Research Reveals Sitting Too Long Risky Makes The Brain Shrink

JAKARTA - In today's modern times most people may spend more than half of their time a day sitting. Especially for those who work behind a table, sitting all day into a lifestyle will be difficult to avoid.

However, it should be remembered and watched out for sitting for too long every day can cause various health problems. Starting from obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar levels and high cholesterol.

Not only that, a recent study also shows that sitting for too long can also affect a person's brain size. This ultimately affects the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

In a study published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, scientists involved 404 participants who were at least 50 years old. Most participants did not show cognitive impairment at the start of the study, but one-third of them had genetic factors that increased the risk of Alzheimer's.

The results showed that although 87 percent of participants carried out moderate to heavy physical activity of at least 150 minutes per week, on average they remained sitting for 13 hours per day.

This sitting duration is of concern, because through brain scan analysis and cognitive tests the researchers find that the longer a person sits, the greater the risk of cortical thinning in the brain area.

Cortical thinning, which is a sign of shrinking part of the brain, works in memory and cognitive. This cortical thinning is also closely related to Alzheimer's disease.

Another surprising thing from the study is that the increase in the number of sports is unable to keep up with the bad effects of sitting for too long. So, how regular you exercise, the risk of brain shrinkage remains if you sit too much every day.

Therefore, the lead author of the study, Marissa GogNIAt, advised people to reduce seating time in a day. He reminded not only to prioritize sports, but also to the duration of sitting.

"Reducing the risk of being exposed to Alzheimer's is not just about exercising. Minimizing the time spent sitting is important because even if you exercise every day, the possibility of getting Alzheimer's disease is still there," Marissa GogNIAt said.