Middle-aged TV watchers hit with urgent warning as California study unveils ominous brain risk

Are they watching Graying Anatomy? The idea of TV rotting your brain is apparently not just an old wives tale. Spending too much time watching TV in middle age may literally shrink the brain, increasing the risk of dementia and other complications, according to researchers at the University of Southern California. This screen-induced cerebral shrinkage was detailed in a study in Alzheimer’s and Dementia: Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association To determine how TV binges affect the middle-aged brain, the researchers analyzed data on 1,700 middle-aged adults who joined the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study — a long term US population survey of heart and brain health — between 1987 and 1989. The TV-induced brain decline was more pronounced in men, per the study. Getty Images The