TV is literally shrinking your brain

One of the few benefits of having attended the Johns Hopkins University[1] is getting the quarterly alumni magazine,[2] which usually has a few interesting articles. In the latest issue (Winter 2021), there was a short piece about a study conducted by Ryan Dougherty, a postdoctoral fellow in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Relying on 20 years of data, the study concluded that "[a]mong middle-aged adults, greater television viewing in early to mid-adulthood was associated with lower gray matter volume." In other words, watching TV literally shrinks your brain. By about .5%, as it turns out.

 

The details: Every five years, participants in the longitudinal CARDIA study conducted by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute reported, among other things, the average number of hours of television they had watched on a daily basis during the preceding year. The daily average was 2.5 hours. Those participants who viewed at least an additional 1.4 hours of TV a day[3] showed a half percent reduction in gray matter on an MRI scan performed at age 50. Interestingly, this held true even among people who watched that much TV everyday but who were also above average in the amount of physical exercise they were getting. This suggested to Dougherty that "just becoming more physically active alone is not going to negate the negative effects associated with television viewing."

 

Does it make a difference what kind of programming you're watching? The CARDIA study didn't have information on that, but Dougherty hypothesizes that "documentaries might be less brain-shrinking than reality TV or other fluff." So, no hard data but I'm pretty sure Jeopardy! is way better than The Bachelor.[4] Or just put down the remote altogether and do other activities, such as crossword puzzles[5] or juggling, which other studies have shown may preserve or even add gray matter.

---------

[1] The biggest one being having met your mother there, as if you had to ask.

[2] Which is cleverly titled Johns Hopkins Magazine.

[3] If you don't feel like doing the math, that's a total of 3.9 or more hours a day, which is a lot of fucking TV.

[4] I'm also sticking to my guns that watching soccer games doesn't really count as viewing television.

[5] See if you can work up to a Saturday Stumper in Newsday.

 

*********

 

Do you know what else is good for your brain? Cooking! According to the Cleveland Clinic, planning and preparing meals uses many brain processes classified as executive functions, which "test our ability to organize, prioritize, sustain focus, solve problems, retrieve memories and multitask." So cooking is good for your mind and body (depending on what you're making).

And here's a recipe that uses cauliflower, which even kinda looks like your brain. Despite the fact that Cassie is not a particularly big fan of either cauliflower or cabbage, the two main ingredients in this dish, she insisted I post this recipe, which tells you all you need to know. I made two batches for the same dinner, and Cassie, Mom, and I happily snarfed them both.

 

Crispy Cabbage and Cauliflower Salad

Adapted from Deb Perelman via Smitten Kitchen (Feb. 15, 2022)

 

Time: 32 minutes 

The original recipe and accompanying post warn against using more than 8 ounces each of cauliflower and cabbage, because overcrowding means the veggies steam instead of getting crispy. But half of even the smallest cauliflower and head of cabbage I could find yielded 12 ounces or more of each, after trimming. It worked out fine for us anyway.

Vegetables
~12 ounces/340 grams (after trimming in step 2) savoy cabbage or regular green cabbage, from half a small head
~12 ounces/340 grams (after trimming in step 2) cauliflower, from half a small head
2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Tahini-Lemon Dressing
32 grams (2 tablespoons) well-stirred tahini
30 grams (2 tablespoons) freshly squeezed lemon juice
14 grams (1 tablespoon) extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
~2 tablespoons water, as needed
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper and/or red pepper flakes
Harissa to taste, optional

    1. Place a rack in the center of the oven; heat to 450 degrees.
    2. For the veggies: Slice the cabbage, from pole to pole, into ½-inch ribbons, then slice the ribbons crosswise into 1-inch segments. Cut the cauliflower, from pole to pole, into ½-inch slices, then cut crosswise into ½- to 1-inch chunks.
    3. In a large bowl, toss the veggies with enough oil to coat lightly. Sprinkle with salt and a few good grinds of pepper, and toss again. Scrape onto an 18-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheet (half-sheet pan). (Don’t wash the bowl.)
    4. Roast the veggies until crispy and charred in places, about 20 minutes, stirring after 10 and 15 minutes.
    5. For the dressing: In the now-empty large bowl, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic. Whisk in water, a little at a time, until you have a fairly thick dressing. Season well with salt, pepper and/or red pepper flakes or harissa for a little extra heat.
    6. When the veggies are ready, scrape them into the large bowl with the dressing, and stir to coat. Serve promptly. Serves 2.