Stress influences us in many ways. It disturbs our sleep, affects our mood and can make us sick. But more seriously it also seems to damage our brain, according to a new study.
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We all get stressed out once in a while. But experiencing stress regularly can greatly affect our bodies and our minds. It can make us tired or irritable, cause sleepless nights, as well as a loss of appetite and libido. Stress can also increase the risk for various diseases, including cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases, and diabetes.
Recently, a group of researchers from Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts wanted to know how stress impacts the brain. They studied more than 2,000 middle-aged adults over a period of eight years who took a psychological exam, memory assessment and a thinking skills test at the beginning of the study.
Why a sedentary lifestyle is killing you
Most Germans say they feel healthy. But more than half the population don't even do the minimum recommended amount of exercise. From the office chair to the couch at home, they're spending more time sitting than ever.
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We're not moving enough
The health of Germans is at its lowest in history, according to a new report that found just under nine percent of the population follow a 'completely healthy' lifestyle. And the problem is a lack of movement. On average, Germans spend 7.5 hours sitting per day. But it's not just them who are leading sedentary lives - the world over, people are spending too much time perched on their behinds.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Krämer
Is sitting the new smoking?
In recent years, sitting has been dubbed the 'new smoking' because of the seriousness of its public health risks. While not all scientists agree that it should be put in the same category as smoking, over the past 15 years too much time spent on one's backside has been linked to serious health issues, like low blood pressure, poor circulation, cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
But sitting in the office chair at work is not as strongly linked to long term health risks as sitting watching television is. Spending too much time in front of the telly has been consistently linked to an early death, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
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Frailty on the rise
Women who spend more time sitting down as they age are at higher risk of becoming frail, according to new research from the University of Queensland in Australia. That means they’ll be less likely to recover from illnesses or injuries. But researchers also found the damage could be reversed - so up you hop! It's not too late to reduce the effects of too much time spent on your butt.
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Sit less, move more
Scientists say, as your total sitting time increases so does your risk of an early death. But if you sit for less than 30 minutes at a time, you could reduce your risk of kicking the bucket too soon. For every 30 consecutive minutes you sit, try to match it with moving and walking for at least five minutes.
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Enter: standing desks
For office workers, sitting seems to be an unavoidable part of the day. Unless, of course, you write those emails on your feet. Adjustable desks that allow a sitting and standing option have become standard in many workplaces around the world. But the research shows they aren't the best solution - because even if you're standing, you don't expend much energy while staying in the one spot.
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Huff and puff
Sitting will not undo the benefits of exercise, but the less time you spend sitting down the better. Health experts say it's important for us to move as often as possible, and increase our heartrates in the process - the World Health Organization recommends doing 150 minutes of moderate activity per week or 75 minutes of vigorous activity.
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The researchers also took a blood sample to measure the cortisol levels in the blood. Cortisol is the hormone associated with stress.
Their results showed that people with high levels of cortisol in their blood scored lower in the memory tests compared to those people with normal blood cortisol levels.
Furthermore, the results showed that their poor memory seemed to have been present even before the obvious symptoms of memory loss appeared.
"Our research detected memory loss and brain shrinkage in middle-aged people before symptoms started to show," explains Dr. Justin B. Echouffo-Tcheugui, the study's author. "So it's important for people to find ways to reduce stress, such as getting enough sleep, engaging in moderate exercise, incorporating relaxation techniques into their daily lives or asking their doctor about their cortisol levels and taking a cortisol-reducing medication if needed."
