended up finding this answer on Quora:

    Due to my work, I’ve spoken with many physiotherapists about this. Their replies have always been that it’s neither about sitting nor standing - it’s really about incorporating more activity into your day.

    One physiotherapist put it succinctly “the best posture you can have is always the next one!”

    That said, a more direct reply to your question would be this: you should be striving to maintain a ratio of 50:50. Meaning half of your time should be spend sitting and half standing, at intervals, and interspersed with activity (eg. walking in between).

    I’ll suggest doing this in intervals of sitting for no more than 40 mins each time, take a 5 min break to stretch and walk around, then standing for 20 mins.

    Source: https://www.quora.com/How-much-hours-should-we-sit-a-day

    • abobla@lemm.eeEnglish
      15·
      2 days ago

      In my opinion, this combination of sitting, stretching, walking and standing looks almost impossible with the way our routines currently work in society.

      • MelodiousFunk@slrpnk.netEnglish
        5·
        2 days ago

        Exactly. And the more “essential” the worker, the less flexibility they have to do anything other than exactly what they’re told for the entire shift.

        • radiohead37@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
          3·
          2 days ago

          Let me know when you guys figure out how to code and solve math with pencil and paper while walking.

          ps: no, vibe coding is not an option.