Well, duh!

The New York Times has a tiny article reporting on a 25-year study that looked at the relationship between mental acuity and watching television.  As you might imagine, at the end of the 25-year data collection, people who had watched the most TV had the lowest scores on intelligence tests.  This was true even when the researchers factored in variables such as level of education, gender, smoking and alcohol use.

Here’s the depressing news in a nutshell quote:

“The highest level of TV watching — more than three hours a day most days — was associated with poor performance on all three [intelligence] tests. Compared with those who watched TV the least, those who watched the most had between one-and-a-half and two times the odds of poor performance on the tests, even after adjusting for age, sex, race, educational level, body mass index, smoking, alcohol use, hypertension and diabetes. Those with the lowest levels of physical activity and the highest levels of TV watching were the most likely to have poor test results.”

Well, duh!

I’ve already blogged about the negative effects of watching television, and feel that as a Parkie, I need to engage my brain actively throughout the day.  By, say, reading, writing, and playing music.  By, say, looking at art.

Here’s how author John Steinbeck describes what you look like when you watch TV:

 “I have observed the physical symptoms of television-looking on children as well as on adults. The mouth grows slack and the lips hang open; the eyes take on a hypnotized or doped look; the nose runs rather more than usual; the backbone turns to water and the fingers slowly and methodically pick the designs out of brocade furniture. Such is the appearance of semiconsciousness that one wonders how much of the ‘message’ of television is getting through to the brain.”

 (Source:  Wikipedia, the font of all knowledge)

Well, duh!

So what’s the bottom line?  I know I’m monomaniacal about this, but nonetheless:  Banish your TV!  Unplug the bastard for a week, then continue for a solid month.  Then throw it in the trash, and replace it with a giant fish tank! You need to stay mentally sharp, now more than ever!

To read something that’s interesting, fun, and pertinent, click here for my favorite article about Parkinson’s disease:  “Have You Lost Your Mind?”