TV time, memory, . . . and other stories

The dangers of television

Last week Minerva mentioned the possible brain damaging effects of allowing children too much screen time. Data from the English Longitudinal study of Ageing, which has been tracking nearly 4000 people aged 50 or over, suggests that screens are bad for adults too. Watching television for more than 3.5 hours a day was associated with a decline in verbal memory over the next six years, even after adjustment for education, other socioeconomic variables, physical activity, and health (Sci Rep doi:10.1038/s41598-019-39354-4). The investigators wonder if watching television displaces more cognitively beneficial …