Too Much TV in Your 40s, 50s Can Affect Brain Health: What You Can Do

• Researchers say people who watch more television in middle age have a higher risk of declining brain health in later years.
• Their studies indicate that excessive TV watching can cause cognitive decline and a reduction in gray matter.
• Experts recommend that you select an activity to replace TV watching that you enjoy and will stick with.

The more television you watch in your 40s, 50s, and 60s, the greater your risk of brain health issues in later years.

That’s according to researchers who presented three new studies at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Conference 2021 last week.

The studies used TV watching as a measure of sedentary behavior (i.e., time spent sitting). Brain health was later measured by participants answering questions about their watching habits, completing cognitive tests, and undergoing brain MRI scans.

TV watching was measured by how much content was consumed during leisure time:

• Low TV watching (never or seldom)
• Moderate (sometimes)
• High (often/very often)

Together, the researchers’ findings suggest that people who self-report moderate or excessive (high) amounts of TV watching experience greater cognitive decline and reduced gray matter in their brains later in life. Gray matter is involved in decision-making, hearing and vision, and muscle control.

The researchers also found that the positive impact of physical activity wasn’t necessarily enough to combat or counter the negative impact of TV watching. This doesn’t mean we should give up exercising, though.

From their data, they calculated that each 1-hour increase in a person’s daily average TV viewing time was tied to a 0.5 percent reduction in gray-matter volume.