The issue is not that people's brain degenerate. Cause the rest of the body is physically degenerating too. And most people would naturally die by the time they hit retirement age before symptoms of mental decay show up, as was the case before we got modern pharma and surgical procedures.<p>But since we have more fixes for physical degeneration than mental degeneration, we see most sedentary people kept alive through medication and constant surgeries well into their 80s and 90s while there is nothing much to reverse whats happening to the brain.<p>Having worked for a while at a hospital, I feel people who really haven't lead active lives or are just naturally less active or don't like too much activity fall into this trap, where the medical system will keep them physically alive for few decades longer than in the past. They need to be told this could be a trap. Instead we keep them alive, let their brains degenerate and study them like lab rats.
As someone who started a fully remote job (sedentary) 1.5 years ago, this worries me a bit. I've been reading that those giant bouncy balls and treadmill desks are a gimmick and that standing still for a long time gives you varicose veins.<p>What is a good routine? Do I switch positions (right now I'm slav squatting) and maybe throw in some short bouts of exercise every 30 minutes?
What if it is the opposite and beeing sedentary is a marker of cognitive decline (in this case genetic, but maybe it is also the case for other risk factors).
When ever I sit for along time its to read a book or consume educational content (podcasts, non-ficton films).<p>I usually feel more knowledgeable afterwards.<p>What are some good cognitive tests to take (a part from IQ tests)?
The study could have potential control issues, for example those sitting excessively would less likely travel and explore new places or be outside at social gatherings, both these small examples would potentially help stimulate the brain (loneliness is directly correlated with dementia risk [0]).<p>[0] <a href="https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/loneliness-linked-dementia-risk-large-scale-analysis" rel="nofollow">https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/loneliness-linked-dementia-risk...</a>
The real article title says there is an association, while the HN title says there is causation ("Sitting for a long time shrinks your brain even if you exercise"). Very bad
Given that mental decline can be traced 10-20 years before symptoms begin, the reverse can hold: an early symptom of mental illness is sedentary lifestyle (eg apathy) that is followed by the full constellation. Correlation is not... you know
I see 3 problems so far:<p>1. Looking at the data, a linear regression is fit to data that looks anything but linear, calling into question the validity of the model<p>2. The units in some of the table are unclear, but overall it's not clear to me how much the brain shrinks in this data. As in, how significant of an effect is this? And I'm not talking about statistical significance.<p>3. This is correlation not causation. Maybe if your brain shrinks you can't focus long enough to move around.