A sedentary lifestyle increases risk for heart disease, frailty and even ages you faster. It can even steal your bone and muscle mass, but that may not be the worst of it.
It turns out that sitting all the time destroys your brain, thinning areas that hold your precious memories. If you’re spending more of your time sitting than you are being up and active, you could be next.
Researchers at UCLA investigated how sedentary behavior influences brain health, especially when it comes to the regions of the brain that are critical to forming and preserving memories.
When they compared brain scans of people to the average number of hours they spent sitting each week, the researchers discovered that those who spent more time in a chair than being active had thinning of their medial temporal lobe, or MTL (a brain region involved in the formation of new memories), than active people.
This is important because previous studies have shown the MTL thinning is a precursor to cognitive decline and dementia in middle-aged and older adults.
And now it appears that if you spend your life sitting down, allowing your body to wither, your brain is withering right there along with it.
That makes all that comfortable furniture in your house one of the biggest — and most avoidable — dangers to your brain.
Movement is the key to keeping your brain healthy and your memory sharp. You may want a thin body, but you don’t want a thin brain!
So, instead of spending so much time sitting, walk, run or, at the very least, stand.
Get a pedometer to count your steps during the day, and set an alarm each time you sit down to remind yourself when you’ve been sitting for more than 15 minutes.
You should also consider these other ways to help your brain:
• Watch your diet. Diets that are high in saturated fats, sugars and salt and low in fiber have been linked to an increased risk of dementia. Rush University discovered a diet that can help ward off cognitive decline. The diet, known as the MIND diet, is short for Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. It’s rich in healthy omega-3s, like the krill oil found in Peak Krill Oil
• Improve your circulation. Even when you sit, moving your legs and feet and changing positions often can help with blood flow. Nutrients that help circulation include vitamin K2 and grape seed extract. My favorite source of these two vital supplements is Peak BP Platinum.
The post The danger to your brain lurking in every room of your house appeared first on Personal Liberty®.
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