It's the End of Summer. Fall Into GAINZZZ!

Two studies show that simply walking for at least ten minutes per day extends life, at any age.

Walking is a simple and easy exercise for the "oldest old," and strolling even one hour every week -- 10 minutes a day -- may help to prolong their lives, a new study says.

Compared to inactive individuals, octogenarians walking at least one hour weekly had 40% and 39% lower relative risks of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, respectively.

And walking was linked with prolonged life in older adults, regardless of whether they did any moderately to vigorously intense physical activity.

The South Korean study's poster was released Wednesday, and its presentation is scheduled for Sunday, at the European Society of Cardiology's Congress 2022 in Barcelona, Spain.

Adults, regardless of their age, are advised to do at least 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous intensity activity, or an equivalent combination, a news release noted. But sedentary time tends to increase with age as physical activity declines.

A separate study from the National Cancer Institute published similar findings. They also found that various types of exercise not only reduced risk of mortality from heart-related causes, but from cancer.

I mentioned this in last week's GAINZZZ, but a study notes that time spent in "cognitively passive" behaviors, like just veging out in front of the TV, increases the risk of dementia.

I'm linking this article because commenters, maybe in jest, maybe not, asked if commenting on AOSHQ counted as "cognitively passive" or cognitively active.

Well, I guess it depends on how much mental effort you're expending -- I don't think Paul's burning too many brain calories -- but yes, adding in interactive media to TV watching can turn it into a cognitively active pastime.

Though I have to imagine that most other "cognitively active" behaviors are more cognitively active that typing into a laptop or phone. Even if it's the modern-day salon known as the AOSHQ comments section.

It isn't the time that older adults spend sitting, but rather the type of sedentary activity that affects dementia risk, a new study says. Watching TV may increase the risk, but curling up on the couch with a laptop may reduce it.

Researchers said their National Institutes of Health-funded study also debunks the idea that if people are more physically active during the day, they are able to counter the negative effects of time spent sitting.

What?

According to the study, by reducing time spent in "cognitively passive" sedentary behaviors, such as TV time, and increasing time spent in "cognitively active" sedentary behaviors, such as computer time, adults aged 60 and older may benefit brain health -- even if they are very physically active.

The findings by researchers at the University of Southern California and University of Arizona were published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

David Raichlen, the study's lead author and professor of biological sciences and anthropology at USC, said the study shows what people do while they're sitting matters -- and shifting from passive to active sedentary behaviors may reduce dementia risk.

...

"We found that sedentary behaviors were associated with dementia risk, but surprisingly, what we do when we're sedentary impacts the direction of that risk," Raichlen said.

He added: "Physical activity, while linked with reduced dementia risk overall, did not greatly alter the associations between sedentary behavior and brain health."

...

According to the researchers, watching TV doesn't involve much muscle activity or energy use, and previous research has shown uninterrupted sitting for long periods of time is related to reduced blood flow in the brain, But greater intellectual stimulation that occurs during computer use may counteract the negative effects of sitting.

Well as I've said before, that's why I skillfully seed so many spelling errors, HTML errors, and errors of fact into the blog: It's to provide an intellectual game of cat-and-mouse to readers, keeping them actively engaged as they find the items in the faux-error "treasure hunt" I've thoughtfully provided. I'm a human barrier against dementia, here.

On the subject of being cognitively active: Sometimes unplugging and letting your brain invent its own distractions is good for you.

People often avoid sitting and thinking, preferring to distract themselves with a smartphone.

According to new research, this may be because people believe that thinking will be boring.

However, researchers say this activity may be more enjoyable than people expect.
Studies have found that letting your mind wander can enhance your creativity and problem-solving.

Experts say taking time to 'unplug' from your devices can help you relax and rest as well.

When people have a few moments to kill, they often pull out their smartphones to check their email or read the news.

"We tend to think that 'just thinking' or 'just waiting' is boring," said Kou Murayama, PhD, who co-authored a new study recently published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

By contrast, Murayama and his colleagues found that people actually enjoyed being alone with their thoughts much more than they expected.

"In the modern digital world, it's so easy to 'kill time' when there is free time," Murayama said. "But it may be a good idea to immerse ourselves in thinking in such a situation." Distraction-free downtime may be more pleasurable than people may believe, he explained.

Murayama added there may be other benefits to mind wandering beyond simple enjoyment. He said previous studiesTrusted Source have found that spending time letting your mind wander can help people to be more creative and better at solving problems.

He noted that if we avoid quiet reflection times, we may miss out on these benefits.

I've gotten much too habituated to playing a podcast whenever I'm doing anything -- walking, exercising, showering, doing chores.

I need to stop that. I don't let my brain have any wandering time any more.

Solvitur ambulando -- it is solved by walking.

That's all I have for health news.

Now about the real point:

Tell me about yo GAINZZZ.

My GAINZZZ are minor but consistent; I'm keeping keto and walking/hiking/running. I really have to start working out with weights again. Maybe tomorrow.

posted by Ace at 04:23 PM

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