The exact time you need to not be sitting to fend off dementia

An active lifestyle is important for a number of reasons. It’ll keep your weight down, give you more energy, help your cardiovascular health, and decrease your insulin levels. But one of the most important reasons that you should be standing, walking, and generally staying active is that if you don’t, there’s a chance that you’ll get dementia.

The average American sits over 10 hours a day, making us the most sedentary generation in American history, according to Forbes. It’s estimated that this number could be even higher for teenagers, but For the average white-collar worker, 75% of the day is spent sitting.

There are a number of possible reasons for this, like the rate of obesity in America, the number of sedentary jobs with long work hours, and the reliance on technology for both work and play. But regardless of why it’s happening, it’s causing numerous medical issues, including dementia.

The Alzheimer International Society estimates 66 million people will suffer from dementia by 2030, and that could skyrocket to 115 million by 2050.

Can sitting really affect your risk of dementia?

The journal of Translational Psychiatry did a meta-analysis of 18 other studies researching the cause of dementia and found that sedentary lifestyles are linked to neural degeneration. Of the 250,000 subjects examined in all 18 studies, the 2,300 who were diagnosed with dementia were predominantly sedentary, meaning that they sat for the majority of the day and did not aerobically exercise. Sedentary behavior seemed to increase as adults in their 50s found themselves on the verge of retirement, and from the ages of 60 to 80, many individuals spent so much time sedentary that it offset any benefits from physical exercise.

A 2018 study from the University of California, Los Angeles, found that when you rarely engage in any physical activity, your brain suffers, namely seeing thinning in the medial temporal lobe, which is linked to learning and the ability to recall experiences, people, places and things from the past. It’s also the section of the brain that deteriorates with Alzheimer’s disease.

What you can do

Thankfully, the solution to prevent dementia may be a straightforward one: exercise.

A 2011 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Neurobiology of Aging took 52 healthy adults ranging from 55 to 79 years and concluded that exercise could stave off the deterioration of the medial temporal lobe. The study doesn’t specify the amount or type of exercise, however, but it’s believed any exercise from aerobic to slow walking can provide a small neurotransmitter boost and help thicken brain volume.